I used to find the seats on my classic made my back ache on a long journey, I'm considering joining the Scooby 'gang' again with a Blobeye wagon and I'm wondering if anyone out there has had similar experience , are the seats any better on the new age ?

thanks for any help

Dave

 

Had a 350 trip none stop in my classic last year to Scotland and my **** knew about it when the misses and I got there

 

Its must be the age not the seats.

I have no problem in them whatsoever.

 

I wondered how long it would be before you poped up Gav , I think you're right about the age thing though

 

Have you got the seat back reclined a bit from the most upright position ?

If so, then this is the likely cause of your aching back problems. It may feel strange at first, but the best seating position in the car is with the seat back upright. With your arms outstretched and your shoulders firmly in the back of the seat, your wrists should be resting on the top of the steering wheel.

If they aren't then when you drive you'll find that you'll be driving without your back/shoulders sitting forward of the seat and unsupported. On a car like the Impreza with heavy(ish) power steering and capable of high cornering forces, your body needs to be well supported. Otherwise when cornering you are putting a huge strain on your lower back in particular, using those muscles to support you during cornering. The result is a very sore back within a short space of driving.

In most "normal" cars which require little effort for steering and don't generate high forces under cornering/acceleration/braking you can get away with a "lazy" driving position as you aren't putting your back under a lot of strain.

Have a look at the in-car videos of WRC drivers. How many of them do you see with a relaxed/laid back driving position, with arms outstreched so they are fully open when driving ? The answer of course is none. All sit in an upright position with many of them sitting very close to the steering wheel. this driving positoin gives them maximum leverage on the steering wheel and enables rapid movement of the wheel as well.

Giv it a try, it may feel odd to start with but within 30 - 50 miles you'll feel the benefits.

John

 

Totally agree. When I started sitting with the seat more upright my back ache went and it was much more comfortable once I'd gotten used to it. MY98 seats by the way

 

Don't worry, It has to happen to us all eventually.

 

Morning,

Got a STI 03 and have had no problems at all.

Drive up and down to Preston to see my girlfriend most weekends, about 500 mile round trip, and don't really feel it that much. Of course there is the usual big stretch as soon as you get there but thats same with any car.

Think what the others have said is true, have my seat in the upright position all the time, tried it tilted back a bit, but when the power comes on its not to supportive. Also your age and general fitness might be a factor as well, have played prop forward since I was 7, so my back is f**ck'd anyways!!!

Chris

 

Thanks for that John , I must admit I did try many different driving positions , and didn't seem to find a real comfortable one , It seemed to have a lack of support in the lumber area . I guess I'll have to take an extended test drive of a new shape and try the seat as you suggest .....too old at 37

 

i get a bad back now and again due to excessive rugby playing when i was younger, I have my seat as JohnS says above and tend to find my back is fine, and when its bad i tend to get out of the car feeling better due to the support of the chair. You do need it to be up right though!

 

I guess I could always get one of those 'nice' beed seat covers you tend to see in Rovers

 

I've got a classic and have done a 1200km trip in it in one go, a few times.

The only thing I'd complain about is getting a bit cramped around the ankles, not being able to do much with the accelerator foot!

Alcazar

 

Have to agree with that also, i had exactly the same problem, and after ajdusting the seat it went away..

 

I used to have my seat pretty upright and never had any problems, whereas in the past other cars have hurt the base of my back quite a bit!

 

Hold on a mo, I'm 37, too, and I'm young! Honest!

I have mine very vertical - always have done, and have never understood how folks can drive lying on their backs and feel they have good control of their vehicles.

I also suffer back problems when I have to be on my feet for a long time - my doctor quite correctly diagnosed it as: "You're a lardy. Lose weight!" But I never have problems with the Scooby - in fact the superb support of the seats helps when I'm in pain.

I'm not sure that would be the case if I had a WRX - my car is an MY03 STi - which has less side support from the seats. Taking the extended test would seem very sensible!

