Well ever since my trip to New York my back and hip problems have gotten worse. On a scale of 1 - 10 I'd say its a 9.872 on the pain scale.

Went to the doc yesterday and he said that unless I try to allieviate the things that exasperate my hip and back problems, I will be looking at hip replacement within the next two years! WTF.

I have been experiencing great pain upon exiting the car due to its low nature and seat angle. Doc said that I have to find something that does not requiring swiveling and pushing as it is putting pressure on a nerve in my hip. The design of the seat causes my legs to splay in such a way that it gives me a cramp in my hip so bad that I cannot move my left leg.

Well since my beloved 8 is one of the things that is making this problem worse I must get rid of it. It somtimes brings me to tears trying to get out of the car of late!

This really sucks to say this but I will have to get a truck(?) that has a seat height that will allow me to basicly slid in the seat instead of lowering or raising myself to get in and out.

 

AHHHHHH!!! That sucks so much. I'm sorry

 

I drove trucks all of my life. The 8 is the first sports car that I have ever owned. My last vehicle was a 2003 Ford F-150 SuperCrew. IF I had to go back to a truck, I'd go that route. I can't imagine getting rid of my 8 though. I have extreme back problems as well so believe me brother, I feel your pain. BTW, thanks for your service.

 

Sorry to hear about your situation RN.. Best of luck to you!

 

I am so sorry to hear about this. I hope your hip improves... for what it is worth my father had a double hip replacement a number of years ago and it turned out great for him.

 

I Have looked into a '05 Ford Escape XLT Sport AWD. I looked at the Mazda Tribute but they list at almost $1000 more for basicly the same vehicle.

Oh and my car insurance would drop almost $40 a month!

 

Fu*k that Nut - Live in your 8. That way you don't have to get out :D

 

What kind of hip problems?

You mention a nerve.....is there a component of sciatica or are we just talking about arthritis?

As for the 8, have you tried splitting the motion requred for exiting and entering the car? What I mean is this: instead of twisting and sitting at the same time, turn your body so you are facing away from the drivers side of the car, then sit, then rotate in the seat. Reverse for getting out. This allows you to put your weight on both legs/hips for the entire movement rather than only one.

 

I love my other vehicle... a jeep liberty.

 

That really sucks- I hope you find some other way to alleviate your pain rather than give up the 8. I have some hip problems that are getting worse, but nothing that is exacerbated by getting into and out of a sports car... yet. If you do have to get something that sits higher, at least there are some neat SUV's out now that handle well like the Infiniti FX45, Porsche Cayenne, etc.

Good luck...

 

Before you go to extremes and sell your RX8 , maybe work on your health situation see if that can make a difference , theres no use having better hips if you are going to get deppressed over not having your car . :D

Sorry to hear about your hips , hey you can always sue the army for wrecking your health everybody else does .

cheers
michael

 

I hate to hear about your hip problems. My doctor told me to use the sit and swing method to get out of the car also because I have lower back problems. I'm only 23 too so I figured I'd better do as told before the problem gets out of control and I have to have surgery. If it the seat design I do not have any clue of a way to fix the problem rather than getting aftermarket seats, and I'm not sure that they would be more comfortable.

As far as the truck/suv decision, for the money you can't beat the Nissan Titan. It has a great engine and massive interior space. If not the Nissan the new F150 is very nice also, I prefer the Ford but I already have one and it is a great truck. I haven't researched any SUV's so I can't help there but I suggest that you check out the Titan, you might be surprised.

Is it a for sure thing that you can't drive the 8 even on weekends as a second car? Hope everything works out for the best RN.

 

My neighbor just brought home one of those new Dodge pickups with a Viper motor. That might help take your mind off the 8

 

Sorry to hear about your forced replacement of the 8!! Stay on the forum tho.. and we can meet up next time im in Norfolk!!

You can atleast dool at mine!

 

Deal!

 

This is what you need... I wonder if/when it may become available.

Seriously though, this sux. Sorry to hear about your hip problem.

 

There is always the hip replacment

 

Rotary Nut, I don't understand why the car has to go at all?
How often do you get in and out of your car each day? 2, 3 times?
I can't believe that is aggravating your condition, it is just reminding you it is there! Is your condition too far gone to make it too late to take countermeasures?

What aggravates back conditions (don't know about the hip, I am only fortunate to have a bad back, at 37) are poor posture, being overweight, lack of exercise, etc. etc. With my back anyway, I have tried massage, chiropractors, needles and drugs, but what has worked best so far is exercise. I sit in an office chair all day, study the German language sitting at our dining table for long periods of time, and play the drums (er, sitting down of course), and was always getting a really sore back. What has made that better is going for a swift walk for 45 minutes (enough to break out a sweat) every week day.

I put a cusion on the chair I study on, and the stool I have for drumming has a backrest, but I didn't have to give up any of my passtimes. Is there nothing you can do to change your lifestyle to reduce the strain on your back/hip? Your profile says you are an engineer, are you bending over a lot at work? Maybe you should work standing on a little step or something, or wear a girdle (serious, one of those orthopedic ones)? Is your bed OK?

I am not denying your condition, or what the doc said. I just think it is a crying shame that you should have to give up something you love, but still have the bad back/hip despite that.

I feel for you man....I would never want to give up the drums, so you shouldn't have to give up your 8!!

 

To relieve entry/exit stress, in addition to the methods mentioned above you might consider aftermarket leather for your seats. More slippery than the cloth. That helped my mother.

Won't do anything for your sitting position of course. Sorry to hear about your pain.