Is my pain normal?
 

I drive in the 9 and 3 position, arms with a slight bend. Like every other LHD car owner, my primary arm is my left. Is it abnormal that my left elbow is in a decent amount of pain? I drove from Daytona to Tampa and back last weekend and I also just got back into Daytona a few hours ago.

It's a 2.5hr trip each way, but I probably managed to do both trips in about 8hr.

Not normal. I don't have any pain, and the longest stint I've driven mine was 17hrs straight. My right knee, hip, and lower back hurt, but not my elbow.

Maybe adjust your seating position? Stretch more?

Keep adjusting your steering wheel and seat position.

Seat position like everyone else says, Im ambidextrous and suffer on both arms if im too close mainly in my wrist.

This.

Positioning is a primary concern. Change up your seat and wheel positions to find one that works for you.

I find it less stressful to lean back into the seat and push with the outside arm and a light grip.
You can use the seat bolster to support the motion easier than pulling with the inside arm.

Gripping the wheel tightly uses a lot of calories and will wear you out faster.

I use the 10 and 2 mostly. they've even put egonomic prosthesies(?) there for that purpose.

"Primary" arm? Both hands should be on the wheel 90% of the time!

With your shoulders firmly supported by the seat (i.e., no ridiculous strain-inducing excessive seatback lean angle), your arms should be bent quite a bit, approaching 90 degrees (not "slightly bent"), with both hands on the wheel at 9 and 3. Should be able to easily turn the wheel 90degrees and still have some bend angle in both elbows, without your shoulders coming off the seatback.

Nothing more ridiculous than to see people with a ton of seatback lean, but having to strain their backs to keep their hands on the wheel. This is a LOT less relaxing and more stress-inducing, and of course if evasive action has to be taken they are in NO kind of position to maintain control of the car.

^^^^^ What he said ^^^^^

When I go back to the gangster lean position, it's fatiguing. For long car trips, I lean back one click. I'm 6' and my seat has a little room to slide back more.

this car makes my right hand sweaty. I have a bad disc and the seats definitely don't help.

The only pain I have while driving is from my cheeks, due to smiling too much.

I rest my left elbow on the door. If you can't do that, I suggest you slide closer to the wheel.

If you're like me, you're going to need to dedicate some time to really finding that perfect driving position. The worst thing you can do here is settle. The second mistake you can make is not taking advantage of all the adjustable features in your car (seat, steering wheel, mirrors) and set them according to things you can't adjust (pedals/shifter).

I am very comfortable in my car and it's because I found my perfect seating position and I won't move it for anything. If I can offer you one good tip; Set your driving position up with your back fully against the seat. You should be comfortable driving with your head against the head rest. This isn't going to work for everyone but for me it's the difference between constantly fumbling to find a good position and being perfectly comfortable. This position also gives you the advantage for higher G turns.

:word: It took me nearly a month to find the perfect driving position.

that and this:
http://yel.pca.org/the-correct-driving-position/

I found this setup with wrist on top of steering wheel is very good.
Face should be fully straight forward when the back of your head is against the headrest.

The seat distance and angle will be automatically adjusted to correct position by doing 2 above. :happy0180:

Kinda going out on a limb here and don't want to sound like a stalker, but I've seen you post about your car for a few months now here on the forum. My profession is working with student-athletes at a small college rehabing them from injury or keeping a particular trouble area in shape so as to prevent injury. Reading your description leads me to ask what activities you were involved in prior to your drive back from Tampa? Repetitive lifting, a crazy night of bowling, a whirlwind weekend of adult softball, epic weekend with time attack etc? I've made a trip in my FRS from central FL to ATL 2 weeks after I bought the car and drove back 5 days later; also I've made the trip to and from Tampa from close to Daytona and cannot say that driving only 2 hours could cause this pain in your elbow.

Seating position could be a fair argument, but my fiancee and I switch between my FRS and his tC every week (we both take turns having the FRS for a week stretch b/c we both love driving it) and I can honestly say I don't think I can ever remember where I have my seat set in the FRS when I first get my car back. Yet, still do not have any pain in my elbow.

Thanks all. Even though I'm only 5'9"-ish, I have relatively long legs. I found the perfect spot for my legs. I guess I'll play around with the wheel a little more.
@kthxbai
Stalker...nah I'm just messing around. There aren't any real activities to talk about. I longboard and fly RC. There definitely isn't any lifting involved. :lol:

Don't forget marathon mastur... Never mind.

Haha, I was waiting for that. Remember that I said left arm. :happy0180:

:threadjacked: <-- Something like that.

I hold the wheel at 6 with left arm and rest it on the door rest. I bought an aftermarket armrest and I am completely comfortable.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72qpgA7Cr_4"]Porsche Human Performance: Optimal Seating Position - YouTube[/ame]

Don't forget seatback angle! 90% of the students I get at the track have the seat *way* too laid back, to a degree that they can't be in full control on the track, and often to a degree that they are *increasing* strain and fatigue on their arms and back in the real world.

Arms should be *quite* bent at the elbows (nearly 90 degrees) with shoulders supported by the seatback and hands at 9 and 3.