 

I've just driven a new 05 STI down to the ring, Spa and back and found exactly the same thing with regards to the seating position, so it doesnt seem to have changed between the RB5 I had and the new model..

 

I think my classic seat is the most comfortable of any car I've owned. My wife gets backache.

 

Sounds like that was nothing to do with the Scooby!

 

Classic seats not the most comfortable for trips - gets my lower back a lot - I don't half know about it if I go for a round of golf somewhere thats about an hour away... ooh lordy! Deep heat anyone?

 

Blobeye seats are worse than classics IMHO, particularly the airbagged seats. The base of the seat is nowhere near long enough

Echo all the advice above for sitting upright, but the blobeye seats are quite a bit worse

 

Looks like I might have to carry a cushion around with me then

Thanks for all of the replies folks

 

I have no problems in an 04 WRX SL (Sun Roof and Heated Leather Seats) in what is pretty much an upright position, but that is me - a (slightly) overweight, middle height, middle aged gentleman. An important factor is that the relatively unadjustable subaru seats and steering wheel will not fit everybody properly - for example my brother in law (Dave) loves the car but is taller than average (6' 4" to my 5' 9") and the only way that he can sit in the drivers seat is to tilt it back (don't forget the sunroof lowers the internal roof by 1"+), and for him it is unlikely to be that comfortable on long journeys (but neither will be 90% of the other cars on the market either). To put this in context, my slightly spikey hair touches the roof and the seat hight is virtually at the bottom. The seat length is just about perfect for me, for Dave it will be 3" short of optimum.

So for me it is great, and base and back lengths are perfect, the heated seats are a bonus because if my back muscles are tensed up and muscles are just spasming (I work in IT and spend hours hunched up in front of computer) I switch the heat on, and it helps my back to relax - I could be a wreck before the journey and fine afterwards.

Perhaps manufacturers/dealers should offer a range of seat sizes to cope with taller and shorter than average people rather than the current one size fits all situation?

 

I am a relative short **** (5' 7") and have an MY05 wagon (previously and MY00 wagon) and I use the suggested more uprigt position and find the seats perfectly OK for long journeys.

I would say the MY00 seats certainly held you better for any high speed cornering but for a long motorway/A-road slog you shouldn't have any problem.

The missus prefers the scooby seats to the Recaro's I had in my A4 a while back.

Hope that helps.
Avalyn.

 

I reckon my Classics (MY99) seats are about perfect. A lazy driving position or poor is definately the usual culprit for lower back pain! :-)

Regards,

NS04

 

I have awful lumbar back problems since getting my car just over 2 years ago. I will try what you suggest although I have to sit pretty close to the wheel anyway as I'm only 5' tall (ok, short).

I was almost upright anyway so I could see over the scoop but I just cranked it up to 90 degrees

 

Iv'e got an 03 wagon, and quite often drive 350-400 mile's in one go, and iv'e never had any problem's.

 

An upright seating position is definitely the way to go. Mine is bolt upright and very comfortable - we drove from Surrey to Skye a couple of years ago in our MY99 (classic) and didn't have any discomfort whatsoever.

Talking seats - has anyone else noticed that the passenger seat is ever-so-slightly narrower than the driver's seat? It's been like that since brand new, so nothing to do with me "stretching" the driver's seat!

 

I used to have a Volvo S60 T5 which is supposed to have some of the best seats in the world. I did long trips from Belgium to Denmark in it. Now I have a bugeye with the rallyseats and there is absolutely no difference from the S60 seats regarding comfyness. They are brilliant and they hug you better in the turns than the Volvo seats.

 

I've driven a lot of miles in a lot of cars/vans and IMO The Impreza classic seats are one of the best I've ever used.

Agreed, the newer ones, aren't quite as good.

 

I've got a JDM MY96 WRX V-Limited, and the seats are great, really comfortable on long journeys and give lots of support, they are definately better than a mate's '03 blobeye WRX