Hey all,

 

Long time lurker here and I finally bought a near new 2019 demo RS 245 wagon.  Beautiful car and I absolutely love it BUT.....  it's the most uncomfortable car I've ever driven.  Now I'm definitely tall.  6 foot 6 and I've nearly always driven large Ford Falcons/Holdens but I have had smaller loan cars every now and then which haven't caused pain after driving.

 

I can't seem to get my right leg comfortable.  I don't feel too crammed at all as the Octavia is known for having some leg room but my right leg (RWD) feels so unsupported and after 30 minutes of driving I start to get pain/discomfort in the hip/glutes and sometimes a sciatica sensation on the side of my leg at worst.  

Has any other 6 foot 6 plus people gotten comfortable in the RS 245?  Have also read about the RHD seats being offset so I'm not sure if that's part of it or not.

 

I'd love to know that other tall comrades have gotten comfortable and how they achieved this?  I really don't want to rip the seats out and I also don't want to sell it (It's only got 3000 on the clock).  Help?!!

Its probably caused by the support of the leg area of the seat.  The VRS seats are great, but I'm 6'2" and even I occasionally feel the support issues.  The problem is that the seat is tilted too far back.  Use the hand to the right and pull up a couple of times.  This will reduce the leg room further but allow for blood flow to recommence.  You now need to push the seat back down using the large knob on the RHS to give you additional space.

6 minutes ago, varaderoguy said:

Its probably caused by the support of the leg area of the seat.  The VRS seats are great, but I'm 6'2" and even I occasionally feel the support issues.  The problem is that the seat is tilted too far back.  Use the hand to the right and pull up a couple of times.  This will reduce the leg room further but allow for blood flow to recommence.  You now need to push the seat back down using the large knob on the RHS to give you additional space.

 

Thanks for the feedback.  So blood flow may be getting restricted further up the leg? (closer the the hip).  I do have the seat tilted as far as possible as It feels like the seat isn't long enough to support the knee end of my thigh as my leg struggles to relax.  It either feels like I'm almost having to suspend my right leg or constantly trying to keep my foot from pushing on the accelerator.   When I first got the car, I slammed the seat low and flat but that was bad.  Definitely caused injury.

 

My leg can feel a bit better when I have my right heel far left so my foot is on quite an angle but then my ankle starts to get numb/uncomfortable.

 

Maybe I'll try less tilt but put something on the edge of the seat to support the knee end of the thigh.  

I am around your height and get similar problems even on a non vrs on longer journeys.

 

Leg being at a funny angle I think as well as the bolsters as I don’t think the pedals line up where my legs naturally want to fall. I used to find the extension section on Audi etc quite helpful.

3 minutes ago, cheezemonkhai said:

I am around your height and get similar problems even on a non vrs on longer journeys.

 

Leg being at a funny angle I think as well as the bolsters as I don’t think the pedals line up where my legs naturally want to fall. I used to find the extension section on Audi etc quite helpful.

 

Yes, I think the bolsters may be a part of it as there isn't really a way your feet/legs want to go which is really quite weird and I think it is to do with this offset.  To rest your right leg on the door side is quite a stretch to most cars while the left side doesn't really leave the centre console.  When trying to move your leg right, that bolster seems to dig into your butt/glut/hip area.

 

Does your non vrs have the bucket seats too?  Or the offset is still enough to upset your right side?

Just standard SEL seats...

6ft5 here, and for me the tilt angle of seats was too small (38in inseam though). Solution (used by me on many cars, e.g. Civic, Mk1 Octy, Mk1 Superb, Roomster) was to fit a couple of 20mm high hard rubber blocks under front seat rails, with longer screws and spring washers.  There is a limit to this adjustment as the seat rails are anchored with pegs at the back.

Personally, I could also do with a bit more legroom but as I often have 3 passengers in the car, moving the whole seat further back is not an option. Mk1 Superb was better for legroom, both front and rear

 

Mk3 vRS is not too bad for driver comfort legroom wise, before buying it I tried a Kodiak and blacklisted it after a couple minutes precisely because there was no way my left leg would be comfortable against the centre console.

At least in the Mk3 vRS you can rest right foot on the carpet moulding next to accelerator pedal, I blacklisted all new Audis because not only none had the accelerator side footrest, but the side finish there was plastic and your foot slips onto accelerator.

I'd say whoever designs Skoda LHD conversions is not very tall 

 

1 hour ago, dieselV6 said:

6ft5 here, and for me the tilt angle of seats was too small (38in inseam though). Solution (used by me on many cars, e.g. Civic, Mk1 Octy, Mk1 Superb, Roomster) was to fit a couple of 20mm high hard rubber blocks under front seat rails, with longer screws and spring washers.  There is a limit to this adjustment as the seat rails are anchored with pegs at the back.

