Has anyone removed the inside driver's door handle to provide more lateral leg room? If so, what more compact "handle" or grab-strap have you replaced it with?

(This is an S2K topic, isn't it?)

 

It's funny: there's actually an OEM piece for the Japanese version that reduces the leg space.

I don't really have any helpful suggestions, but the door panel looks pretty thoroughly integrated to me. I think it would be a major task to take the handle off.

 

Reduces

How, and why?

 

I can't answer the how, but here's my stab at the why: this is by NO means any kind of an insult, but... a lot of Asians seem to be, by comparison, shorter than Americans.
So... maybe that's it.

 

It's a brace for use in hard cornering. I'm not really sure why, to be honest.

 

uhmm..yah..i'm chinese and i'm hella short..well, not too bad compared to some i guess (5' 8") but compared to some of my caucasian brothers, they tower over me bigtime..<sigh>..

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Siper2:
[B]I can't answer the how, but here's my stab at the why:

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TimStevens:
[B]
Reduces

 

Sunchild mentioned that the handle looks well integrated into the door panel and might be dificult to remove. I'm hoping that it'll be just a matter of gently popping (or prying) off the two plastic caps (at either end of the handle) that presumably each cover a bolt that can be removed easily, and -- presto -- the handle will fall away, allowing me to re-use the bolts and at least one of the holes to re-attach a substitute, shallower handle or even a nylon strap or small loop with which I'd be able to pull the door closed.

I've done this in my three previous roadsters, all Miatas, and it's worked fine, though cosmetically it leaves something to be desired. In the '99 Miata, however, the two bolts accessible from the outside of the door panel were accompanied by five others that entered the handle from inside the door panel, necessitating removal of the entire panel in order to remove the handle. That car had no power windows, locks or mirrors, so the process was relatively simple. With the S2000, it'd be nice if it turns out to be just two bolts accessible from the outside the handle itself.

Looks like I'll have to wait to experiment on my own car when it eventually arrives.

 

You might be able to retrofit a black leather pull strap from a Porsche 911 RS America. Go to a dealer and see if they can order one for you. Black leather would sure look nicer than anything else.