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      12-19-2014, 06:22 PM   #1
mtrack
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Fitting with helmet in M4: headliner

Hi everyone, it has been a looong time since I have posted but, still look in quite often. I previously had and tracked both an e36 and e92 M3. Recently, I've been looking hard at the F80 and F82 Ms. I would consider the 4dr M3 but that extra 50lbs and slightly higher center of gravity has me leaning more toward the M4 coupe. Lower polar moment of inertia and all of that. Only thing is, the other day I sat in an M4 and found that my helmet contacts the raised edge of the roof liner which is right next to the upper door frame. I was surprised by this because the seating position is definitely lower than it was in my e92 M3. Both vehicles were sans sun roof of course.

I'm pretty tall but mostly in the legs. I'd say my torso is only average height maybe a little taller than most. Does anyone who tracks their M4 notice this issue? Would appreciate any f80 M3 owners that have comments as well. Thanks this forum has been a wonderful source of information over the years.
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      12-19-2014, 09:59 PM   #2
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I'm 6'4" and long wasted. I just barely fit in the M4, but am able to make it work. Seems I end up tilting my head just a tad towards the center of the car and the helmet is touching the roof. Some of my earlier track videos are taken from inside the M4.

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      12-20-2014, 08:41 AM   #3
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Thank you ManardZed, that's exactly the impression I was looking for. Pretty much how I figured it might be and that I would end up tilting my head a bit inboard. Wonder why they put that raised edge on the headliner like that given all the M performance schools? You'd think their instructors and DTM drivers would have given some input about that. I feel like I need to relax to go fast and the constant annoyance of the helmet contacting on the upper left isn't the greatest. It's not a deal killer though. It's not too bad. I think if you can make it work I probably can too. Thanks again for the great input.
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      12-20-2014, 09:27 AM   #4
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I'm not tall at 5-10 but all torso. I wear a Stilo helmet with a top air tube hookup that adds about an 1" of height, it hits the roof in most 997's, but it clears my F80 M3. Clearance is about the same as my previous E90 M3.
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      12-20-2014, 09:49 AM   #5
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Over 6 ft here and no problems in m3. I have about 5-6 inches of headroom no helmet. 2 ish with helmet just tried for fun. Gotta be careful getting out tho.
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      12-23-2014, 12:19 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtrack View Post
Hi everyone, it has been a looong time since I have posted but, still look in quite often. I previously had and tracked both an e36 and e92 M3. Recently, I've been looking hard at the F80 and F82 Ms. I would consider the 4dr M3 but that extra 50lbs and slightly higher center of gravity has me leaning more toward the M4 coupe. Lower polar moment of inertia and all of that. Only thing is, the other day I sat in an M4 and found that my helmet contacts the raised edge of the roof liner which is right next to the upper door frame. I was surprised by this because the seating position is definitely lower than it was in my e92 M3. Both vehicles were sans sun roof of course.

I'm pretty tall but mostly in the legs. I'd say my torso is only average height maybe a little taller than most. Does anyone who tracks their M4 notice this issue? Would appreciate any f80 M3 owners that have comments as well. Thanks this forum has been a wonderful source of information over the years.
This is the first thing I checked when sitting down in the F80. I can fit "ok" into my E90 M3 (no sunroof) with a helmet on whereas in my other E90 with a sunroof its a no-go without creating a new seating position (leaning the seat back further and moving base forward -- awful), same as my E39 with its stupid sunroof.

In the F80 I felt the edge you are referring to and assumed if I had my helmet on it would contact there too. That was surprising to me since I felt the F80 would have more headroom than my E90 (both without sunroofs), but perhaps that "headroom" measurement is made straight up from the seat and doesn't account for the intrusion of that raised (lowered) edge along the side.

Fast forward to today when I have a loaner F30...even though it has a sunroof, it also has that edge protrusion you are referring to. It feels as if there isn't much underneath it though such that it is just a "styling feature" of the headliner tray? You might be able to "artistically modify", i.e. dent, a small area to make clearance for your helmet.
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