Tall Drivers / Long Legs / Extra Seat Tilt - Free Extra Leg Room, Some Dis-Assembly Required

[Pinrut]

Threw out the back again. Needed to recline more, but the stupid aluminum brace going across the trunk opening wouldn't allow it.

Guess what? It's most likely not a brace at all. It's probably only Cosmetic and is easily removed.

tl:dr: Remove aluminum cross bar piece, gain 2 inches of backwards movement on seat and about at least 1 extra inch of tilt back. Or 3 inches of tilt back and 0 inches of leg room, etc etc.

For reference I am 6'2", with a 34" inseam, 34" waist, and about 205 lbs.

Disclaimer: use at your own risk. I am not a Toyota engineer and am only making assumptions about the removal of this part and whether it will affect the structural stability or any other functionality of this vehicle. Use your own judgement.

TRIM-1 by , on Flickr

The piece in question is shown in the Microfiche as a "trim" piece.

I thought it might be structural, but then I noticed the odd shape and no place to put a couple bolts. It would generally need 2-3 bolts if it were a structural member (think strut tower braces)

TRIM-2 by , on Flickr

https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota....-engine/body-cat/interior-trim-rear-body-scat

Decided to pop off the seat belt cover trim pieces and lo and behold, it's only held in with a single bolt on each side. Not only that but the bolt goes into a plastic grommet designed to allow it to slide around inside as the body of the car flexes. All this points to it being a non-structural member:

IMG_20200903_114903 by , on Flickr

The plastic grommet to allow the bar to slide back and forth as the chassis flexes around it...

IMG_20200903_115419 by , on Flickr

The bolt has a washer on it as well to allow the bar to slide back and forth:

IMG_20200903_115428 by , on Flickr

It was pretty easy to pry off the trim pieces, just start under/near the seat belt hole and pry up and inwards working your way back towards the bar. At some point the whole trim piece and the attached one for the C pillar will pop out:

IMG_20200903_114851 by , on Flickr

IMG_20200903_114844 by , on Flickr

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[Pinrut]

Ah, finally a Toyota branded part in the car:

IMG_20200903_115450 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr


A single Torx T-50 driver (with a universal joint and extension if you want to get fancy) on either side is all it takes, and I'd say it wasn't torqued to more than 10-15 ft-lbs. Came loose much more easily than I expected:

IMG_20200903_115157 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr


Repeat the process on the other side:

IMG_20200903_115136 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr


Pop the bar out:

IMG_20200903_115751 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr


And we're left with a flimsy looking bracket that was used to support it. I really hope no one hooks up a seat belt harness to this thing. It looks like it isn't designed to really take much load at all!

IMG_20200903_115540 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/

IMG_20200903_115608 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/



Also some sort of electronic module visible from here:

IMG_20200903_115534 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr

 

[Pinrut]

Popped the trim pieces back in (including the little hoop that goes around the bar to keep the other two parts from rattling against each other):

IMG_20200903_120214 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr

IMG_20200903_120201 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr



The bar in question: thin walled extruded aluminum tube:

trim-3 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr



New maximum recline / rear position of seat. But maybe that black plastic trim piece is removable as well...?? Maybe next time....

IMG_20200903_120525 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr



For reference: Old maximum seat position with seat all the way back and fully tilted against the bar (bar removed in this photo):

IMG_20200903_120424 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr


Somehow there's a lot more leg room that is accessible as well, more than it looks from the picture above.


You can get right up against the chassis tub now:

IMG_20200903_120550 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/190043662@N04/, on Flickr

 

[nibble]

Good article!

I also heard Cusco bar replacement bar lets you lean further.

 

[Pinrut]

Good article!

I also heard Cusco bar replacement bar lets you lean further.

Hmmm maybe the brackets are strong enough for a harness bar after all...

https://www.darksidemotoring.com/pr...k-harness-bar-2020-toyota-supra-a90-2-0t-3-0t

Although it's almost like Toyota put this here so that the aftermarket could add a harness bar easily... I guess considering the design intent behind the car it might be what it's for...

 

[nibble]

wow I would be worried about using this as a harness bar...

https://www.darksidemotoring.com/pr...k-harness-bar-2020-toyota-supra-a90-2-0t-3-0t

The brackets on the car that hold this bar are very flimsy.....

yep! I thought about putting 5 pt harness initially but ditched it as it wasn't strong enough it seems..

 

[Ultimateone]

I'm almost your same height and don't need to move the seat back as far, wild.

 

[Pinrut]

I'm almost your same height and don't need to move the seat back as far, wild.

Yeah I guess I have long legs is the problem and I like them to be stretched out for better control on the pedals. Think formula car style where your knees are only slightly bent.

But that puts the seat back in a nearly bolt upright position, where every bump hurts when you have back problems.

At least now I can tilt it back a bit more to unload the discs in my spine

 

[Supra Werty]

I want to remove this bar to get rid of the squeaking it makes. Thanks for the write up!!

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