Uncomfortable seats

[kpun]

Drove from Memphis, Tennessee to South Florida without any stops. I thought the seats were very comfortable. Albeit, I am 18 years old so my body probably has less miles than a lot of y'all(Pun intended).

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[Z06_Pilot]

Drove from Memphis, Tennessee to South Florida without any stops. I thought the seats were very comfortable. Albeit, I am 18 years old so my body probably has less miles than a lot of y'all(Pun intended).

whipper-snapper....I used to say the same thing as well. your time will come I am 6'5" and about 275, and I am pretty comfortable in the seat. Purchasing the CTR has given me incentive to drop a few pounds though! there's a metal frame in the side bolsters that I do have to squeeze between. I do understand what the OP is talking about as there is no lumbar support. I may just be used to it as my Mini JCW hardtop had the same type of feel, and I just got used to it where it didn't bother me after the first month or so.

 

[Mick the Quick]

I am 5'11" and 190 lbs. of sheer, enviable muscularity. I fit in the seat okay, but my back used to kill me after 20 minutes of driving. . . . until I got this thing for lumber support. Now, the back feels fine for longer trips.

 

[remc86007]

Drove from Memphis, Tennessee to South Florida without any stops. I thought the seats were very comfortable. Albeit, I am 18 years old so my body probably has less miles than a lot of y'all(Pun intended).

Type R at 18? You must have been the coolest kid in school. (Or not if you went to a truck heavy high school like me).

 

[02SilverSiHB]

Hey I’m 6’2” and weigh about 200 and I find the seats better than my regular Civic. At 62 years old I don’t see a problem.

omg, that is awesome. I told my wife, I'll be in my 60s and still be driving this car or a car like it

 

[Mick the Quick]

Drove from Memphis, Tennessee to South Florida without any stops. I thought the seats were very comfortable. Albeit, I am 18 years old so my body probably has less miles than a lot of y'all(Pun intended).

Darn, I wish I had a CTR, ES350 and NX200T (or their 80's equivalents) when I was 18.

 

[donald_s]

I am 6ft, 185lbs; I've only had the car for two weeks. This has to be the most uncomfortable seat I've ever sat in. It seems like every day, I'm making adjustments to account for various pains. It's either my lower back or shoulders.

What am I doing wrong? I have the seat angled upright, the steering wheel is in a comfortable position, and I'm at a good distance from the pedals.

There is way too much lumbar support in the seat, and it's detracting from the car; I wish they made lumbar support adjustable.

Does anyone have any tips? Its ruining the car for me. :/

I have the poor man's version of the Type R, the Civic Hatch Sport with a manual transmission. The seats were really a problem. But by trial and error, I found a solution. Basically my problem was that the bolsters kept my back from hitting the seatback. So my back got really fatigued, as I was getting no support at all.

My solution was to essentially raise the middle of the seatback. I did this by getting some high quality upholstery foam and some material from a crafts store. I experimented with the positioning and height of the foam until I had it just right. I then cut the foam into a piece that was 12" wide and 17" long. I then took the material and the foam to a local cleaners that had a sewer who did alterations. I paid him $25 to sew a cover for the foam from the material, and cut strips of material 18" long to make ties and sew them on. I then tied the custom 'pillow' into the gap so it essentially moved the middle of the seat back 1" higher. Now the middle of my back hits the seat back just fine and I can do long drivers without pain. Something like that would probably allow you to have the whole seat be essentially flat, and the lumbar problem would be gone.

If it's helpful I can take a picture.

 

[Wabby]

180cm/81kg....
Did 3000km in 10 days.... Longest ride was 5 hours drive non-stop (except fueling)... I think they're great.
But I do a lot of workout to strength my lower back due to officework.

I think some of you guys may struggle with the typical "office problems" by sitting to much at desk or couch at home. It's important to compensate for your everyday lifestyle.

 

[Jamroxorz]

After driving the car much more my back issues went away. I found myself sitting up pretty straight in the seats and it’s comfortable now. I figure it’s possible that either your body has to get used to the new posture, or just like new shoes the seats have to kinda break in to your body shape.

 

[RedGiant217]

After driving the car much more my back issues went away. I found myself sitting up pretty straight in the seats and it’s comfortable now. I figure it’s possible that either your body has to get used to the new posture, or just like new shoes the seats have to kinda break in to your body shape.

