WOW - Mike is todays keenest thread poster!

On the Yeti site maybe, but on the whole site I think it was me! <blush> I'm 9th today.

WOW - Mike is todays keenest thread poster! :p

Only due to problems with my Vodafone 3G dongle this afternoon, it didn't refresh the page and make my post appear as normal so I manually refreshed the page.......a few times :-).

Mike

On the Yeti site maybe, but on the whole site I think it was me! <blush> I'm 9th today.

Happy 9th today

Mike

Happy 9th today

Mike

Ha! But I got the wrong end of the stick regarding the top poster! I saw the email notifications flood in but only twigged now when I saw you dongle post!

But if you know me you'll now I love nines! My birthday is the 9th of the 9th.

But if you know me you'll now I love nines! My birthday is the 9th of the 9th.

We do now 900000

Mike

Hi,

Just picked up on this thread.

Yeti 170 Elegance, leather seats. I found that you had to be careful when adjusting the drivers seat back. The hinge is quite high and as a consequence if you tilt the back too far the bottom comes forward and can dig in the bottom of your back eventually getting quite painful. Get the seat right and it is really comfortable.

Chris.

CG locks are pretty useful, very effective, even on track. I have one on the MR2 if you want to try it Mike.

I now have my own. I will fit to the red round hole in the morning.

Mike

Good stuff Mike.

A few on Ebay at less than RRP - make an offer - I did!

I've fitted the CG-Lock to my Polo. My hair is now rubbing on the roof, which it didn't before, which means I'm sitting taller, and it definitely makes a big difference. Have to now lower the seat .

I thinks this will help with my lower back problems, as a benefit improve posture when sitting in the car for long periods of time, and stop me from hanging onto the steering wheel as I have a tendency to do when going round corners.

Recommended.

Mike

I was driving the Yeti for a total of nine hours on the day we went up to collect our puppy, and had no problems at all. My XF seats are also comfortable but when I've had loan XFs without the optional lumbar support, they have given me backache after less than an hour, so I reckon the Yeti seats - even though they don't immediately feel anything special - are pretty good.

Mark

I was driving the Yeti for a total of nine hours on the day we went up to collect our puppy, and had no problems at all. My XF seats are also comfortable but when I've had loan XFs without the optional lumbar support, they have given me backache after less than an hour, so I reckon the Yeti seats - even though they don't immediately feel anything special - are pretty good.

Mark

This really has very little to do with the seats. It has more to do with the individuals shape.

The Yeti seats suit me but they may not suit another. We are all different but the Yeti seats are all the same.

Shame really

This really has very little to do with the seats. It has more to do with the individuals shape.

The Yeti seats suit me but they may not suit another. We are all different but the Yeti seats are all the same.

Shame really

Actually I think it has a lot to do with the seats - if they are a fundamentally sound shape and have sufficient adjustment (the problem I have with the standard XF seats), then most people should find them comfortable. There will always be exceptions but seat designers will be working with anthropometric data constrained by cost and a realistic percentile range of driver shapes and sizes. I would imagine just about anybody would be suffering after nine hours in, say, a Nissan Pixo.

Mark

It is peculiar how certain seats just don't work for certain people. Vauxhall sells thousands of cars in the UK yet I cannot drive any of their cars (or be a front seat passenger) for more than thirty minutes before I get back ache. They all seem to have a lumbar support that sticks out about 2 inches too far. Hate them. Most comfortable seats I've ever sat in are in most any Volvo and the defunct Renault Vel Satis.

Actually I think it has a lot to do with the seats - if they are a fundamentally sound shape and have sufficient adjustment (the problem I have with the standard XF seats), then most people should find them comfortable. There will always be exceptions but seat designers will be working with anthropometric data constrained by cost and a realistic percentile range of driver shapes and sizes. I would imagine just about anybody would be suffering after nine hours in, say, a Nissan Pixo.

Mark

Then why do the seats work for some people and not others? My Yeti seats have a much wider range of adjustment than the seats in my old X-Trail. They have, so called, infinitely variable height and back rest angle plus a massive range of forward-back adjustment. My only criticism is that the steering wheel does not have enough reach for me.

You will never get a seat to fit every body shape so it is just a matter of compromising with what is available - unless you know anyone in F1 who can get a seat moulded to fit your particular shape.

Is there any way to slightly raise the seat base at the rear mayby 10 to 15mm, as the front edge cuts into the back of my legs? I understand the electric seats can adjust this, just wondered if any spacers could be added or similar to get the same effect?

I also find the steering wheel does not go far enough back, requiring a very upright driving position, compared to my prefered laid back preference in previous cars. Another 30mm in adjustment would have been ideal.

