[Mike_Yi]

I got my GT3 seat yesterday. I couldn't put it in until today. I took the stock seat out and set them on the ground side by side. The GT3 is as it came from Sunset Porsche with the rails and sliders. The stock seat is the same. I then took a box and set it on the floor in front of each seat. I placed one end of a level on the top of the box and held the other end above the seat (obviously level). I then measured from the bottom of the level to the center of the seating area (about 3" from the back of the seat). Your butt is exactly the same height off the floor in both seats.

So then I thought, "Well, the foam padding is definitely different. Maybe one is more compressible than the other. The GT3 seat certainly has less foam." So I decided to test it. I put the stock seat in as close to the same vertical position as the GT3 seat. To do this, I sat in the GT3 seat with my behind all the way back and my shoulders pressed firmly against the back of the seat. I had both legs stretched out straight in front of me. I then reached forward with my arms as much as possible while still keeping my shoulders pressed firmly against the seat. I marked on my knees where the tips of my fingers hit (actually, my wife did). I then sat in the stock seat in the same position and adjusted the seat until I was reaching the exact same spot. I then put each seat up against the wall. I sat as far back as possible (butt & shoulders) and sat up as tall as possible. I then had my wife set the level on my head and level it, then mark the bottom of the level where it hit the wall. Then I switched seats and did it again. The lines were identical.

So this tells me that if you are a tall guy looking to get more head room, the GT3 seat is not the answer by itself. You are going to have to spring for the BK tall man brackets and the floor mount adapter. If you want sliders, you are apparently screwed. As far as I can tell, if you removed the sliders from the GT3 seats, you would gain approximately 1" in headroom. Another option would be to remove the padding you sit on in the GT3 seat. This does lower you about an inch (I'm guessing). However, you are then sitting on the hard floor of the seat. That wouldn't be that bad, but there is an angle down right under the front part of your behind. I think that would get uncomfortable after sitting on it for about 10 minutes.

I am 6'4" with about a 35" inseam. I have been told by a few people that the only seats I could use would be the GT3 seat or the Recaro SPG XL. All other seats would have the harness holes too low, and I would be susceptible to spine compression in an accident. However, after sitting in the GT3 seat, I can see that the openings for the harness are just at the top of my shoulders. If you have a longer torso than I, the GT3 seat would be a problem in that regard also.

The upsides of the GT3 seats are that it is a racing seat; it will keep you from sliding around while you're driving hard, you can use it with a harness, and it is safe. Some people like the look of them; and for a racing seat, they don't make you look like a ricer. The downsides are: It won't give you any additional headroom without other mods, it's expensive, it's fairly narrow (I wear 36" waist pants and it's comfortable, but snug), you cannot adjust the seating angle, and some people don't care for the way it looks.

Now I just have to figure out if I should put the GT3 seat in, or sell it and put the stock seat back in.