Seats too narrow :(

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

Also this car's got piss poor lumbar support, which is especially evident if you have a bad back or if you did deadlifts at the gym the day prior lol.

I guess Toyota/Subaru or whoever was responsible for the seat design must have used my body shape for their reference design on these seats then.

I've driven it for as much as 12 hours straight with only stops for fuel and always found it comfortable.

[DustyRags]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

Also this car's got piss poor lumbar support, which is especially evident if you have a bad back or if you did deadlifts at the gym the day prior lol.

I would honestly start with some generic pads. I saw on the FT86Speedfactory website some STI cushions for the lower back.

Thanks, man! I'm also pretty good with solving back issues (yep, deadlifts), but this one's got me stumped. None of the pads you linked would work- for me, it's about the shoulders being pushed forward by the wings on the seat. If I got a pad the size and shape as the middle portion of the back rest that basically raised it (made the wings "shallower" by comparison) that would work, but lower back isn't the issue for me. :/

Originally Posted by Leonardo

I have taken the seat totally apart. There really is not much padding over a metal frame. And especially, with the side airbag it has, I WOULD NOT try and modify it. Get a seat that is the right size, or at least de-activate the airbag. No telling what it would do after you bend the seat frame. Just my $0.02

That's good to know, and what I was afraid of. Thanks. I'll take it to a custom upholstery shop on Friday to see what they have to say.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

I guess Toyota/Subaru or whoever was responsible for the seat design must have used my body shape for their reference design on these seats then.

I've driven it for as much as 12 hours straight with only stops for fuel and always found it comfortable.

Probably haha. I found it uncomfortable after an hour, and I've never driven it for longer than that. But the issue is my lumbar and upper back areas not pressing against the seat. Also not sure if I'm supposed to touch the headrest, but I have to tilt my head back fairly far until I reach it. Tried adjusting it every which way, even the position of the steering wheel. I'm stumped. I'm 6'0"-6'1" and 205 lb for reference

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

Probably haha. I found it uncomfortable after an hour, and I've never driven it for longer than that. But the issue is my lumbar and upper back areas not pressing against the seat. Also not sure if I'm supposed to touch the headrest, but I have to tilt my head back fairly far until I reach it. Tried adjusting it every which way, even the position of the steering wheel. I'm stumped. I'm 6'0"-6'1" and 205 lb for reference

Yea, I'm 5' 7" and my weight varies between 175 and 220 depending on the year....

Have you tried turning the headrest around?

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Yea, I'm 5' 7" and my weight varies between 175 and 220 depending on the year....

Have you tried turning the headrest around?

Neat idea, I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

[churchx]

I have similar height but more weight, yet find seat very comfortable (except of minimal height and thus headroom if wearing helmet). Probably due narrower shoulders. I guess it really is body shape dependent, and as with any sport(-ish) seat there are compromises to be made. Of course, adding width/side support adjustment to seat would have made it more universal fitment wise, but also would add costs, and twins since the beginning were designed to be targeted/budget sport coupes, not luxury coupes where it's reasonable to demand extra options/comfort/adjustability for the high price they cost. Another option manufacturer could have chosen were seats with almost no sidesupports, but i'm sure that many if not majority would dislike that option even more. Decisions, decisions.
I'm still thinking that one proper fitment aftermarket seat, that you carefully choose, check fitment in shop, for nonstandard body built might be best comfort wise. Of course, not most budget friendly, which should be those pillows (BTW, do recheck those three @StraightOuttaCanadaEh linked in. One of those was for neck support, but will other two "lumbar support" that are for lower half of back won't work too? They seem to go exactly where side supports are deepest. Hmm, but then again you complained about shoulders, then maybe 1st, for neck .. or both .. ah, who knows ).

[funwheeldrive]

Originally Posted by DustyRags

I'm pretty bummed right now. I've been absolutely agog over the twins since I first read about them a couple of years ago. I finally got my greedy little mitts on one about 3 weeks ago.

First: damn. Hands down the most fun car I've ever driven. Granted, that may not be saying a hell of a lot, but I daylied a Miata for a year and a half and put 20,000 miles on motorcycles. I know fun. This is fun.

Second: the seats don't work for me. At all. Getting in, they're OK. It feels like I just need to adjust myself a bit, and we'll be good. But then... I never manage to adjust right. After half an hour, they're remarkably uncomfortable, and after an hour, they're flat-out painful.

Basically, my shoulders are too wide. I'm 6' and 230 lbs, with wide shoulders. When I sit in the seat with my shoulders in a neutral position, my back is about an inch off the seat. When I push my seat back, it forces my shoulders into a hunch. I'm not new to cars not fitting me (Jeep Cherokee: my head brushed the ceiling. Miata: seat all the way back wasn't quite far enough for long trips. Civic: Had to adjust the seat *just so* and get my head positioned in the sunroof), but this is the first time a seat has been too narrow.

