Recaro Profischale, 1998, and a kettle

[Dammit]

Morning everyone, I have a question- it’s not really technical so please forgive me if it is in the wrong place.

I have a very early 996- from mid 1998.

I am somewhat taller than average and I have fitted the Porsche/Momo wheel in order to get the reach I am comfortable with. This has had the knock on effect of hiding the tops of the clocks, as this wheel is smaller than the stock 3 spoke airbag wheel.

I am thinking of replacing my hard-back sports seat with a fixed back bucket to get me lower in the car.

To keep it period/OEM correct might indicate use of one of the Cobra-headed Recaros from the 996.1 GT3.

However- that’s a later car than mine. I’m wondering whether that would have been available to order in early 1998, or whether the OPC would have had to reach for the 993 seat catalogue.

Which brings me to my next question- was the Recaro Profischale with the complex support webbing still in production in early 1998? Or would it have been a different version by then?

[smallspeed]

If it’s mostly a road car you might be better with the pole position recaro seats as they’re a bit wider and a bit more forgiving shape wise than the profi shells. They were standard fitment in quite a few cars around that period and don’t look badly out of place (fairly plain black seats)

[Dammit]

That’s certainly the easier answer- and I could get the ABE version which allows full use of a three point belt.

However, I quite like the ribbed shell of the Profi- however I won’t use it if it couldn’t have been ordered at the time.

[911hillclimber]

As a thought:
You can get an adaptor ring that goes between the back of the wheel and the steering column. This ring has two sets of holes that allow the wheel to be eccentric to the steering column, thus the top of the wheel will be 10mm higher than it is today.
Is that enough to give you line of sight?

[Dammit]

I have ordered one of those, I need to adjust my eyeline by approx 30mm though so that on its own, whilst helpful, won’t achieve what I am after.

The trimmer is modifying the existing seat cushion, but Porsche only reduced that by 10mm in the “XSU- tall driver” option. Maybe the trimmer can get 20mm out of the seat?

It’s an unknown, so I am considering what other options might be available.

[smallspeed]

That’s certainly the easier answer- and I could get the ABE version which allows full use of a three point belt.

However, I quite like the ribbed shell of the Profi- however I won’t use it if it couldn’t have been ordered at the time.

The ribbed profis have been available for a long time it’s the number and style of ribs that changed - the original spider back ones were used in things like F40LM and 964RS, the more recent ones have 5 ribs and are less intricate. The SPA / carbon versions have smooth shells either plain or painted iirc

[Dammit]

This is the one I was looking at:



And the link to it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/recaro-profi ... 1438.l2649

It's in what I'd characterise as "poor" condition, and the shell-sticker dates it to 1989, so it's 9 years too old for the car, but if they were still in production in 1998 then I'm ok with that aspect.

The condition doesn't bother me over-much as I'd get the shell painted body-colour and the seat re-trimmed in leather.

Unless there's a ready source of newer ones of these that I've missed?

[Dammit]

But had the design changed to this one by the time of the final 993/first 996?

[Dammit]

= I've been staring at seats all day and I'm now going round in circles.

It's possible that the 9 rib seats are "RS" and the 5 rib seats are "Speedster".

Neither of them are a match for the currently available SPG:



But, they're available to buy new, today. Gah.

[911hillclimber]

My 911 is a 73T, and I needed to sit as low as possible in the shell for the hill climb use of the car, but also to drive it on the road.

I have an FIA Sparco racing seat and with home made adaptors the seat bolts into the car a full 2" + lower, but no fore-aft adjustment. The seat runners add a lot of seat height.
My aim was to get the 14" wheel out of my lap so I could 'ape-hang' my hands off the wheel. The top of the tacho is still out of sight so contemplating one of those off-set adaptors myself.

I am not tall, maybe 5-10, but have to sit IN a car and not on it, hence the push to get as low as possible.

[Dammit]

This is the problem:

[smallspeed]

So the "RS" ones are very desirable - I'm surprised the guy who brought my two hasn't snapped that one up.. He paid well over the odds for one of mine (vs. a later version) and then brought me a new profi pro racer hans spa to swap for the other. He restores them and then sells them for stupid money (2-3k) for 964RS's, F40LM's, etc., which used these seats in period

Your "time line" is correct in that the next one down would have been more 993 era, and the current style (yellow one) would have been more 996/997 however I think porsche started using different seats then similar to the "cobra" shaped ones (996) and the really funky 997 seats. There are also completely smooth shell profi's, but I think these are just the SPA (Carbon/Kevlar mix or Carbon) versions

While I get you're trying to put something period correct into the car, I'd sit in a profi first if you haven't already - they're quite narrow.. Im chunky (but barrel shaped) and fit in them (just) but my mother in law who's a size 8 stick (but apparently with child bearing hips) had to be levered out of them!.. Its worth knowing if you will actually be able to fit in and not need a hospital visit afterwards! I think this is why most people go with the pole-position for road/sport cars of that era (BMW M3 CSL for example) because they're not only a bit wider, but they also have a less aggressive shape - they're a bit lower at the sides and less rounded across the shoulders too..

If you do fit in then I think the 5-rib seat (yellow) would be about period-correct for your car, as would the pole position (although they were probably never used in the 996's) both of which come up for sale fairly regularly.. worth keeping an eye on ebay, driftworks (classified section of the forum) and also racecarsdirect

[Dammit]

I'm 6'2", 13 stone, and the most recent pair of trousers I purchased had a 32" waist.

Doing some seat testing would be a good idea, I'll see what I can arrange.

The yellow seats are still in production - you can buy them from FVD today.

The white ones would need to be purchased as reproductions, as originals are £much.

The critical question (to someone with my particular disorder) is what would have been available to order in late '97 (my cars production date is the 2nd of June 1998).

If the white seats had gone out of production by then and the yellow ones become available then things become, in some ways, more straightforward.

[911hillclimber]

I am much the same 'spec' as you just 4" shorter and I needed to drop the seat as much as I could to be comfortable for road and hillclimb. There is a lot of steering wheel turning in a hill climb so the leverage afforded by a good seat position was key.
I think your current position will need to be 2" lower even with the adaptor. At least you will get great helmet clearance.

I think personally comfort is primary importance over appearance and when I found my race seat was so good I had it re-covered to remove the racey black/blue/'Sparco' name to simple black.
I ordered my eccentric adaptor today, your quest finally pushed me to do this after indecision for years.
£20 off ebay, used.

[smallspeed]

I'm 6'2", 13 stone

you'll probably be good
i'm 5'11" and 16 stone so on the face of it wouldn't fit in anything, I just think my shape works - i'm as deep as I am wide!
If you do end up wanting the newer ones (5 rib) then capital seating sell them too, along with a few of the other usual suspects