Sunroof Question

[Tommm]

Didn't realize there would be this much discussion on the seat.

I dont know if it was PCA instructor training or a Ross Bentley lecture the local BMW chapter hosted. Seatback should be upright, with hands at 9 and 3, elbow should be close to 90 degrees.

One of the chief driving instructors told us to have our students do this exercise:
Sit with seat back and arms out like a gangster, and turn the wheel. Note how your shoulder moves. That means you are not able to focus on the road.
Sit with arms at 90 degrees and turn the wheel. Note how your shoulders, which means head doesnt move. This means you can keep your eyes on the road.

Next is to get the legs in closer, this is where the telescoping wheel comes in handy. Try to brace your knee on the dash. This will lock you in during turns, and is very helpful at autocross, and very painful in daily driving.

Then there is the A pillar. Don't get so carried away with this that the A pillar is blocking your view of the cone that will be on your left as you execute at speed a left turn.

 

[SameGuy]

I dont know if it was PCA instructor training or a Ross Bentley lecture the local BMW chapter hosted. Seatback should be upright, with hands at 9 and 3, elbow should be close to 90 degrees.

Exactly. That’s why I don’t get it. If one’s arms are bent at 9 & 3, it shouldn’t be difficult to reach the mirror. Maybe I have long fingers?

 

[fishbert]

Y'all keep talking about 9 & 3; I'm gonna keep on living my 10 & 2 life.

 

[SameGuy]

Oh hell yeah, I’m not a “9-&-3-only” dictator; we are just discussing proper seat position and posture for the most control.

 

[teslarati97]

12 o'clock for one handed driving. The other hand is to figure out if I have to push the gear selector forward to move forward. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Jim In Tucson]

I find the SE steering wheel very awkward to gripe in the 9 & 3 positions. The wheel seems specifically designed for 10 & 2, as there is a cross support at 9 & 3 making griping the wheel nearly impossible. How are you 9 & 3 guys making it happen? Yoke conversion?


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[fishbert]

I find the SE steering wheel very awkward to gripe in the 9 & 3 positions. The wheel seems specifically designed for 10 & 2, as there is a cross support at 9 & 3 making griping the wheel nearly impossible. How are you 9 & 3 guys making it happen? Yoke conversion?


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With the new interior design, the buttons on the wheel seemed real easy to push accidentally with the meat of your hand in a 9 & 3 grip.

Somewhat related: on the SE that I rented to test drive, I kept turning off the LIM function when trying to press 'up'. I think the whole button cluster is pushed out a little relative to what's on my 2015 wheel.

 

[Tommm]

Exactly. That’s why I don’t get it. If one’s arms are bent at 9 & 3, it shouldn’t be difficult to reach the mirror. Maybe I have long fingers?

It isn't difficult, it is ergonomically deficient. The homelink on the 2000 325ci my daughter used was where our dome light switch is. Perfect, don't have to lean. Same on my Cayman. The homelink on our Volvos is on the sunvisor. Right there.

My 128i has the homelink on the bottom of the mirror like the Mini. I bought the mirror off ebay, so I am not sure what BMW it is from. The buttons are closer to the front.

All are just plain easier to use.

The radio buttons on my cousin's X19 were where the glove compartment on a normal car is. He reached them. But, it was easier to reach the radio buttons on my Celica.

 

[Tommm]

I find the SE steering wheel very awkward to gripe in the 9 & 3 positions. The wheel seems specifically designed for 10 & 2, as there is a cross support at 9 & 3 making griping the wheel nearly impossible. How are you 9 & 3 guys making it happen? Yoke conversion?


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10 and 2 was replaced by 9 and three, and 12 was removed from our vocabulary because of airbags.

At the Tire Rack Street Survival classes I helped at we detonated an airbag. We put an unopened bottle of water on it one time. The bottle was launched with such force that a few guys with engineering backgrounds were analyzing how it was crushed.

Every time I see some dingbat with their feet on the dash I want to yell at them, and ask if they realize that airbag will basically snap their legs at the hip, and their knees will hit their face with tremendous force. But who wants to be lectured by some crazy old guy when they know better.

 

[Puppethead]

It isn't difficult, it is ergonomically deficient. The homelink on the 2000 325ci my daughter used was where our dome light switch is.

Technically true for the MINI as well, since the dome switches are right above the mirror . So yes, just as difficult to reach.

 

[Jim In Tucson]

Every time I see some dingbat with their feet on the dash I want to yell at them, and ask if they realize that airbag will basically snap their legs at the hip, and their knees will hit their face with tremendous force. But who wants to be lectured by some crazy old guy when they know better.

This is my wife. She insists that putting her feet on the dash is legitimate. I do refrain from calling her a dingbat, but if the shoe fits…


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[Tommm]

Technically true for the MINI as well, since the dome switches are right above the mirror . So yes, just as difficult to reach.

I had to test this. The dome light switches and the button for the emergency services are a good 4" closer than the buttons for the garage door. My shoulder doesnt leave the seatback when I reach for the dome light switch. It does when I reach for the mirror.

This is my wife. She insists that putting her feet on the dash is legitimate. I do refrain from calling her a dingbat, but if the shoe fits…
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Start at about 57 seconds. Show this to her. This is the first one I clicked on. There are plenty more out there.

I have called myself worse than a dingbat when my commute was 52 miles each way the few times I chewed on a toothpick while driving.

 

[insightman]

Start at about 57 seconds. Show this to her. This is the first one I clicked on. There are plenty more out there.

This video came up first, so I'm guessing it is the feet-on-dash horror story to which you were referring.

 

[Tommm]

This video came up first, so I'm guessing it is the feet-on-dash horror story to which you were referring.

No, the one I pulled ejected someone from a couch. Yours is more focused. Either way, feet on the dash is a knucklehead move.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Do all y’all drive with the seat so far back that your arms are rigid straight at 9 & 3 o’clock?? Or worse, like my dad, with the (bench) seat all the way back and just barely able to reach the bottom of the wheel in his Gran Fury Custom?

Everyone’s proportions are slightly different. I must have long legs for my height. When I position the seat for my feet to rest comfortably on the pedals, I cannot reach the wheel easily. Hence the telescoping feature. The wheel is adjustable, the pedals are not. Since I sit back, I cannot reach the mirror without leaning forward.

The home link button is not the issue for me per se. I only hit that as I’m leaving/returning, and 99% of the time I am in my driveway. The issue I always have is adjusting the mirror itself. I have to lean forward to adjust it, meaning I don’t have the same view as when driving. It sometimes takes a couple of iterations to get it right. My wife and I share cars freely so we both have to adjust the mirrors regularly.


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