Driver seat too small - any way to make it bigger?
10-06-2007, 05:50 PM
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Driver seat too small - any way to make it bigger?
I'm a slim guy, 6'0 and 165 lbs, and I find the RX-8 driver seat to be way too narrow. My left leg always aches while I drive. It feels like the seats need to be wider, my hips are snug against the seat belt clip and my left leg sits uncomfortably on the bucket seat ridge. Are there custom seats on the market? Or a way to make it wider? I have a 2004 MT, GT model with red/black leather power seat.
Also, some of you guys may be gun toters (police or permit carrying citizen) - the RX-8 is especially uncomfortable with gear on my belt line. Any body experience this?
Also, some of you guys may be gun toters (police or permit carrying citizen) - the RX-8 is especially uncomfortable with gear on my belt line. Any body experience this?
10-06-2007, 06:10 PM
#2
Hmmm. I'm 5'-11", a solid 200 lbs. w/34" waist, and my seats are insanely comfortable, even with cell-phone sometimes clipped to belt. Of course, Mrs. Tull says I have no *** at all, so that may explain some of it. Just how much gear are you carrying on your belt, besides the sidearm?
Edit: I let my cop friend read your post; she laughed and said "Tell him to get a Crown Vic with bench seats!"
Edit: I let my cop friend read your post; she laughed and said "Tell him to get a Crown Vic with bench seats!"
Last edited by Jethro Tull; 10-06-2007 at 10:39 PM.
10-06-2007, 10:55 PM
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Im 6'4...250...no problems here. I did have problems when I got the car but I found that adjusting the "lumbar support" (aka Height) that things were better. Try raising the seat up a little and tipping the seat back back more as necessary.
10-07-2007, 02:25 AM
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6' 165lbs. and the seats are too snug? You're the reason why the overwhelming majority of seats in NA production cars feel like they were made for some American fatass. Deal with it or stop whining and get yourself a Camry.
10-07-2007, 03:04 AM
#11
6' 1" 165 lbs and no complaints here... I dont know if I have a whole lot of extra space, but never felt cramped even on longer drives... only complaint I have when making long drives is that my back starts to get sore but that's cause of my wallet in my back pocket... when I move that I have no problems at all.
10-07-2007, 04:15 AM
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I appreciate people's response but I'd rather not have a "this car is perfect thread". I love many things about the car but I'm looking for some specific help here. Please, if anyone has solutions or ideas on how I could address modifying the 8 seats, I would appreciate it. I'm not very mechinical, so a off the shelf solution would be best for me.
I traded in a 2004 Mazda 3s with leather seats for the RX8. I thought the Mazda3 seats fit like a glove, so obviously I'm not suffering from some kind of fatass NA car syndrome as Ike so delicately and thoughtfully put it. I'm very fit and I wear waist size 32 pants so clearly I am not too wide for the seat. My original post describes the exact symptoms I experience. I tweak the power seats endlessly and cannot fin a comfortable setting. I think the left side of the seat needs to be flatter and wider.
Jethro, my belt line ranges from a gun to a gun plus 4 other items. If I have nothing on the belt, the seats *almost* feel comfortable. Fully loaded up with gear, its almost intolerable.
I traded in a 2004 Mazda 3s with leather seats for the RX8. I thought the Mazda3 seats fit like a glove, so obviously I'm not suffering from some kind of fatass NA car syndrome as Ike so delicately and thoughtfully put it. I'm very fit and I wear waist size 32 pants so clearly I am not too wide for the seat. My original post describes the exact symptoms I experience. I tweak the power seats endlessly and cannot fin a comfortable setting. I think the left side of the seat needs to be flatter and wider.
Jethro, my belt line ranges from a gun to a gun plus 4 other items. If I have nothing on the belt, the seats *almost* feel comfortable. Fully loaded up with gear, its almost intolerable.
10-07-2007, 04:15 AM
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Its getting bad. I've had the RX-8 for 2 months now. It was wonderful at first but now its getting to the point to where I almost dread to drive it. I have a second car. I have isolated this to the RX8. When I drive other cars I don't experience this discomfort. I need to do something about it.
10-07-2007, 04:31 AM
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solution - drop the belt or get some mazda 3 seats from a junkyard
i'm 5'6, 200lbs and i think the seats could actually be a little tighter, but i'm used to driving in a recaro, i empty my pockets when i drive too cause my wallet is too full of crap
i'm 5'6, 200lbs and i think the seats could actually be a little tighter, but i'm used to driving in a recaro, i empty my pockets when i drive too cause my wallet is too full of crap
10-07-2007, 06:28 AM
#15
Its getting bad. I've had the RX-8 for 2 months now. It was wonderful at first but now its getting to the point to where I almost dread to drive it. I have a second car. I have isolated this to the RX8. When I drive other cars I don't experience this discomfort. I need to do something about it.
2 months? I got my car like 28 months and I have no complains.
10-07-2007, 07:10 AM
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Its getting bad. I've had the RX-8 for 2 months now. It was wonderful at first but now its getting to the point to where I almost dread to drive it. I have a second car. I have isolated this to the RX8. When I drive other cars I don't experience this discomfort. I need to do something about it.
10-07-2007, 09:25 AM
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I appreciate people's response but I'd rather not have a "this car is perfect thread". I love many things about the car but I'm looking for some specific help here. Please, if anyone has solutions or ideas on how I could address modifying the 8 seats, I would appreciate it. I'm not very mechinical, so a off the shelf solution would be best for me.
