I have been wanting to do this mod for a while. Thanks Waldig (again) for the starter info and to BlueStorm and Couv for their write ups https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/tsbs-how-articles/35738-lowered-seats-more-headroom.html

I have the srt6 seats.

There are many ways and parts to use to do this but I will write up what I happened to do today;

3-4 hours

parts and tools;

-1. 2 each 1 1/2" long (important) grade 8 bolts in 3/8" or 10mm diameter, 4 each nuts, 8 each washers, 2 each lock washers, 2 each fender washers.
-2. 3" metal cut off wheels (used 2 each)
-3. 3" pneumatic cut off saw
-4. primmer/sealing paint (cover exposed cut surface metal)
-5. razor knife
-6. 17mm open end wrench (seat belt bolt)
-7. E-12 external Torx bit socket (seat mounting bolts)
-8. 7/8" drill bit
-9. drill
-10. RTV silicone or rubberized undercoating spray


Basic parts with order of nuts and washers on the bolt

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Remove the 4 each torx bolts (slide seat forward and backward to get to them) and remove the 17mm seat belt bolt under the black plastic cap
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Unplug the wiring harness under the seat here
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Grab the plug like this to release
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pull the door sill off and pry off or spin off the plastic retainer holding the carpet at the bottom back corner, pull up the carpet to expose the brackets that need to be removed
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cut the brackets out (have someone hold the carpet up for the one near the center of the car
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folding the brackets back and forth makes the hard to get to corners easy to brake off
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remove an angle of foam from under the carpet
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cut the carpet with two parallel cuts towards the front
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note the bottom of the seat and the low hanging motor on the left hand side that will hit the subframe that rises up under the seat. I removed carpet from the floor pan here to increase clearance but just using the electric motor to slightly raise the back of the seat up to clear the motor works after your install is complete. The alignment pins stay in place and are accommodated for with the center spacer/lock nut that I installed
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Re-install the seat (plug back in) thread the front two torx mounting bolts back in place to hold alignment
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Make sure the seat mounting brackets sit all the way down (may have to slightly loosen the front two mounting torx bolts to release strain)



Drill the back two new holes using the drill bit for the bolts you buy ( 1/12" long)
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Remove the seat and apply the bolts; bolt, washer, fender washer, push through floor pan, apply washer, nut, washer.
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Spray paint primmer or sealer to exposed metal
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Put seat back in (plug in seat) and apply the washer, lock washer, and last nut
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Cycle the seat motor to check for range of motion and clearance of the bolt you just installed to ensure the upper track celars over the top of it when sliding the seat all the way back on teh mounting track. (this is why 1 1/2" long bolt is necessary if using the set up of washers and center lock nut. This also allows the seat to be removed and the rear bolts stay in place like a stud.

replace the rear plastic carpet retainer and the door sill, seal the bottom of the new bolt heads and washers to make water proof.

 

Could you elaborate more on the extra room given? Is it worth the pain of drilling a hole in the car?

 

1 1/2" gained in head room if you leave the OEM alignment pin on the seat track mounting rail and use the middle locking nut. The seat angle is better after droping the rear of the seat and appears to make up for a poor lumbar support on the srt6 seat. I can take a picture of the driver seat compared to the passanger seat if that will help visualize 1 1/2".

This morning's ride was definately more comfortable and my opinion is that is was worth drilling two holes in the floor pan.

 

Please do take pic if possible. Also, I think the passenger seat OEM vs OEM is tighter anyhow.
Very keen on doing this myself. I did not watch every pic thoroughly but how come the carpets are missing some pieces?

 

The only carpet that is missing in the pics is when I was showing re-install of the seat and the seat wasn't slide back in place yet. The two pieces that are missing are factory cut outs for the mounting surface area.

 

Please copy my brace under the car so that the rear bolts have AMPLE material and can not pull thru the floor in case of an accident. One layer of metal is too small a support if you stop suddenly. Safety first, my strap goes from bolt to bolt and is nutted from below, that isjust me and my security mindedness approach. Woody

 

Nice write up with pics ... but I was thinking this^^^ as well. There is a reason they use that exact place as a mounting position...... Its reinforced. When you Tamper/bypass with it you need to find a new way to build it close if not to the original integrity. Good job though.

 

Note taken, I see the importance with this, better safe than dead. Thanks for pointing this out.

The factory bracket is welded in numerous locations including the subframe for strength. But my thoughts were the bracket itself is thin and easily bent so I think the weak spot in the factory location is the bracket itself not how it is attached to the car. I would think that if the bolts were to pull through the floor with fender washers then it would pull through the factory mounting bracket.

What thickness metal strap brace did you use Waldig?

 

There is a reason the factory only used one layer of sheet metal for their mounting points for the seats. It is perfectly sufficient for the task at hand. Adding the fender washer under the floor pan like you did made your mounting point about twice as strong as the factory mounting point. The tear strength of even thin gauge sheet metal is a couple thousand PSI. The bolt is not going to tear through it.
Thanks for the write up, I am going to have to consider this for my car, mainly just to put myself in a position where I am not sitting with all my weight immediately on my butt cheeks, to spread it out to the backs of my legs also and sit in a more normal, flat position.

 

This is a great way to explain how the seat feels now. What a difference it has made, especially the lumbar area for some reason. I can see myself going on a long road trip finally!

 

I used 1/8 steel strap with a 1.25 width (just sitting on the floor of the shop). The strap spreads any stress across the base of the seat pan but Iam conservative to a fault when it comes to safety, its served me well for the past 65 years. That comment means more if you know the things that I have done and survived, enjoy Woody

 

No doubt that you have me on years and experience, but I feel the same way. I have had a couple of bad experiences with seats and cars (in stock mounting positions "functioning perfectly" ) which is why this is an area I dont settle for either. Better safe than dead...

 

Hey man hows it goin I just thoughts about this n seen thrt you successfully did it.do you have a before n after pic of the clearance you got. Im 6ft n I just need a lil more i clearance on the driver side was it major help for comfort.

Thanks, for advice

 

The before and after actual head clearances are something that I didn't do unfortunately. I am 6'3" and my head hit the headliner so I had to scoot forward in my seat away from the lumbar area and slouch to clear the headliner. I was having horrible back pain and couldn't stand to drive it for longer than my 45 minute commute to work. After lowering the backof the seat by 1-1 1/2" not only do I have just the right amount of head room now but my back stopped hurting since I didn't have to slouch. Amazing the 2 benefits out of this1 fairly simple mod.

 

Is just i.wonder can a shop do.this n if so what do i tell em i need

 

Besides this thread, read what Waldig has recomended through his gallery. I would be surprised if a shop would be willing to do this because of liability.

 

Great modification and write up with pictures! I'm surprised I missed the post earlier. I have a Special Edition roadster with the cloth seats without heaters, that most of us know sit lower than the heated leather seats, that gave me the headroom I needed. I don't drive the car in the winter, so heated seats would never be used. I was thinking of adding a Limited coupe to the driveway fleet, but when I test drove one the headroom was an issue. I didn't want to drive with my head slightly tilted. This post gives a work around to that problem. Many thanks for the contribution.