
To set a baseline lap time, I need to take my 128i out to High Plains Raceway. But there’s one small hitch: before I can start turning laps, I need to fit comfortably in the car while wearing a helmet. Despite being a smaller car, the E82 is surprisingly "tall-guy friendly." However, my particular 128i is saddled with a pesky, headroom-stealing, weight-adding, center-of-gravity-raising moonroof. At 6'2", my longer torso means squeezing under the roof is a challenge—and every millimeter counts. That said, given my history of shoehorning myself into a variety of Miatas for both street and track use, this should be a comparative cakewalk.
To be fair, I can technically sit in the car with one of my thinner open-faced helmets, provided my manually adjusted sport seat is fully lowered. On a smooth road, it’s manageable. But when the road gets bumpy, the helmet lightly taps the headliner—a less-than-ideal situation for track driving. Let’s not get bogged down with what my neighbors might think, watching me cruise around in my little BMW wearing a helmet. Yet again, it was for science.
While the occasional “roof bump” is tolerable, any distraction on track is less than ideal. So, eliminating that issue was now on my list of things to get done before heading to the track.
Now, there are a few ways to solve this. The obvious approach would be swapping the stock seat for a lower aftermarket option mounted directly to the floor. Problem solved. But as much as I enjoy a good track build, I also appreciate the comfort of the stock sport seats for daily driving. Tossing them in favor of aftermarket Recaros feels premature at this stage. Eventually, that might be the route I take, but for now, I’m exploring simpler options to gain headroom without going aftermarket.
Having tackled similar challenges during my Miata days—including the infamous "foamectomy" surgery on stock seats, armed with nothing but a turkey carving knife—I’m no stranger to creative solutions. Inspecting the 128i’s seats more closely, I noticed something interesting: the seat rails don’t sit flush against the floor.

Removing the stock seats, I discovered welded-on tabs that seem specifically designed to raise the seat height—albeit just slightly.


Pay no attention to the crushed food crumbs and pet hair clinging to the bottom of the seat rails—an homage to the previous owners, no doubt. Or at least, that’s the story I’m sticking with. Either way, these tabs had to go. I started with a hammer and chisel, working to bend the tabs outward.

Next, I grabbed a pair of vice grips, thinking I could simply wiggle the tabs back and forth until they snapped off. That method probably would have worked eventually, but after a couple of minutes, my complete and utter lack of patience got the better of me and I turned to one of my all-time favorite tools: the angle grinder. Voilà—no more tabs.
Curious to see how much headroom I’d actually gained, I broke out my trusty digital calipers. The verdict? Those tabs were worth a grand total of about 2mm.

Yes, that’s right—I went through all this trouble for a grand total of 2mm of headroom. And after taking the car for another spin with my helmet on, I can confidently say I’d do it again! While the seat height didn’t feel noticeably different from behind the wheel, I quickly realized I wasn’t hitting my head against the roof nearly as often—or as hard. So, I’m calling that a win.
Even better, nothing else about the seats changed. They still mounted securely to the car and slid forward and backward without any hesitation or hiccups. Interestingly, I later noticed that the very similar seats in my F87 BMW M2 don’t have these seat-raising tabs at all. For reference, my 128i has manually operated seats—not power ones—so I can’t speak for their powered counterparts. But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why these tabs were there in the first place. I’m sure someone smarter than me could provide a scientific explanation that my simple brain can’t comprehend, but in my car, they’re gone. Good riddance.
Was this a huge, game-changing modification that every E82 owner needs to rush out and try? Absolutely not. But for 20 minutes of work and minimal effort, I’ve gained just enough helmet clearance to make track days a bit more comfortable. For those lucky enough to find a unicorn slicktop E82, I salute you and your good fortune. For the rest of us, if you’re looking for a small but meaningful boost in headroom, this mod might just be worth your time.
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