Then why do the seats work for some people and not others? My Yeti seats have a much wider range of adjustment than the seats in my old X-Trail.

Seems to me that the seat/steering adjustment is more about achieving a position where you can reach the controls to operate them safely than about seating comfort per se. Things about the seat itself would include:

How laterally bolstered it is (Yeti doesn't score too well here and I'm personally used to more lateral support when cornering);

How hard/soft the leather/fabric and how supportive the foam/stuffing is. Yeti seems relatively hard to me. Like a mattress the best combination seems to be an inch or two of fairly soft foam supported by firmer support below;

The contours of the main seat cushion. Personally I find that the cushion is not really quite long enough and that there's something of a ridge immediately behind the knees, which I'm still struggling to get used to;

(Perhaps the main one for me) The angle of the seat cushion. This seems pretty flat in the Yeti whereas I prefer it to slope, at least slightly, so that the back is a bit lower than the front. This is really, for me, the big benefit of electric chairs - the better ones at least, that give you slope control - I couldn't care less about them being electric per se, but it's the extra flexibility that they offer in eg slope adjustment that you just don't seem to get with manual seats. But sadly I missed being able to order the electric variety by a few weeks.

I had a very interesting half hour talk with a guy from Recaro when I worked for Vauxhall Fleet. He pointed out that about 75% of all drivers sit badly in their seats, but don't actually realise this. There is an interesting set of articles here:

http://www.recaro.com/jp_en/company/expertise.html

He pointed out that too many of us sit too far back and much too reclined, with out backs, shoulders, elbows hips, legs and wrists at all the wrong angles. This could cause fatigue and possibly accidents, plus sometimes worked AGAINST the safety equipment fittted to the car. He said some of the worst are the young drivers who sit much too reclined, causing their arms to be at the wrong angle on the steering wheel for full control, and also risking "submarineing" under their seatbelts in an accident.

This gives good advice:

http://www.recaro.com/jp_en/company/expertise/ergonomic-comfort.html

Edited 8 November, 201015 yr by Llanigraham

Then why do the seats work for some people and not others? My Yeti seats have a much wider range of adjustment than the seats in my old X-Trail. They have, so called, infinitely variable height and back rest angle plus a massive range of forward-back adjustment. My only criticism is that the steering wheel does not have enough reach for me.

You will never get a seat to fit every body shape so it is just a matter of compromising with what is available - unless you know anyone in F1 who can get a seat moulded to fit your particular shape.

Hence, I guess, the 102 degree maximum angle the Yeti electric seat can ever be set to.

I have bitched about poor car seats for years, the "one size fits all" approach being too blame.

When one can specify every conceviable cost extra on most cars, why, oh why can one not specify a better drivers seat.

And I have asked, only to be greeted by blank puzzled looks on the salesmens faces.,

Volvo seats I have always found to be the most comfortable, but only in the showroom.( not having owned one)

Reason, one can individually adjust the front & rear of the seat, & I like the front a bit higher to keep me pushed back against the lumbar support.

However my most comfortable seat, and the best all round driving position found to date is in the Steyr Daimler Puch Van, seats are Recaros, with armrests, might as well be sitting in a Parker Knoll, but I like to sit upright, not slouched back.

Cheers

M

PS

I have found leather can be a bit slippery, as opposed to cloth, could this be part of the problem.

My last car was a Volvo with leather seats and they were the comfiest seats of any car that I have owned. There seemed to be more shape to them than the Yeti's, they moulded around you and held you in better than the Yeti where I feel I sit on the seat rather than in it. There may have been some sophisticated build element to the seats that I did not comprehend but the shape seemed to be key. Someone also made a point here that you need an element of softness in the seats so that you sit in them and the Volvo did that beautifully. I did some very long journeys in that car and I can genuinely say that I never once got out of the car feeling stiff or aching. I much prefer my Yeti but I wish I could swap the seats for the Volvo ones.

PS

I have found leather can be a bit slippery, as opposed to cloth, could this be part of the problem.

The CG-Lock mentioned earlier eliminates this.

Mike

The CG-Lock mentioned earlier eliminates this.

Mike

I'll vouch for this.

I'm using the CG Lock in my leather sport seated Audi at present, which is surprisingly unsupportive, but the CG Lock holds me firm in position.

I've had my 1.2 Elegance for nearly a month now and after two trips of over 160 miles I have found the seats lacking in lateral support and prone to give me backache- a big disappointment in what is otherwise a great car. No matter what adjustments I make I cannot find a position that is comfortable for me on a long journey.

I may have to look at using an aftermarket back support like the ones mentioned on this topic.

I find the Yeti drivers seat with the lumbar support extremely comfortable on long stretches of road.Must be old age creeping up on our old bones....