lephturn

I picked up my new XB last week and took her to the Yankees- Redsox game yesterday ( 400 mile trip) which is a whole diffrent story on how my SOX are blowin it big time. Any how after driving for approx 1/2 hr and moving around to get comfy ... I I see that my knee is hitting the shifter and sometimes the plastic on the dash.

I would like to do one of 2 things.

Either raise the shifter 3 or 4" so it clears my knees or find a way to move the rear seat back 4"

I would prefer being able to move the seat back a few inches.

Thanks

Jason Allen

Big_Kill

Hi Jason,

I'm 6'4" and have a manual Xb. While my knee has never hit the shifter, it did touch the side of the console on a regular basis, though it never bothered me. I did the "longer front seat bolt/add a few washers (about 8 in my case) mod to tilt the seat back a little, and as a side benefit, my knee doesn't hit the console anymore.

Do a search for seat mods or seat spacers or something (maybe in the interior section) and you'll find it.

Tim

GMANx17

Yeah Im 6'3 with a manual Im thinking about doing some seat modifications but nothing crazy since I don't hit too much with my knees.



P.S. Lets Go Mets!!!

sizzlinscion

maybe your sittin in the car wrong cause im 6'7" and i have no problems.

kevets

I haven't had any probs myself.. I'm 6'4" also but drive a manual xB. I have to have the darn steering wheel jacked all the way up all the time to be comfortable, but other than that I'm ok.

Generik420

6'4" here myself and so far no problems. I haven't gone on much longer drives then an hour and half yet though, so too early to say for sure. I agree that I need to have the wheel cranked all the way up to get in comfortably, but once I am seated, it is all good from there. Definitely interested in seeing the seat mods, I wouldn't mind a couple more inches if it isn't too tough to do.

evilBOXevil

Your knee is hitting the shifeter?! Yeah your tall, but I don't get the knee touching shifter thing... try not driving while being spreadeagle in the car. Damn, bro- close your legs.

Generik420

After reading this thread, I thought the same thing the next time I got in my box. I actually don't think I could naturally contort my legs in a way that would have my knees hitting the shifter. I guess I could think of a situation or two that would warrant being in that position, but probably not a good place to go into details ;)

Metro273

I know the problem...you are all too tall...
I'm 5'6" and I have noooooo problems...

PhillyCamoBox

lol

1anonymous1

Being 5'17" myself, I have had problems like this in several vehicles I've owned. One fix could be raising the seat 1/2" to 3/4". Another might be moving the drivers seat mounts back 1" to 2" by using fabricated brackets. I also have had 'personal problems' wtih a few shifters. In those cases I have either gotten a shifter from a similar vehicle (i.e. different years of Toyota truck) and bolted it in; or leaned on my favorite machinist to modify my old one. (Don't ask for a reciept.)
Now that I'm done trying to be serious...try driving like you have a skirt on and the neighbor's letch-of-a-14-year-old-kid is sitting between the pedals. I have no idea why you'd have knee interference in this car unless you were in second and cleaning a mustard drip from between your legs.

dugzilla

I had the same problem. I did the seat mod and installed longer bolts in the front with spacers. Worked great.

bigmase521

I'm new to posting on the boards (been reading for a bit) but I figured this was the right place to chime in. I'm 6'9'' 300+ and I just ordered a new '06 PW xB last week. I was surprised at how much leg room there was during the test drive, but I also wish the seat went back a few more inches myself. I test drove an Auto and my right knee is hitting the console and close to hitting the steering wheel.

I plan on doing to front seat mod as my first mod. Let us know how it works for you, and I'll do the same when I get my box. We also share the same name, which is funny

I'm considering getting the seat moved back a few inches if the cost isn't too high, but I'm still wondering about the legality/insurance issues. It may not be necessary after the seat mod, but I have a feeling that it will be.

Funny thing is, I fit better in the box than I have in just about any other car. This will be my first car purchase so it's a really big deal for me. Car shopping has made my life a living hell until I found the box. I loved them when I first saw them, but considering the lack of legroom in most SUV's (which I was previously in the market for) I assumed it'd be way too small inside... man was I wrong.

I can't wait til I get it!

lephturn

People of every shape and size make the world go round. I guess I will explain a bit further. Being 6'4" with a 30" inseam and 350 lbs makes me all upper body or should I say upper belly. I have had a few knee surgeries from H.S. and College football ( Go Rutgers) and find that short drives are very comfortable but the one long one I took killed my knee and I am afraid that the pressure my ham of a leg exerts on the shifter may cause undue stress on the shiftting mech. If the shifter handle or any one I can buy aftermarket was just a little bigger than the 12mm shifter it would not be a problem so I have possibly found a fix on raising the shift lever out of the area of discussion. I found a 12mm coupling at a store which has to order it that would allow for me to raise the lever how ever high I wish using this coupling and a bolt of what ever size i need to raise it. I will also try the washer method to tilt the seat backa bit.

lephturn

plus I ordered a new 8 ball shift **** 1 7/8 " small from www.flameball.com.

I thought it was a nice website from mild to wild round shift *****.

The guy who took my order was pretty helpfull.

hotbox05

hey folks i see a lot of you saying you are taller than the original poster and that he should have a problem but.... most people are equally proportioned torso and leg wise. others all torso and others all legs , i'm guessin this guy is mostly legs.

Dr_No

You can buy the OBX shifter from the dealer. It has various spacers than can raise the height of the shifter.

Gardiner

I had the same problem with my leg hitting the shifter when I had the automatic. My leg would even operate the OD button, I fix that by putting a plastic ring arond it.

I swapped out to a manual tranny in my new box and the shifter is no longer a problem.

All the people that say they are tall and no problem, what tranny do you have? I am 6'3" and 320 pounds and can say the shifter is a problem to me and I can also say the is not a problem to me.

Another good fix is getting cruise control installed.

kevets

Manual here... what's why I have no issues. I didn't even test drive the auto xB. So I'm not sure if it'd bug me or not.

Larry_Tird

Hmm, I'm 6'6'' and never had that problem. Sometimes my knees will hit the right edge of the center console but it all depends on how I'm sitting at the time. I usually dont sit with my butt all the way against the back. I scoot up about an inch and have the back of the seat tilted back slightly. I fit comfortably. It took me a couple of weeks to get comfortable though. I had to play around. I guess it all depends on the person.