I traded in a 2004 Mazda 3s with leather seats for the RX8. I thought the Mazda3 seats fit like a glove, so obviously I'm not suffering from some kind of fatass NA car syndrome as Ike so delicately and thoughtfully put it. I'm very fit and I wear waist size 32 pants so clearly I am not too wide for the seat. My original post describes the exact symptoms I experience. I tweak the power seats endlessly and cannot fin a comfortable setting. I think the left side of the seat needs to be flatter and wider.
Jethro, my belt line ranges from a gun to a gun plus 4 other items. If I have nothing on the belt, the seats *almost* feel comfortable. Fully loaded up with gear, its almost intolerable.
I traded in a 2004 Mazda 3s with leather seats for the RX8. I thought the Mazda3 seats fit like a glove, so obviously I'm not suffering from some kind of fatass NA car syndrome as Ike so delicately and thoughtfully put it. I'm very fit and I wear waist size 32 pants so clearly I am not too wide for the seat. My original post describes the exact symptoms I experience. I tweak the power seats endlessly and cannot fin a comfortable setting. I think the left side of the seat needs to be flatter and wider.
Jethro, my belt line ranges from a gun to a gun plus 4 other items. If I have nothing on the belt, the seats *almost* feel comfortable. Fully loaded up with gear, its almost intolerable.
There are plenty of things I consider to be wrong with the RX-8, the narrowness and bolstering of the seats is not one of them. Trade the car in for something cushier, it's that simple. I think it's going to be far worse with any aftermarket seat.
10-07-2007, 10:13 AM
#18
Momentum Keeps Me Going
That helped alot but then again recently on longish trips (300+ miles) I find my right leg getting really uncomfortable and cramped. Pushing the seat back and being on cruise helped a lot; putting a small rolled up pad at the back of the seat bottom helped too.
I don't anticipate it ever being perfect I guess, but most of the time I have no problems. I only wish the steering wheel was telescoping. I think that would solve a lot of these issues.
10-07-2007, 10:31 AM
#21
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Am I the only other person with problems with the seat?
6 feet, 235 pounds. Sport, cloth seats. The built-in lumbar bulge (not adjustable on the Sport) is kind of big for me. I've got a lower back problem, and that bulge is the opposite of the way my back needs to flex. Seats felt very comfortable at first, but on a long trip my back started to ache.
I fixed that by putting a wedge of foam where the back meets the seat.
The side bolsters on the seat are a bit tight. Sometimes it bothers me, sometimes not. The sides of the back sometimes seem to press into my kidneys, sometimes not. The seating position itself is excellent.
If I ever lost the weight my doctor tells me to, I think I'd be fine. The tighness of the seat isn't that bad, and the general comfort makes up for it. A lot of other cars are worse for me. Rented a Pontiac G-6 on a business trip last year and I dreaded getting back into it each time. Test drove an Accord last year, and my kidneys were sore after just a five minute test.
If there is a way, to ease the seat and back side bolsters out, that would be helpful - I could put off that diet.
Seems to me that there were some posts in the early days of this site about people going to upholstery shops and having the foam adjusted.
Ken
6 feet, 235 pounds. Sport, cloth seats. The built-in lumbar bulge (not adjustable on the Sport) is kind of big for me. I've got a lower back problem, and that bulge is the opposite of the way my back needs to flex. Seats felt very comfortable at first, but on a long trip my back started to ache.
I fixed that by putting a wedge of foam where the back meets the seat.
The side bolsters on the seat are a bit tight. Sometimes it bothers me, sometimes not. The sides of the back sometimes seem to press into my kidneys, sometimes not. The seating position itself is excellent.
If I ever lost the weight my doctor tells me to, I think I'd be fine. The tighness of the seat isn't that bad, and the general comfort makes up for it. A lot of other cars are worse for me. Rented a Pontiac G-6 on a business trip last year and I dreaded getting back into it each time. Test drove an Accord last year, and my kidneys were sore after just a five minute test.
If there is a way, to ease the seat and back side bolsters out, that would be helpful - I could put off that diet.
Seems to me that there were some posts in the early days of this site about people going to upholstery shops and having the foam adjusted.
Ken
10-07-2007, 11:08 AM
#22
I just shat myself
Perhaps your seats are just worn-in a little too much. I've got the same body, same car as you and it fits my *** perfectly. If so I'm sure one of those auto upholstery shops could re-stuff it for a few hundred dollars..
If it were me I'd loose the belt. I routinely change into my slim driving/walking-around shoes to go places in my 8. It's worth the effort for maximum comfort with less distraction..
Replacing the seat would be more trouble than it's worth, but if you do at least replace both of them.
If it were me I'd loose the belt. I routinely change into my slim driving/walking-around shoes to go places in my 8. It's worth the effort for maximum comfort with less distraction..
Replacing the seat would be more trouble than it's worth, but if you do at least replace both of them.
10-07-2007, 01:08 PM
#23
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I am 6'3", 230 lbs. The seat is perfect to me. I love it. I was a police officer for years and I can tell you that as for wearing your gun while driving the 8 would be a bit of an issue. Any seats with bolsters are an issue. Not just the seats in the RX8. Maybe you need some seats out of a Crown Vic. I just deal with the gun digging in my side or I don't carry my gun when I drive the 8.
10-07-2007, 02:58 PM
#24
You may find a combination of height and reclining positions that removes the width issue. Keep altering the adjustments and see if it helps.
For me, I found that the manual seats were more easily adjusted to my backside, so that's what I went with. Since noboby else drives my car, it's not an issue.
Do you have manual or electric seats?
10-08-2007, 12:40 PM
#25
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6'4" and 175lbs and think the seats are GREAT. Not as comfortable on LONG trips as my Buick Regal, but even on the 2 hr trips to visit family in the RX8 I have no complaints.
Now on that passenger side with that little hump my leg gets cramped up a bit.
Now on that passenger side with that little hump my leg gets cramped up a bit.