Re:<E30><E28> Cockpit Ergonomics & Steering Wheels 4 tall people

[Richard Nott <gis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 22:13:15 -0500
>>From: Michiel van Wessem <jmvw@domain.elided>
>>Subject: <E30>Help: something to move steering wheel for tall people
>>
>><snip>
>>I'd like something to bring the steering wheel a back a bit, towards
>>the driver. Something to extend the steering column.
>>
>>Here's why. I'm tall, 6'4". I have the back of my seat in my 87 325es
>>pretty far back, so my head isn't against the roof. Kind of like in a
>>Corvette. Because of this the steering wheel is always a bit too far
>>away. My seat adjustment is a compromise between having the roof
>>against my head, having my legs folded against the cruise control
>>stalk and being able to reach the steering wheel.
>>
>>For me, and I imagine for all tall people driving E30's, it would be
>>terrific if the steering wheel would be positioned a little back.
>>
>>Maybe someone could make something that is about 5 cm long and that
bolts
>>onto the steering shaft to extend it a bit and then the steering wheel
nut
>>would go onto that. Maybe this can be accomplished using existing
>>hardware?
>>
>>Maybe the people making short shift kits and custom shift knobs could
help
>>out? You'd make the tall people happy.
>>
>>Michiel (hoping)
>>
>>
>Date: 20 Jan 99 11:02:19 PST
>From: SMILLER@domain.elided
>Subject: Re:  <E30>Help: something to move steering wheel for tall
people
>
>Hi Michiel, I think the answer to your ergonomic problems would be to
sell
>the car and buy a 1988 535is!  The sport seats in the 535is give about
an
>inch more headroom than the regular 535i, and the steering column
>telescopes.
>

I'm sorry to say that even an E28 is not big enough for tall
people when talking about cockpit ergonomics... and I'm only 6'1".
But on the positive side, the only limitation here is the extent your
willing to go to build the ultimate driving machine   ; )

So Michiel, to answer your question and to share some
interesting insights I'd like to share my experience:

My 535i was fine for cabin size, but like yours
the ergonomics were awful for big people.

For example:
The top of the Steering Wheel blocked my view of the
Speedo (anything between 80 and 160km/h I'd have to
duck down to see.. and forget about seeing the Trip
Computer, unless you leaned to the right or left to see around
the steering wheel. Of course, this was made worse by the
seat being too high, and my hair just touching the roof even
on the lowest positions, which I think you'd agree is annoying,
but this also prevented me from selecting more comfortable
seating angles.  So something had to be done...   ; )

How did I fix it?.  Well I wasn't happy with the Leather
Front seats.  I tend to drive quite fast and wanted a seat
that would hold me in when going on a quick trip over the
mountains.  I'd kept a set of Anthracite (Charcoal) Recaro's
from a previous BM that matched my new cars black
interior, and wanted to put these in the 535 when I bought it.
But this didn't help any, because it used the same bmw
mounting  plate, on the same bmw seat tilting mechanism
and my head would touch the roof.  So this is where the
mods begin:

I got a local welding shop to cut out a new seat mount
plate from a flat piece of steel, after making a template from
a flat piece of cardboard.  This replaced the bmw mounting
plate that was about 2 inches high.  I then painted this gun
metal gray to match the black interior.  This fixed the seat
height problem (lowered the seat about 2 inches
front and back).  It was a very easy thing to have
fabricated, and for tall drivers it's really a necessity.

The steering wheel still blocked my view, so I pulled the
dash covers that surrounded the steering and focused my
attention on it's design.  I found that the mechanism
that allows the steering wheel to pull in and out was held
rigidly by a bracket about 1 inch down from the bottom
of the dash which prevents you moving the steering wheel
higher... space wasted by BMW. This bracket that holds
the steering wheel adjustment mechanism could be altered
to lift it higher, so I had the same shop cut the original
bracket and weld it back together after cutting out some
material from the "[" arms to raise the steering wheel height.

This was a very cheap mod because it only required a
simple cut and re-weld.  Quick and easy for them (read
cheap), and only 3 hours of my time to pull the piece out,
figure out how to do it and put it back in again.  The only
disadvantage of this is loosing the telescopic mechanism
for the steering wheel because the higher position prevents
the mechanism from working freely, but hey, you can install
it to your ideal position at install so I could live with that.

So now I'm Lower ( so my head doesn't touch the roof ),
The Steering Wheel no longer blocks my view of the speedo.
And the driving position, Seat, Steering Wheel, ergonomic
positions are ideal - with excellent Recaro seats to boot
.... Much Better  : )

The next ergonomic project I'm thinking about is to
re-wire the Trip Computer to turn it upside down,
because the LCD display is always hidden behind the
steering wheel.(RHD) This will put it in my direct line of sight,
instead of being hidden behind the steering wheel. I've looked
at the wiring to do this and with a little ribbon cable and
re-soldering I think it'll work great. No more obscured trip
computer.  But this'll have to wait a bit. My next project is
a new, more powerful engine with Schrick Cam, etc..

Cheers,
Richard
74 3.0S (Since New!)
86 535i
Richard Nott's BMW Database:
http://www.gis.nsw.gov.au/staff/rnott/bmw/bmw.html

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