So... about those headrests

[Boosted2.0]

The NCF says that headrest is part of a whiplash reducing structure designed into the seat along with the way they spring the back supprt.

I don't know about sitting vertically anyhow. When I took my advanced drivers training at TAPG they said you move the base to properly position your legs and then tilt the seat to get your arms to the right position (hold them straight out and the wheel should hit your wrist). They stated that this is is considered the most ergonomically correct and safe driving position. I've been doing it for the last 10 years since the training and it has worked out great for me. Makes getting situated in rental cars and new cars a snap.

Considerign how much R$D Toyota has into crash safety, I am inclined to believe it.

[coyote]

Originally Posted by TuxedoCartman

I won't lie: I would pay buckets of money to get a Recaro SR 7 with side-impact airbags installed. (But only if they don't have the same damn head-rest problems.)

If I can't fix the existing seats, I'll be installing a pair of Recaro Sportster CS .. Which have an (expensive) side airbag option.

[TuxedoCartman]

Originally Posted by coyote

If I can't fix the existing seats, I'll be installing a pair of Recaro Sportster CS .. Which have an (expensive) side airbag option.

Really?! I honestly didn't know there was a Recaro with airbags! I'll have to look into that more. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Boosted2.0

The NCF says that headrest is part of a whiplash reducing structure designed into the seat along with the way they spring the back supprt.

I don't know about sitting vertically anyhow. When I took my advanced drivers training at TAPG they said you move the base to properly position your legs and then tilt the seat to get your arms to the right position (hold them straight out and the wheel should hit your wrist). They stated that this is is considered the most ergonomically correct and safe driving position. I've been doing it for the last 10 years since the training and it has worked out great for me. Makes getting situated in rental cars and new cars a snap.

Considerign how much R$D Toyota has into crash safety, I am inclined to believe it.

Sounds about right. But for me, if I follow that technique for positioning myself... yup, I'm where I normally like to sit. Nearly upright, about 80 degrees to the seat cushion. Guess this means I've got short arms, and should give up my dreams of boxing professionally? LOL...

But yeah, a more vertical position is better for street driving, though. It allows you to see the road ahead of you and to either side quicker and easier, with less head movement. The reason they started designing head restraints like this, though, is because people were riding with their seat backs reclined way too far, and then sitting upright to see traffic lights and to either side of the vehicle. The new style seats accommodate this reclined posture, while keeping your head up.

Well, that's just bully for those driver's who drive slouched like that, but for those of us who've always adopted a more proper seating position in our cars to begin with, it's a pain in the... neck.

[Godzilla35]

Originally Posted by FRSpdDmn

Please send him to Street Survival. www.streetsurvival.org

that looks SO cool.

wish I had known of something like this for myself... had to learn all of these through close-encounters or almost-accidents myself. =[

[coyote]

Originally Posted by TuxedoCartman

Really?! I honestly didn't know there was a Recaro with airbags! I'll have to look into that more. Thanks!

No worries, look here:

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/brand/.../prod_585.html



Group buy?

[TuxedoCartman]

Originally Posted by coyote

No worries, look here:

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/brand/.../prod_585.html



Group buy?

Pretty enough! Not quite as good looking as the Recaro SR 7, but you know what that one doesn't have? A headrest designed to separate your vertebrae from your brain stem every time you sit down... so it's a win in my book! :happy0180:

Hellz yeah I'd go in on a group buy for some of those! Especially the black and red ones!

UPDATE: Man, the more I look at those seats, the more in love with them I am. And with the airbag, it'll be 99% legal for changing them out! Coyote, you are my newest most favoritist person in the world today! I'd consider my problem solved, and really would like to see if anybody else wants to get in on a group buy.

[coyote]

It gets better. They are actually extremely comfortable.

I recall there being a couple of Germans on this board, they could probably arrange a purchase direct from the factory.

If the custom headrest idea didn't come off, I was going to buy a pair of these locally (at great expense) ... so my arm could definitely be twisted by some good pricing.

[Calum]

Why not try to separate the cloth and foam from the frame of the head rest. Put the frame into a vise, heat it up and bend the posts a little? If it fails, then get the other seats.

