Alrighty...I've about reached my breaking point with the driver's side door panel. Being 6'5", I take up quite a bit of space behind the steering wheel and I can't move my left leg much cuz of the armrest getting in the way. I do love the car but this door panel thing is pi$$ing me off to the point either the car is gonna go before it's paid off (though I'd really like to keep her 3-4 more years) or I gotta figure out some kind of custom door panel arrangment so I can fit my damn leg without it hurting after 10 minutes. I think I'm crafty enough and have enough experience working on interiors that I might try to mod the door panel, well, a spare door panel anyway...it'd be cheaper than dumping a car that I otherwise like a lot. I'm just sick of not being able to move my leg around at all cuz of the stupid armrest intruding too much. Joined a hotrodder forum to try and draw on their custom interior expertise and I'll be going thru my auto interior books again with a fine tooth comb. Guess I have a new winter project on my hands.

 

I'm 6'4 and the max has plenty of room. BTW I'm 170 lbs.

 

take the entire door off !

 

 

I'm almost at that point. Part of it is shoe related I've discovered. All of my work shoes have thick soles but I noticed the problem isn't as bad when I have sandals on. After thinking for a couple weeks now, I'll probably get a spare door panel to mod with the end goal being to increase the radius of the edge where the armrest bends into the side of the armrest. Design details need to be worked out--IE, do I raise the power window/lock controls to be inline with the top plane of the armrest or keep them where they are? I'll need to fiberglass the new radius, cover with closed cell foam and then recover the armrest using some of my leftover leather. I'll try to use the factory indentation that divides the the top and bottom (armrest top from the trunk popper bottom) as my divider where the bottom will remain stock vinyl but the top will be leather with a french seam...kinda like a 2nd gen Lexus LS400. I had already decided a few months ago on redoing the cloth section of the door with leather so perhaps in the end it'll look pretty attractive. Perhaps. Most of my problem occurs when I prop my knee up to the door with my foot on the floor resting directly below the steering wheel...that's what's comfortable for me when I drive and I'll mod the door panel before I change how I drive.

 

This is a little off topic, but related to your concern. I have a '96 I-30t. To me it feels like it has a lot of room. Good interior space and good visibility. That was one of the reasons I bought an I-30 instead of a Lexus E300. I have considered trading up to a newer model I-35, or a G35, but the new models are "puffier" inside, and feel like they have much less room.

Good luck with your mod, though I also liked the idea of switching out the driver's seat.