2 hours ago, KenONeill said:

@skomaz @PetrolDave Yeah, but I like to sit with my arms bent at the elbows like a saloon racer or rally driver, or indeed like @TheITGuy is demonstrating. In fact, his text describes a pretty similar position to I use except that I'm 5'10".

 

You are about the same height as me then and I can still get that sort of position with arms bent no problem (ie I can rest my bent elbow on the top of the door whilst still holding the wheel (albeit I am 'stumpy' with shortish legs and a long back).

 

From the sounds of things you may find your seat is set too low (that's also a common issue as it leads to lack of leg support (see above) and a natural tendency to unconsciously stretch upwards for a better view over the bonnet - so try raising the seat a bit - this should mean you can keep the angle but it will mean you sit a notch or two further forward to comfortably reach the pedals, thus giving you the 'bent arm'.  For info in our MkII Octy I have the seat at it's highest setting and almost the highest in the swift as well.

 

Also for background I have no lumbar support in the Swift or MX-5 and nor did I in the Fabia or a previous Mitsubishi and I can / could do long stints in all of them with no issues.  By contrast a previous Vauxhall and Honda Civic crippled me.

3 hours ago, skomaz said:

you may find your seat is set too low

Teach your grandmother; the only reason I've not tried my seat higher is that I want to keep my head from pressing on the blind for the sun roof.

10 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Teach your grandmother; the only reason I've not tried my seat higher is that I want to keep my head from pressing on the blind for the sun roof.

 

Ok...   Only trying to help...

10 minutes ago, skomaz said:

 

Ok...   Only trying to help...

Well, if you'd just asked "have you tried your seat higher?" my response would be along the lines of "no, because the sunroof installation robs headroom".

Hi Skomaz

 

In the photo I took the seat was already at its highest position, but as you can see, I'm looking down slightly to see through the windscreen.  I have since lowered the seat slightly to try and keep my neck level,  I've got a 50 mile drive tomorrow morning, so that will be a good test of the new driving position.

 

Glen

jesus Ken, bit tetchy....

 

i too am a 5ft 6in lad, but i have the seat down abit from the top, and sit bent elbow (on door handle)

it seems stupid, but shoes can make a difference too. in my trainers that i wear travelling i sit 2 notches closer than if i hop in with my work boots still on travelling between locations.

 

the lumbar support in my mk2 octy does nothing..

ive driven from home (clonmel) to belfast, then cairnryan to east glasgow, and return home in 36hrs round trip (about 600miles ish) home to home and been comfy the whole time. ive done 40mile journeys in work vans and been stiff for an hour after it.

On 01/05/2021 at 20:51, TheITGuy said:

So 2 years on and my findings?  Not great.....

 

The first hour's drive in the car the day it was delivered gave me aching upper back muscles.  I then spent a long time adjusting the seat position to mitigate this, with only partial success.  Like most drivers, the past 12 months has seen a dramatic reduction in mileage.   In the past 2 -3 weeks, normal business trips have resumed, with the result that I'm currently suffering a painful right buttock, pain in the tendons that are on the underside of the right upper leg, a painful neck and aching upper back muscles again.   I'll have a look at the seating position tomorrow and make some adjustments....

 

Glen

 

Too late sadly, but FWIW I tried a few of the newer A3 models when it came out a few years ago before using one for long  (6-8 hour round trip) journeys.

 

For me the standard seats I found were poor, the sport seats much better, the super sport seats a bit too much for me.

All of these came with zero lumbar adjustment as standard and if you wanted it you had to add the 4 way electric.

 

In the end I settled on a manual sports seat (including the pull out leg support at the front) with the electric 4 way lumbar adjustment.

That was much better than the seat in the MK2, mainly due to the better leg support and so reduced arse/back ache on longer journeys.

The 4 way lumbar was better than the skoda mk2, only because it came further out and could be height adjusted, and you need both not just one to get comfortable.

 

I seem to remember the passat also came with an ergo seat option (as I believe did some skoda in other markets), so if you're still looking at swapping seats these could be a good option to try and locate at a lower than Audi sports seats price.

 

 

 

So I tried the new seating position today with a 100 mile round trip, with a break of about 5 hours between.  By the time I arrived home, the very top of my right shoulder and neck was very painful and the right side of my hip was quite tender.  The actual driving position didn't feel too weird, even though the seat was much more upright and the seat base more inclined than usual.

 

I won't be needing to drive the car much over the next few days as I'm mostly in the office or driving a rented van, so I'll see if some of the aches and pains settle down before my next long trip!

 

Although replacing the seat is an option, if some of the issue is being caused by the hugely offset pedals, it may not make much difference.

 

Ho hum....

11 hours ago, mac11irl said:

it seems stupid, but shoes can make a difference too.

Makes perfect sense to me, and I normally drive in trainers too.

2 hours ago, TheITGuy said:

if some of the issue is being caused by the hugely offset pedals,

For sure that's at least some of the problem, because you'll be sitting with your legs twisted.

12 hours ago, TheITGuy said:

So I tried the new seating position today with a 100 mile round trip, with a break of about 5 hours between.  By the time I arrived home, the very top of my right shoulder and neck was very painful and the right side of my hip was quite tender.  The actual driving position didn't feel too weird, even though the seat was much more upright and the seat base more inclined than usual.

 

I won't be needing to drive the car much over the next few days as I'm mostly in the office or driving a rented van, so I'll see if some of the aches and pains settle down before my next long trip!

 

Although replacing the seat is an option, if some of the issue is being caused by the hugely offset pedals, it may not make much difference.

 

Ho hum....

 

Hmmm...   not good!  Is the seat possibly too high still?...  meaning you are potentially 'bowing your head' a little at the neck to get a better view and unconciously taking the weight of your arm via your shoulder?  It might also explain why your hip was tender if the seat bolster has been pressing on it?

 

Not sure really - just some thoughts...

And I thank you for those thoughts Skomaz 

 

The seat has been lowered a fair bit already to try to ensure I'm not bowing my head.  I won't be driving the car much over the next few days, but at the weekend I will ask my wife to take another photo with me in the driver's seat and compare with the original one.  I'm hoping a few day's rest from driving the car will settle down the various aches and pains so my next reasonably long drive in it will be a good test on whether there has been any improvement.