So here's my options, as I see them:

1) Live with it. Not really an option, it's my only vehicle and needs to be comfortable for multi-hour drives, which isn't absolutely not right now.

2) Get some sort of seat pad that increases the flat middle portion of the seat back an inch or so. This'll have to be a custom piece.

3) Have the seats re-shaped. I'm not thrilled about this idea, since it's likely to be expensive and ruins resale value.

4) Aftermarket seats or a seat swap. I'm not thrilled about this either- expensive, work-intensive, and I'll lose the airbags. In the Bay Area, air bags are a good idea.

5) Heave a deep sigh, and sell it off. I got a decent deal on it, I'm sure I can recoup my money on it. For comparison, I *loved* the tC seats when I test drove those. Yes, I know- not proper sport seats. I don't care, 90% of what I do is commute, AND I come from a Miata seat that has basically no bolster.

Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.

Option 6) Lose some weight.

[churchx]

Will (6) saw off extra shoulder width?

[DustyRags]

Heh, yeah, losing weight wouldn't hurt, but it's really a skeletal thing- I think that's why some folks who are my height but heavier, or my weight but shorter, have no issues.

I drove in to work today (40 minutes), and played with seat position. It's hitting me two places:

1) The backs of the shoulders. Basically, my shoulders are a touch wider than the wings, so it's hitting the top outer edge of my shoulder blade, right behind the joint, and pushing that forward.

2) In the rib cage, a couple of inches below the bottom of the shoulder blade.

If I sit slightly sideways, I can make one spot at a time fit comfortably- if I slide an inch right, my left ribs are comfortable, and if I slide two inches right, my left shoulder is good. Other side, ditto.

I poked around the seat a bit, and it's definitely metal that's biting me in the ribs. I might be able to solve that by losing 20 lbs, but not the shoulders. It was pretty painful by the time I got to work, and even on short drives my experience is mostly about the uncomfortable seat rather than the driving fun.

Originally Posted by churchx

<snip>... as with any sport(-ish) seat there are compromises to be made. Of course, adding width/side support adjustment to seat would have made it more universal fitment wise, but also would add costs, and twins since the beginning were designed to be targeted/budget sport coupes, not luxury coupes where it's reasonable to demand extra options/comfort/adjustability for the high price they cost. Another option manufacturer could have chosen were seats with almost no sidesupports, but i'm sure that many if not majority would dislike that option even more. Decisions, decisions.
<snip>.

Yeah, it's always a compromise. This car went full-bore for sports car, which I adore and absolutely respect. The last thing the world needs is another sport(y) car that really isn't. Eh, but then maybe that's what *I* need, and I just need to admit it to myself. 90% of the driving I do is around downtown Oakland and San Francisco- under 25 mph, where the FR-S is a nightmare anyhow.

Clearly, the answer is a bigger garage and a better paying job!

[fx1mark]

how about a seat pad and cut the bottom part off to push you forward out of the shoulder bolsters.

[Poodles]

No idea where the thread is, can't find it right now, but years ago someone had this exact issue. The metal support inside the seat for the "wings" over the shoulders is very thin. He took the cover off and easily bent them, saying that you wouldn't even have to remove the cover to do it.

Give it a shot.

[j3rf]

Wasn't there a guy on here who had the same problem? He took off the seat cover and bent the shoulder frame pieces enough to better accommodate his frame.

EDIT: Found the thread. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51542

[DustyRags]

Originally Posted by Poodles

No idea where the thread is, can't find it right now, but years ago someone had this exact issue. The metal support inside the seat for the "wings" over the shoulders is very thin. He took the cover off and easily bent them, saying that you wouldn't even have to remove the cover to do it.

Give it a shot.

Originally Posted by j3rf

Wasn't there a guy on here who had the same problem? He took off the seat cover and bent the shoulder frame pieces enough to better accommodate his frame.

EDIT: Found the thread. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51542

YES! This might be just the ticket! It doesn't address the lower portion (in the ribs), but might work for that too. @Leonardo, you've taken the seat apart- is the lower portion something that can be widened as well?

[Kendal0]

I’m 6’2” and 250 with wide shoulders and had the same issue. Simply sit in the back seat behind the drivers seat, brace the seat back with you knees and grasp the shoulder wings with you hands. Pull back towards you firmly a couple times. They will bend out a bit.

Move to drivers set and check fit, then adjust again a couple times. I did this two days in a row after my 30 minute drive home from work the first week I had the car. Fit perfectly now.

I did a 3800 mile 6 day drive with zero pain and was quite comfortable the entire time.


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