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Tall Maxima Driver

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Old May 4, 2003 | 07:13 PM
  #1  
Yeti's Avatar
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Tall Maxima Driver

I am 6'-6". When I drive my wife's 1998 Maxima, of course the legs are not very comfortable. Has anybody seen or heard of a way to move the seat back more than the stock position? Does anybody make extended seat rails?

I do not know whether it is a standard item on the Maxima, or not, but I have a power driver's seat.

(Thank goodness for the sunroof...).
Old May 4, 2003 | 07:39 PM
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(_8*(l)Homer's Avatar
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Maybe instead of getting new rails, you couldjust relocate your current rails back a few inches. Maybe not, are the bolts just in the floor, or on some support. I'm not sure, how they are connected.


(_8*(l)
Old May 4, 2003 | 07:40 PM
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yeah im shooting on 6'5 and im barely fitting. Trust me I know how you feel. I thought about the possibility of lowering the seat past where it is. eg- finding a different nissan seat that has a thinner seat part. If you find something let me know.
Old May 4, 2003 | 07:46 PM
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just rip the driver's seat out and drive from the back ....
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:03 PM
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Originally posted by Conrad283
just rip the driver's seat out and drive from the back ....
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:08 PM
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Ya I come in at 6'4"....knees are sterringt eh car...haha....but I don't see why you couldn't just moutn teh rails further back.
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:12 PM
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any good body show can make some modifications for you, either having longer rails or moving back the rails.
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:16 PM
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I'm 6'1 and I think that the maxima is a comfortable fix. Now I drove a friends civic last week, and WE ARE LUCKY AS HELL. I had the seat all the way back and my knees at my chest, and my knees were still rubbing on the bottom of the steering wheel. Slow and small? I'm glad I have a maxima.

-payne-
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:25 PM
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I'd go for taking the seat out and sit in the back, just like HighTower in Policy Academy

bluemaxdriver4
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:25 PM
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Originally posted by Conrad283
just rip the driver's seat out and drive from the back ....
a la Hightower in Police Academy I...
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:26 PM
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Hey superchris, u must have posted right when i did. lol
Old May 4, 2003 | 08:29 PM
  #12  
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Originally posted by bluemaxdriver4
Hey superchris, u must have posted right when i did. lol
great minds...
Old May 4, 2003 | 11:17 PM
  #13  
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My friend is 6'7" and he drives a '94
Old May 5, 2003 | 07:04 AM
  #14  
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I'm 6'7. I get squished.
Old May 5, 2003 | 08:03 AM
  #15  
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6'3" checking in - interested to hear if anyone is going to actually re-position their seats.

What I don't care for in the Max is that when I have my steering wheel adjusted just the way I like it, I really have a hard time getting out of the vehicle - I guess I miss my old GM steering wheel tilt adjuster (now that thing was easy to operate).

Also, is anybody else close to wearing a permanent elbow dimple onto the driver side door (left) arm rest? Thinking about putting some padding there (if I can every find something suitable).
Old May 5, 2003 | 08:14 AM
  #16  
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I made seat-lowering brackets for my max. I'm nearly 6'3" and my head would always rub the ceiling. I removed the seat to study the seat mounts and figured out that rear mounts that drop the seat back by 2" could easily be fabricated.

I drilled out the rivets holding the old brackets in place and used them as a template to fab up replacement brackets. I needed to use my grinder/welder and drill, plus about 3 hours of test fitting and tweaking the brackets. The most difficult bit was making sure that the brackets and the bolts holding the brackets did not interfere with the track so the seat could still move forwards/backwards fully.

The whole project cost be about $2.99 in 1/8 steel stock, cut/welded and painted with black rust-prenventative paint. Nobody can tell the brackets are not stock (unless you are looking under the seat) and the result is amazing. My head no longer touches the ceiling, even when I adjust the seat so my upper body if the ideal distance from the steering wheel... If my wife wants to drive the car she just raises the seat base using the regular controls. It looks weird that the driver's seat is 2" lower than the passenger, but it's worth it to me.

If there's any interest, I can get pics of the old and new brackets.
Old May 5, 2003 | 09:27 AM
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im 7'1" and i sit in the back seat!
Old May 5, 2003 | 09:28 AM
  #18  
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i got custom bench seat in back of car!
Old May 5, 2003 | 09:59 AM
  #19  
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Also, is anybody else close to wearing a permanent elbow dimple onto the driver side door (left) arm rest? Thinking about putting some padding there (if I can every find something suitable).
I got a dimple...
Old May 5, 2003 | 10:06 AM
  #20  
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Scruit,

At this point, I'd definitely be interested.

7'-1" in a Maxima... I'd have to see the interior in that car...
Old May 5, 2003 | 10:28 AM
  #21  
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and I thought I was tall, 6'1 or so here.. Im a perfect fit in the maxima
Old May 5, 2003 | 10:33 AM
  #22  
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im 6'6'' and i have no problems fittin in the max...you FIzuckers should try driving OTHER cars, and see how good we got it!
Old May 5, 2003 | 02:39 PM
  #23  
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lol im almost 6'1" not 7'1"..lol Just wanted to see what other would say...lol Yeah but im perfect in my max. just wish my seats were more padded and not worn out.
Old May 5, 2003 | 05:19 PM
  #24  
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I'm 5'4...Maxima is a perfect fit!
Old May 9, 2003 | 05:54 AM
  #25  
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Here's pics of the new brackets at the back of the driver's seat rails. Compare these with your own.

Left Side This bracket was very simple. The original bracket raises this 2" so the new bracket I made just had to be straight. I used two pieces og angle iron (L-shaped) wleded together to form a U. then I ground down the vertical parts fo the U so that it still had the strength of the U-shape, but didn't interfere with the chair moving on the track. You can see where I kept 'tweaking'.

Right Side This was more complex because the original bracket was straight so I had to make one that lowered the track 2". Same basic constrauction as before, a very shallow U-shape. I extended one of the sides of the U shape right where the bolt hole needed to be.

Bolt Heads The heads of the bolt have to be VERY low profile so they don't interfere with the seat movement. I used a bolt with a rounded head, then a nut and spring washer on the other side. These have stayed solid now for 2 years. Any normal nut or boltehead on the top here would not allow the seat to move back all the way unless you use a grinder to grind it down.

Full With the seat moved all the way forward this is what is looks like. The bolthead show up waaay to much in this pic because of the flash - normally you don't see them. Plus, when the seat is all the way back in the track you cannot see the brackets anyways.
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