Final project on my NFGT is complete and I'm ready to take her on the track!
Just got my car back from Canepa in Scotts Valley CA, where they modified my seat base to give me dramatically more headroom. Maybe as much as 3".
I am so happy with the change. I fit properly for the first time and it is so much more comfortable to drive. I have better visibility, I can see the top half of the dashboard screen for the first time and my head isn't hitting the ceiling and angled to the side. My head still hits slightly when I have a helmet on but I fit better with a helmet now then I used to without. (I'm just 6' tall but have the torso of a taller person, which I guess means I have tiny legs).
Here is the after picture (Sparco racing belts installed now as well). Still looks OEM even though the seat has been newly reupholstered. The team at Canepa did an amazing job matching details like the leather and gulf heritage exposed threads. They were able to re-use the alcantera base along with the OEM carbon seat base.
We tied several different iterations along the way. OEM seat with minimal cushioning. OEM seat with just alcantara, no cushioning. But ultimately decided that to get the headroom I wanted we needed to cut a hole in the bottom of the carbon fiber seat base and also not use cushioning. I'm basically sitting on the car's carbon fiber tub with a thin layer of alcantara on top.
Here is a picture of the underside of the seat (you can see where the carbon fiber was cut, where bands were added for support as well as the black underside of the alcantara):
Here is a picture of my car in the amazing Canepa shop:
I purchased an extra OEM seat base from Kevin Koshkarian (who is always amazing to work with. Thanks Kevin!) at Pat Miliken Ford so I can bring the car fully back to OEM condition whenever I want.
Next here is a picture of the passenger seat so you can compare the before with the after. The difference is especially noticeable if you look at the height of the side bolster.
Still have the same width to the seat but the higher side bolster actually helps to hold you in just a bit more. I like it. Though, getting into and out of the car is just that much more awkward now. A trade off I'm completely happy with.
I couldn't be any happier with how this project turned out. I enthusiastically recommend Canepa to anyone who wants to go this route.
Cheers,
Kurt (knightka)
Just got my car back from Canepa in Scotts Valley CA, where they modified my seat base to give me dramatically more headroom. Maybe as much as 3".
I am so happy with the change. I fit properly for the first time and it is so much more comfortable to drive. I have better visibility, I can see the top half of the dashboard screen for the first time and my head isn't hitting the ceiling and angled to the side. My head still hits slightly when I have a helmet on but I fit better with a helmet now then I used to without. (I'm just 6' tall but have the torso of a taller person, which I guess means I have tiny legs).
Here is the after picture (Sparco racing belts installed now as well). Still looks OEM even though the seat has been newly reupholstered. The team at Canepa did an amazing job matching details like the leather and gulf heritage exposed threads. They were able to re-use the alcantera base along with the OEM carbon seat base.
We tied several different iterations along the way. OEM seat with minimal cushioning. OEM seat with just alcantara, no cushioning. But ultimately decided that to get the headroom I wanted we needed to cut a hole in the bottom of the carbon fiber seat base and also not use cushioning. I'm basically sitting on the car's carbon fiber tub with a thin layer of alcantara on top.
Here is a picture of the underside of the seat (you can see where the carbon fiber was cut, where bands were added for support as well as the black underside of the alcantara):
Here is a picture of my car in the amazing Canepa shop:
I purchased an extra OEM seat base from Kevin Koshkarian (who is always amazing to work with. Thanks Kevin!) at Pat Miliken Ford so I can bring the car fully back to OEM condition whenever I want.
Next here is a picture of the passenger seat so you can compare the before with the after. The difference is especially noticeable if you look at the height of the side bolster.
Still have the same width to the seat but the higher side bolster actually helps to hold you in just a bit more. I like it. Though, getting into and out of the car is just that much more awkward now. A trade off I'm completely happy with.
I couldn't be any happier with how this project turned out. I enthusiastically recommend Canepa to anyone who wants to go this route.
Cheers,
Kurt (knightka)
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