Personally, I could also do with a bit more legroom but as I often have 3 passengers in the car, moving the whole seat further back is not an option. Mk1 Superb was better for legroom, both front and rear

 

Mk3 vRS is not too bad for driver comfort legroom wise, before buying it I tried a Kodiak and blacklisted it after a couple minutes precisely because there was no way my left leg would be comfortable against the centre console.

At least in the Mk3 vRS you can rest right foot on the carpet moulding next to accelerator pedal, I blacklisted all new Audis because not only none had the accelerator side footrest, but the side finish there was plastic and your foot slips onto accelerator.

I'd say whoever designs Skoda LHD conversions is not very tall 

 

 

Ok awesome.  That sounds like a promising solution or compromise at the very least.  If it's easy to dig up the specs/links for these parts, that'd be awesome.  Do the rubber blocks need a hole drilled to go through the screw part or just under the rail somewhere and then it's held in place with the longer screws?

 

This sounds like what I need though for sure as today I experimented driving with my hat folded under my right leg to simulate extra height angle at the front and it did feel mildly better I think.  And yes, I have already found that rest spot on the right hand carpet moulding.  Haha.  I've been trying everything as I really want to keep this car!

 

6 hours ago, rdomain said:

Maybe I'll try less tilt but put something on the edge of the seat to support the knee end of the thigh.  

Less tilt is good. Yes, blood cut off around the thigh area.

Too much tilt does indeed cut off circulation around the mid-thigh to knees, but too little tilt leaves thighs unsupported leading to back pain as well as cutting off circulation in the backside. Very uncomfortable on long trips.

I just got short solid neoprene rubber strips of Ebay, same width as the seat rails, long enough to support the rail around the bolt. You also need longer bolts, I think M10x50mm, and spring washers on all 4 bolts.

Best to have a look for yourself at your seat rail mounts, you will see sizing.

 

Yes I think I need the more tilt option for that leg support then I'll more likely have leg contact along the whole seat.  A cheap option to try anyway!  Thanks for the info.  Very much appreciated.

 

 

Disclaimer: I bear no responsibility for your safety or seat comfort in case you decide to use information in this post!

 

Some photos and more info for the tilt angle increase:

 

The 2 front bolts are M10 x 50mm , 

https://www.mackay.co.uk/m10-socket-cap-metric-head-allen-hex-screws-fasteners.html

 

you also need 4x M10 spring washers. 

https://www.mackay.co.uk/washers-spring-stainless-steel-nutsboltsscrews-fasteners.html

 

Even though you replace only 2 front bolts, rear bolts also need spring washers for everything to sit securely and not come undone, as the angle has changed.

 

The actual supports are 12mm thick steel, 25mm wide and 12mm high, cut to 45mm length, with a 10mm thick solid neoprene rubber laid on top.

Steel goes at the bottom, rubber at the top to allow change in angle.

https://www.mackay.co.uk/flat-black-mild-steel-metals-warehouse.html

 

I got bolts, washers and steel from Mackay, though they are pricey for shipping. The nice thing about this shop is they cut your steel to order, so only drilling is required (pillar drill best for the steel and the neoprene).

But feel free to use other suppliers.

As I said earlier, I got short neoprene rubber strips from Ebay, search for solid neoprene rubber strip in about 25mm width and 10mm thickness. I would not go higher than 12mm with a neoprene rubber strip alone, you need steel underneath for support.

You can see front lugs in the photo, they still are in the floor for a few mm. There are also rear lugs I think, closer to rear bolts.

All in cost was about £15, plus drilling 4 holes (2 in steel and 2 in neoprene). Not much visible from top as there are plastic covers on rail ends, I had to put mobile phone right to the floor to make the photos.

HTH

 

Front supports:

 

Front bolts with spring washers:

 

Original rear bolts with added spring washers:

 

Disclaimer: I bear no responsibility for your safety or seat comfort in case you decide to use information in this post!

 

 

1 hour ago, dieselV6 said:

Disclaimer: I bear no responsibility for your safety or seat comfort in case you decide to use information in this post!

 

Some photos and more info for the tilt angle increase:

 

The 2 front bolts are M10 x 50mm , 

https://www.mackay.co.uk/m10-socket-cap-metric-head-allen-hex-screws-fasteners.html

 

you also need 4x M10 spring washers. 

https://www.mackay.co.uk/washers-spring-stainless-steel-nutsboltsscrews-fasteners.html

 

Even though you replace only 2 front bolts, rear bolts also need spring washers for everything to sit securely and not come undone, as the angle has changed.