[YukiHachiRoku]

Originally Posted by TuxedoCartman

Let me start off by stating: I'm not pimp. Neither am I dope, nor fly, nor crunk. I may have cruised once upon a time, but I certainly do not roll. Therefore, my driving position has all the cool-factor of black socks with khaki shorts: back nearly vertical (maybe 80 to 85 degrees from the seat bottom); hands at ten and two on the wheel; and distanced from the pedals so that I can mash the clutch all the way down without having to tip-toe it, but not too close either. It may not look cool, but it's how owner's manuals and books on racing have suggested you sit for many, many years now (there's a reason Recaro and Bride buckets are shaped the way they are).

So why is it that when I adjust my seat to that position in my new car, the headrest forces me to stare at my crotch while seated?

It's a rhetorical question. I know why they do it: it supposedly reduces whiplash injuries... injuries that wouldn't be an issue if people were riding with their seat and headrests in the correct position to begin with. Now, thanks to these erroneously mandated abominations, it is impossible for me to find a seating position in my new car that's anything less than "excruciating". I know too that half the population likes the new design, but half the population hates it; if you're in the first group, I don't need to hear from you. Congratulations on not having to modify your car to be able to drive more than 10 minutes at a time in it.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah... QUESTION!!! Does anybody have experience bending the posts on the headrests, so that the angle is less severe? I'm going to try and find an upholstery shop or body shop that can do it for me, but if I can't I'd like to give it a try myself. Or, does anybody know of any other solutions for fixing this "safety" feature (besides turning the headrest around, which is both tacky and dangerous?)

I never thought I'd be looking at Bride buckets to improve commuting comfort in a car.

lol cartman, I got a charlie horse yesterday, and pulled my hamstirng, I guess I need to do some yoga and stretch before I drive this thing, and oh, a 31 year old man with two torn ACL's, getting in the car has started to become interesting to say the least. I could feel my knee ligaments swirling around like spaghetti. Oh well, if anything maybe I could be like that yoga instructor one day in the random pics thread!

(or you could try to fabricate some LS400 seats in your car) =P

[Laika]

Originally Posted by TuxedoCartman

Thanks for posting that, ichitaka! I've got to be one of the only people... ever... to consider putting Recaros or Brides in a car not for the bling factor or perceived performance gains, but to actually improve comfort, LOL...

Do wonder how much longer, though, before the Japanese government starts regulating aftermarket seats for cars, the way they do wheels? I won't lie: I would pay buckets of money to get a Recaro SR 7 with side-impact airbags installed. (But only if they don't have the same damn head-rest problems.)

Have you tried flipping the head rests the other way like another poster keeps saying? I think the posts may keep getting buried and keeping you from seeing them as easily.

[TuxedoCartman]

Originally Posted by Laika

Have you tried flipping the head rests the other way like another poster keeps saying? I think the posts may keep getting buried and keeping you from seeing them as easily.

Yup, tried that. Gave my thoughts on the topic somewhere on here, but it probably got buried (like you said).

Short version? Safer than no headrest, still not as safe as I'd like.

[Godzilla35]

Oh man those Recaros with the airbag were so sweet. I sat in them when we had a Super Autobacs here in California... I wanted them so badly for my G35 (because I didn't want to lose safety / airbags just to get a grippier seat)... but I hope you have deep pockets. I don't know if the airbags are universal either.

I wonder how my friend got his RSX seats wired into his older Civic. I guess research is your friend and good luck! I wouldn't mess with safety personally, even if I was a little uncomfortable.... maybe post-drive stretch / yoga session? hahaha jk

[coyote]

It's not just uncomfortable .... If you are over 6' tall and sit in the car correctly, the thing is virtually unusable.

I'm factoring the cost of the Recaros into the purchase price. If I can modify the head rests, it will be a bonus.

[chitownwrx]

Cartman, I've cancelled my BRZ order. I had a chance to sit in one yesterday, and the headrests are as Chiropractor -friendly for me as they are for you.
I'm thinking to order a FR-S and spend the $1k difference on buying some new seats as soon as I get the car. The Recaro Sportsters look like very similar to the RX-8 R3 seats, which should have an airbag. Any thoughts?