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Driver seat too small - any way to make it bigger?

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Old 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?
Old 10-06-2007 | 06:10 PM
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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!"

Last edited by Jethro Tull; 10-06-2007 at 10:39 PM.
Old 10-06-2007 | 06:23 PM
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That one of the reasons I bought the RX8.... the great seats.

If think these are bad try othe cars.
Old 10-06-2007 | 08:20 PM
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5 foot 2, 134 lbs, 29 waist
Heck the seats are HUGE for me!
Old 10-06-2007 | 08:43 PM
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5'10", slim guy as well. no issues with the seats.

they are possibly to wide for me.
Old 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.
Old 10-06-2007 | 11:37 PM
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Im like 5'11 and 250 ... I dont find any problems with the stock Seats ... and my lower body is better than my upper body ...

If you used to drive a domestic car, then yes, Rx-8's seat are too small for you.
Old 10-07-2007 | 12:25 AM
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I think my seats are real comfy. My girl is like 5 foot maybe 100 pounds and seats are huge for her.

Last edited by MyEnemy; 10-07-2007 at 12:28 AM.
Old 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.
Old 10-07-2007 | 02:28 AM
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ouch
Old 10-07-2007 | 03:04 AM
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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.
Old 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.
Old 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.
Old 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
Old 10-07-2007 | 06:28 AM
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Originally Posted by genso
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.
all sports car sits low, if thats what you call *discomfort*.

2 months? I got my car like 28 months and I have no complains.
Old 10-07-2007 | 07:10 AM
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Originally Posted by genso
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.
Sounds like you just need to get a new car or a new seat installed. Seriously, if you buy shoes and they still hurt your feet after a couple months, why would you continue to wear them?
Old 10-07-2007 | 09:25 AM
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Originally Posted by genso
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.

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.
Old 10-07-2007 | 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by genso
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.
5'8" 155lbs - I've had some adjustment problems too. Four yrs ago, I found that when the seat was right so i could depress the clutch fully, my accel. foot/leg was cramped up... or alternatively I was sort of rotating in the seat to reach the clutch so I could extend the right leg normally when the seat was back. Solved that by removing the clutch pedal cover and putting an approx 1" rubber block there. Now the seat is back, no problems with that anymore.

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.
Old 10-07-2007 | 10:28 AM
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my left cheeck hurts. im 6'8", lol
Old 10-07-2007 | 10:29 AM
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^ The only time my *** hurts is when I don't remove my wallet from my back pocket and go for a long drive...
Old 10-07-2007 | 10:31 AM
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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
Old 10-07-2007 | 11:08 AM
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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.
Old 10-07-2007 | 01:08 PM
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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.
Old 10-07-2007 | 02:58 PM
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Originally Posted by genso
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.
It took me over a week to get my seat "dialed-in" just right but now I love it.

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?
Old 10-08-2007 | 12:40 PM
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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.


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