 

The actual supports are 12mm thick steel, 25mm wide and 12mm high, cut to 45mm length, with a 10mm thick solid neoprene rubber laid on top.

Steel goes at the bottom, rubber at the top to allow change in angle.

https://www.mackay.co.uk/flat-black-mild-steel-metals-warehouse.html

 

I got bolts, washers and steel from Mackay, though they are pricey for shipping. The nice thing about this shop is they cut your steel to order, so only drilling is required (pillar drill best for the steel and the neoprene).

But feel free to use other suppliers.

As I said earlier, I got short neoprene rubber strips from Ebay, search for solid neoprene rubber strip in about 25mm width and 10mm thickness. I would not go higher than 12mm with a neoprene rubber strip alone, you need steel underneath for support.

You can see front lugs in the photo, they still are in the floor for a few mm. There are also rear lugs I think, closer to rear bolts.

All in cost was about £15, plus drilling 4 holes (2 in steel and 2 in neoprene). Not much visible from top as there are plastic covers on rail ends, I had to put mobile phone right to the floor to make the photos.

HTH

 

Front supports:

 

 

Front bolts with spring washers:

 

 

Original rear bolts with added spring washers:

 

 

Disclaimer: I bear no responsibility for your safety or seat comfort in case you decide to use information in this post!

 

 

 

Thanks so much for that.  Will make it much easier to try this idea.  Apart from being a cheap option, it's also reversible if so desired.

 

I think this could be good as it'd allow a greater degree of angle whilst adjusting the height as the seat seems to tilt more than separate height and tilt.  Eg.  You can crank the angle and then maintain that same angle when trying to add a bit of height to the seat which I think would help the long legs too and addresses an element of what @varaderoguy also said.

That aint steel in the photo!

Steel at the bottom, solid neoprene rubber on top. Another picture from different angle:

Edited 21 March, 20215 yr by dieselV6

My mistake, now I can see what I was looking at rather than what I thought I was looking at its very clear to me, the rounded sheet steel seat frame looked like black neoprene on top of two distorted blocks of fibreboard.

Why not try a wedge cushion off Amazon about £14. Will reduce the tilt at the rear of the seat cushion.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Medipaq-Correction-Orthopaedic-Washable-Breathable/dp/B00GTSVZ9W/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=wedge%2Bcushion&qid=1616359287&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQzJFNDVGQzc5REZQJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDg4MjkySk9ERUdZUUMzTUozJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1NzEwMDYyN1lUTFE2TUoySjBSJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

I second the wedge cushion. I am 6 foot 8, and my problem was the vrs seat pressing on my leg. I was worried that it would mean I would have to give up the car, as I couldn't drive it for more than an hour. One wedge cushion later, and I can do multi hour drives without a problem.

 

Or you could just buy a Passat next time. You can pump the front of the driver seat in Passat using this handle as much has you like, just like in some Audi models. 

 

I'm just a mere 6ft 4" but I had a similar problem with my Superb II to start with. Resolved by carefully bending the thick "outwires" under the side bolsters downwards and outwards. Now sorted,  my future issue may be how on earth will I find something as comfortable  when I change cars.

 

One car I'm eyeing is the Audi A4 which has cracking seats for taller drivers.

 

I feel for the OP and others over 6ft 4" - I always have trouble finding cars I'm truly comfortable in, especially as I get older. I'm finding the position and size of B pillars a problem as well - In many cars my right elbow ends up jabbing against it.

 

 

Edited 4 April, 20215 yr by bigjohn

LHD Octy, Std mechanical seats, textile covering. I'm 174cm very thin guy and Octy is 1st car driven where back hurts after 5min of drive.

Total lowering of seat base (when front part is much higher in relation to back part) and rise-up of backseat helped a bit'.

Think, that's because steering wheel is offset and there's not enough lumbar support for thin drivers (I'm boucing left/right).

Regulator (small lever on seatback side) helps a little- my back just falls deeper into seat and bents more- but still no normal support to sides.

On 03/04/2021 at 05:07, WayTooTall said:

I second the wedge cushion. I am 6 foot 8, and my problem was the vrs seat pressing on my leg. I was worried that it would mean I would have to give up the car, as I couldn't drive it for more than an hour. One wedge cushion later, and I can do multi hour drives without a problem.

 

 

Which part of your leg was getting the pressure and how do you place your driving leg?  I feel it's more that I can't relax my right leg as it's always jacked up or on some sidewards angle.  Hopefully a wedge cushion will help though!  You being 2 inches taller at 6ft 8 is giving me hope!  Haha.

And thanks for the feedback everyone else.  Appreciated.