re: "I improved the under-thigh support of the A3 Sport seats by adding 3/4" spacers under the front seat rail bolts."

I used that trick for the 1-piece racing seats in my e36. You can get nylon spacers at Lowes or HoDepo that work really well.

BTW, how do you like your Koni FSDs?

 

Here are photos of the seat rail spacersI described earlier:

http://www.pbase.com/dmfrost/image/95385538(side view)
http://www.pbase.com/dmfrost/image/95385522(end view)

I forgot to check the longer replacement bolt size, but pretty sure they are 10mm x 50mm (=2" long). I know that the ones I used take an 8mm allen head bit. Do NOT attempt to add these risers with the original bolt. It will have insufficient thread engagement with the nut under the floor, and be much weaker as a result.

The aluminum plates are 1.5" wide x 2" long x 1/8" thick, made from aluminum strip stock purchased at Home Depot. There's a hole in the middle for the bolt, and the plate for right side (inner) rail needed a notch filed on one end to clear the bent metal tab I mentioned in an earlier post to this thread.

 

panzrwagn,

What has been the attitude of tech inspectors regarding the seat rail spacers? I'm interested to know what others think about the safety implications.

Re FSDs: I'm very happy with the improvements from the FSDs. I'm using them with OEM Sport springs since I wasn't interested in lowering the car. The ride is noticeably better, especially over sharp bumps - not as "jiggly", but still a sport-orientedride. On 'rolling bumps' (not sharp impacts) the fronts occasionally feel a little under-damped in rebound, but it's a pretty rare occurrence.

As far as stiffening under cornering and braking loads, they seem excellent (as good if not better then the OEM Sport shocks), butI honestlyhaven't pushed too hard, at least not while the winter tires are still mounted.I don't sense any abrupt transition point between the high frequency soft ride and the low frequency stiffening. So I'd say that these shocks are just as advertised IMHO - a no compromise shock. The whole car certainly left my wife and me feeling quite confident and comfortable when driving 2000 miles with lots of twisties across the Canadian Rockies last month.

You mentioned an outfit in Redmond, WA elsewhere in this thread. If you are in the Seattle area, send me a PM to consider getting together so you can judge the FSDs for yourself.