Seat comfort?

[GTRS Fiero]

Are car seats being designed wrong, or are body shapes wrong?  I'm not referring to child car seats; rather, I'm directly referring to the seats installed by the manufacturer.  I believe that these seats aren't designed to fit me.

The seat itself consists of a seat cushion, and a back.  Some cushions are domed in the middle, where my butt would be, but lower in the back, where the seat back is, and try to force my posterior into this wedge, which doesn't conform to my shape.  Other seats have a lower part in the seat cushion, but the low part is too far forward, with a part in the back of the seat cushion that pushes uncomfortably against my posterior.  Adjusting the seat cushion down adds to the discomfort in my tailbone area, but also demonstrates that the lumbar area of the seat back has an inhuman contour.

For the seat back, maybe the lumbar adjustment is in the wrong place; regardless, with the lumbar back, the seat cushion hurts my hips and tailbone.  If the lumbar is moved forward, it pushes against my pelvis, and pinches my butt in the wedge between the seat cushion and the seat back.

I'm not sure if the lumbar is too low, or is just a bad design.  As for the cushion, I think it was designed for people who have no flesh on their butt.  I do know that some car seats are comfortable for hours, while other car seats cause discomfort in short order.

Has anyone else suffered similar discomfort?

[Roger]

I put a 'butt cushion' in my seat and it helps quite a bit.

[GTRS Fiero]

If they designed the seats better, there wouldn't be a need for butt cushions.

[Fierofool]

Yes.I can compare a Dodge Dakota, Pontiac Grand Prix, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sorento, Ford Sport Trac and Fiero.

The Dodge Dakota was very comfortable for me.  Trips to Far NE Maine, a distance of about 1800 miles at 500 miles a day was still comfortable.  It had an adjustable lumbar and a left footrest on the floor.

The Grand Prix also had the adjustable lumbar, but the seat had the wrong angle on the bottom and didn't support my legs well enough.

My daughter's Santa Fe has lumbar and adjustable tilt on the seat bottom, so that the front bolster doesn't cut off circulation.  Good side bolsters, too.

Her Tucson is very similar but the seats aren't quite as wide and the outside edges of your hips tend to ride on the side bolsters.  Otherwise it compares to the Santa Fe, even without the fully adjustable seats. 

Her Husband's Sorento is also very comfortable, but I haven't ridden long distances in it. 

The Sport Trac seats are a little high, even for me at 6' 1".  The side bolsters are low and there's no place to rest the left leg on long trips.  One has to keep the leg bent.  Leaning the leg against the door panel is uncomfortable because the hard door section containing door and window controls is what the knee bone rests against.

The stock Fiero seats are very comfortable to me.  Probably the most comfortable.  Even though they are very low, there's ample room to stretch your legs, there's a left footrest, and the door panel and console are soft enough that you can comfortably rest your legs against them.  Boty my Fieros have Mr. Mike's leather covers.  They were done by 2 separate people.  The 87 was done by someone more my body size and the padding he added fits me very well.  The 86 was done by someone a bit wider than me, and the bolsters have much more padding.  This causes the side bolsters to take up some of the space that I need for my size bottom.

For someone taller or shorter than I, the things I find to be a bother might fit well for their body type. 

I guess the manufacturers probably use an average body type to design a basic seat, then work from that as they add adjustable features. 

[GTRS Fiero]

I guess I'm not average. 

So, if I lose or gain weight or height, I should fit better?

If manufacturers design for an average body type, then all cars/seats should be the same.  In many cars, my left knee hits against something unpleasant, like the window control.  I just can't fit in most cars.  The seats are all the way back, when another 2 inches would be good.  The B-pillar is directly beside my head, the power controls are in the wrong places, my arm hangs off the back of the arm rest decoration, the shift is in the wrong place, etc.  My sister has a Toy Crammy and a Hyundai Sonata.  Those cars weren't designed for anyone.  They have the requisite parts, like seats, but no thought was given to the layout or design.

[TopNotch]

For me, a Fiero is the most comfortable vehicle for a long trip. It's more than just the seat. For me, the arm rest on the door and the center console are just the right height for me to rest my elbows on while driving. In other vehicles, they are either too low or too far away to be comfortable.

[GTRS Fiero]

Exactly!  Whomever designed the newer cars should be forced to sit in them for hours at a time.

[Raydar]

I find Fiero seats to be quite comfortable. My G6 also isn't bad, although the seats could be a bit wider.
My Silverado is kind of... meh. Even with the available adjustment, Tammy's 2016 Miata hurts my back after less than an hour. (I found that to be a real surprise.)
The most uncomfortable car I've ever driven was an early 2000s Ford Taurus. Nothing felt right about that car.

It should be mentioned that, while lots of Fiero owners look for alternate seats for their Fieros, lots of other people seek out Fiero seats for their cars, due to their comfort.

[GTRS Fiero]

I drove 1084 miles basically straight in a non-Fiero seat.  The back of my butt would get to being uncomfortable.  At gas stations, I'd waddle when I meant to walk.  By adjusting how I sat, I could move the discomfort from my butt to pain in my lower back.

[Roger]

If they designed the seats better, there wouldn't be a need for butt cushions.

That seat has had a butt in it for over 419,000 miles. Bad design is not the issue there.

[GTRS Fiero]

Ah.  Time for Mr. Mike's?

[pgackerman]

Car seats are designed for average height/weight which is around 5'4" - 5'9" female to male.  I'm way above that range. 

Of the cars we currently own, there's a tie between my '88 Fiero and '8 Sienna.  Our '11 Mustang would be painful if the seat wasn't powered; allowing me to adjust position when I become uncomfortable.

Had a So-not-a for awhile, until a low flying deer went into it, and its seats were very uncomfortable!  The deer improved the cars comfort by transforming into the Mustang mentioned above.

My most comfortable seats were from a '96 Sunfire convertible.  Of course, I spent 15 years chisling them to perfection with my butt.

[GTRS Fiero]

So, little people.  My wife is that tall.  I'm short, but not that short.  In a time when they're telling us that people are taller now than they used to be, why are the cars made for smaller people?

[Roger]

Ah.  Time for Mr. Mike's?

Not at his prices.