I made the modification to lower the seat. I would nowever NOT do it again since it caused the carpet to be a little lower and thus the carpet is now notl long enought next to the door frame.

 

If you cut the carpet out where the bolts go and add reliefe cuts along the rail edges toward the front of the seat, the carpet aligns perfectly. This allows the rails to drop down into place and not pull the carpet down with it.

 

One more reason why it is good to be short.

 

I would have to agree with you on the seat thing but what were the other good reasons?

 

Thank you very much for this thread. I just came back from the fall TOD. It was over 300 miles each way. My butt hurt, and every time I get in with the top up I bump my head. With the help of your great instructions, Thursday I lowered my seat. I am amazed at the difference. I don't bump my head now, but the best part is for the first time the seat is actually comfortable. The weight is shifted slightly from my butt to the lumbar. The minus is I feel like I am getting up off the ground when I get out, but I felt that way when I first got the car too. The pluses outweigh the minus. Thanks again, I recommend everyone doing this.

 

I wanted to add some pictures of the seat lowered from outside the front of the car to see the difference.

IMG_5169_zps80591209.jpg

IMG_5170_zpsef6ded2a.jpg

 

Being Lysdexic here is my point of view. Enjoy Woody

CrossfireForum.org - waldig's Album: Lowering the seat - Picture

 

Finally made this mod. Drove it around the block and its like you are sitting in a completely different seat! I took a few extra moments to drill out the spot welds so if I decide to go to racing seats in the future I can just weld the brackets back into place and go right back to OEM if need be.
Thanks again for the write up!

 

My seat (07) also has the star headed bolts, anyone know what size of socket it takes ? (see picture).

I have the opposite problem: Am 5'10" and drive with the seat at a 40 degree recline (always have even when racing). I don't fit a roadster and barely fit a coupe. Need to raise the seat about an inch so it will go back further before hitting the crossmember.

Speaking of which has anyone ever notched the crossmember so the seat would go back further ? YWTK.

 

That's a bolt? I thought it was a piece of chewing gum. It is a bit (a lot?) blurry.
With all your experience I thought you would know.
Building the post count? LOL

What do you think the bulkhead does besides add weight?

 

180 - do you work for Microsoft ?

Most of what I work on is pre-1990, have not seen star ("E" ?) bolts before just torx. The seat bolts on my '12 WK2 (Chrysler product) are plain metric hex.

Problem is I do not know if SAE, Metric, Whitworth, or "something else" so want to be sure I buy the right thing.

Is this the right set ? Just the size of the socket I need is enough or is that too difficult.

OK I'll make it even easier: is the seat bolt one of these: E6, E7, E8, E10, E12, E14, and E16 ?

Is this picture better ?

Imagine the crossbar is for chassis stiffness but suspect I could notch & form a saddle in the crossbar to allow about 1" more travel without reducing the torsional rigidity. Could also weld in a stiffener using angle iron if needed.

pps said I was new to Crossfires, didn't say I was new to forums.

 

I used a 3/8" socket on the bolts, fit just fine and didnt slip or damage the bolt head at all.

 

Thank you that is what I needed to know: a 3/8" six point feels like it could work but feels wobbly.

Going to see if the local HF (are three in the area) has the "E" (external star ?) set & would get that (I prefer to have the right tool though sometime it gets abby-surd) need the short ones though, no room or need for the extended sockets.

 

I have not seen oswald for years, nice.

Behind the seat is the gas tank, might wanna not cut into the support structure there.

Woody

 

E12 is the size, 3/8 hex fits but will ruin the spline if thread is too tight and then the E12 may not fit too good.

 

The guy's on Car Talk say "Every project is an excuse to buy a new tool", and I agree.

 

If so I have enough projects to make the next century. (Do now have an E12 and a few others).

 

I did this this afternoon, it was definitely trickier than I thought, an extra hand is 100% necessary to do this job properly.

Things to be aware of:
1. the harness for the limited N/A from 2004 is different than pictured. Pull out the 3 plugs individually.
2. I found a grinder to be much more effective than the air tool with a cut-off wheel
3. If using M10x40mm bolts, you need a 7/16th drill bit
4. The knife you use has to be very sharp, or else you are not going to be able to cut through the foam+carpet
5. Some beefy channel locks are useful to pry of the metal bolsters
6. When drilling through the floor, start with a smaller drill bit (1/8") then move up to by 1/8" diameters until you reach 7/16"
7. When grinding, find come cardboard so the sparks (small metal pieces) do not cover everything inside
---use one piece to shield the foam + front of cabin
---and another piece to cover the bulkhead
8. The seat bolts are 10mm hex caps (not E-12 torx)

I hope this helps

PM me if you need any help

 

Then yours are different to the ones in the picture in post #31 which are the same as mine in an '05.
You can see the mess that a 3/8 socket made of that head.

 

did you use impact wrench to unbolt the rail? I'm trying to install tablet rail mount, but can't take the bolt out it wrench, and auto drill (wrench head).