I agree with this. I find it comfortable after a few weeks of DD

 

[Edina__Monsoon]

Well, this is depressing. New 2018 Civic Touring owner. I'm getting back pain from the seats -- in as journeys as short as 45 minutes. The pain is really most noticeable after getting out. I'm a guy, 37, 5'10", 190 lbs, muscular build -- could lose 10-15 lbs. Linebacker'ish build, I guess. I have a very wide back from the shoulders down to my waist. In jr. high and high school I had coaches constantly trying to recruit me for the football team despite the fact I had zero athletic talent, just because I was noticeably wide-shouldered.

The soreness I'm experiencing is in the mid-back to the upper portion of the lower back -- nowhere near the bottom of my back.

I'm going to try driving in different positions/angles/heights throughout the week to try to find the optimal position, but doing so over the last few days hasn't netted a position that doesn't result in soreness after driving. The last two cars I owned were a 2008 Camry Hybrid and a 2005 Camry. But, over the last year, I was in a job that had me traveling a lot and I actually didn't own a car, but was instead renting a new car every month. So, I got to drive a huge variety of cars from economy, bottom of the lineups (like the lowest trim Sentra) to giant SUVs to luxury sedans, because with my late flight arrivals, they'd give me whatever they had in stock. Anyway, I never experienced an issue like this in any of the cars I drove and, yes, some of them had bolster seats. I actually think it's the middle/main portion of the seat that's the cause of the pain, anyway, as I'm not getting pain in my shoulders. Nor an in my upper back or shoulders. I guess it's stiffer/firmer than I'm used to?

If adjusting to every possible position of the seat doesn't work out, I'll look at supplemental support cushion, but I'm wondering if anyone would have a recommendation based upon my build and my description of the discomfort. And, perhaps most importantly, based upon my desire for very little lumbar support. You read that right. I know everyone loves lumbar support. I guess I'm built differently. If I'm driving a car with lumbar support, I push it all the way out/back as I find lumbar "support" incredibly uncomfortable. It's one of the reasons I can't stand those supposedly superior Herman Miller office chairs.

 

[Mick the Quick]

Well, this is depressing. New 2018 Civic Touring owner. I'm getting back pain from the seats -- in as journeys as short as 45 minutes. The pain is really most noticeable after getting out. I'm a guy, 37, 5'10", 190 lbs, muscular build -- could lose 10-15 lbs.

Our measurements are almost identical. I used to experience terrible back ache in my car only after 15 minutes of driving, but I found this lumber cushion several months ago, and my pain is totally gone. Your mileage may vary, but it's worth a try in my opinion. Check out my write up: https://www.civicx.com/threads/are-the-type-r-seats-hurting-your-back.22838/

 

[krees]

6'3" ~180lbs and almost 40 here. The seats are pretty comfy for me. I do have to nestle in a bit to find the sweet spot but once I'm in I feel fine.

I dont drive with anything in my pockets though (front or back). I've found that my wallet in my back pocket (or really anything in any pocket) is like the princess and the pea story for me.

Disclaimer: I, admittedly, dont do a whole lot of driving though.

 

[Edina__Monsoon]

Our measurements are almost identical. I used to experience terrible back ache in my car only after 15 minutes of driving, but I found this lumber cushion several months ago, and my pain is totally gone. Your mileage may vary, but it's worth a try in my opinion. Check out my write up: https://www.civicx.com/threads/are-the-type-r-seats-hurting-your-back.22838/

Thanks. I'll add that cushion to the list, but given that it's specifically marketed for lumbar support, it might not be right for me. I usually have to reduce lumbar support when the option is available as a seat digging into my lower back actually causes me pain and strain. We're all built differently.

Early this morning, a colleague and I had to go to an off site meeting and, given that he has a similar build to me, I asked if he'd be willing to sit in the driver's seat for the short journey. Between the commute and sitting in the parking lot before going in, we were in the car for a little under 30 minutes. He loved everything about the car... except the seating, which he tried adjusting multiple times. He called the nonadjustable lumbar support "aggressively strong" He also articulated something I hadn't before. He said, rather than it feeling like you were sitting in/sinking in to the seat, it felt like the seat was digging into you. And, for the record, neither of us likes an especially mushy seat that doesn't have support. But, to me, at least, there's a difference between support and firmness that digs into your back. Man, if they had overnight test-drives, I would have identified this issue and could have avoided this purchase. Hopefully, my back adjusts or one of those cushion solutions works out.

As for my colleague, nearly an hour later, he's not feeling acute pain, but he said his back is feeling sore, the way it would after a pretty intense weightlifting session.

 

[RedGiant217]

Seems like you're talking about the Civic Touring and not the Civic Type R. You might find more helpful answers if you post in the general 10th gen forums. This thread is in the Type R specific section.

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