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Front seat comfort

1714 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  ckonarske
Anyone else out there find that the front seat doesn't go far enough back from the steering wheel? My husband is 6 feet (not particularly tall) and can barely get comfortable. I'm 5'9 and like to drive close, usually-- but I've got the seat all the way back too. 2002EX
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Since I'm 6'5" I definitely agree. I also find the seat cushion way too short...it only comes about half way to my knees. OTOH , practically every car or van out there is the same. I ride with golf buddies in big Buicks, Mercury Grand Marquis' and Cadillacs. They are all difficult to get into and have no front seat knee room as far as I'm concerned. I bought the Ody in '99 because it was the only vehicle of any kind that permitted me to move my knees back and forth under the steering column so I could operate the brake without splaying my knee out to the side and hurting my hip.

I do wish Honda offered a seat carriage that could be extended to allow the drivers seat to go further to the rear. I've had my seat out (easy) and exposed the carriage and it would be a snap to install.

I'll put that on my wish list.
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I'm 6'1" and don't find it necessary to have my seat back all the way and I drive with my arms pretty well stretched out toward the wheel because I prefer more of a sports car seating position.

My seating problems have been pretty much solved by a couple of mods I did to my front seats. I've done two things:

1. Altered the lower edge of the front seat cushions by removing about ten cubic inches of the foam down near the bottom of the cushion. This is a mod that hasn't had any downside at all. It's worked just great. Pics are in my album.

2. The second thing I just did last week seems to have made the last little bit of difference I needed. I put 1/4" spacers under the front of the seat riser to tilt the bottom seat cushion upwards in the front.

These two changes have had the net effect of making the seat bottom feel noticeably longer and adding support under my thighs. The addition of the dead pedal also helped because I can comfortably keep my left leg extended.

These mods probably won't make bigjim totally comfortable but they would probably improve things quite a bit.



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Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes on FotoTime.
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Hey I'm only 5'10" and feel the seat cushion is too short. When my arms feel confortable my legs are too cramped and when my legs are comfortable my arms are stretched out.
My wife who is considerably smaller loves the seating.
Chuck,
Does the foam you took out from the bottom of the seat back affect lower back support? One feature I love in the 2002 EX is the lumbar support. I'd be afraid to modify the seat if it would affect a good counterpressure on my lower back when I drive.
I happen to like sitting straight up, with my back straight, so my left knee is bent with my foot on the floor. There's just enough room for that, and I think the risers you installed would make it hard for me to sit that way, right?. My husband finds that position awkward at the wheel. He likes to be more stretched out, which is, I guess, why his leg extends.

[This message has been edited by tamisaac (edited 11-11-2001).]
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by tamisaac:
Chuck,
Does the foam you took out from the bottom of the seat back affect lower back support? One feature I love in the 2002 EX is the lumbar support. I'd be afraid to modify the seat if it would affect a good counterpressure on my lower back when I drive.
I happen to like sitting straight up, with my back straight, so my left knee is bent with my foot on the floor. There's just enough room for that, and I think the risers you installed would make it hard for me to sit that way, right?. My husband finds that position awkward at the wheel. He likes to be more stretched out, which is, I guess, why his leg extends.

[This message has been edited by tamisaac (edited 11-11-2001).]
</font>
In the '01 the mod improves lower back support, but I've never sat in an '02 and don't know if or how they changed the cushion, so can't comment.

The stock '01 cushion has too much foam (at least for MY bony butt
) right across where it contacts my tailbone area pushing me forward and preventing contact where the lumbar area needs support. Since removing the foam, my butt can be further into the rear of the seat helping solve the short cushion problem and also the lumbar support problem.

As to the additional seat tilt, it's minimal. I basically just installed 1/4" shims beneath the existing risers. It's easy to do and if it doesn't work for you it can easily be undone.

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Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes on FotoTime.

[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 11-11-2001).]
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