[ckonarske]

After trying to figure out what part of the Ody seats contributed most to their feeling of being too hard and not having any lumbar support, with seat bottoms that were too short, it seemed like the bottoms of the front seatback cushions were the culprits. They're so firm that they shove your butt forward, leaving the center and lower part of your back unsupported and making the seat bottom feel even shorter than it really is.

I figured the cushions could be replaced if I screwed them up too bad, so I took the seats apart and made a series of six inch slits in the area of the cushions where I thought it would do the most good to reduce their firmness.

I've only driven a little bit since I did it, but early impressions are that it helped. If it turns out that they need a little bit more, maybe I'll cut some foam away in the lower area. I don't want to do much of that because the seats need the foam to keep the seatcovers stretched tightly.

I'll keep you posted. If anyone comes up with ideas for a better way to attack this problem, let me know.

Pics are in the album.

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

 

[ckonarske]

PS: It only took about ten minutes per side to do the mod.

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

 

[dlh2]

Interesting mod Chuck. My big gripe with the seats is that the seat bottoms seem to short and don't provide enough thigh support. I'm very conscious of this on a long drive. If your theory is correct, this modification will let you sit further back in the seat, thus increasing the length of the bottom seat cushion. I'll be waiting to hear your up date on this mod after you've had a chance to spend more time in the saddle.

 

[nemogira]

"Paging Dr. Chuck to the ER...paging Dr. Chuck."

Ouch!

-nemogira

 

[sdp]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by nemogira:
Ouch!

</font>

Whoa - who'd a thought a simple seat cushion would bleed like that?

Chuck, did you remember to scrub in and wear gloves?

 

[ckonarske]

That blood was there when I started. Honest! C'mon, you believe me, don'tcha? Don'tcha?

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

 

[hachiroku]

That's a pretty interesting mod,Chuck. I think you have more than enough mods to make us an instructional video !

------------------
Rob/'01 GG LX "Lagreat"
http://www.fototime.com/inv/46E6936F1F9A447

 

[nemogira]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by sdp:
Whoa - who'd a thought a simple seat cushion would bleed like that?

Chuck, did you remember to scrub in and wear gloves?

</font>

Blood Type = Type O!

-nemogira


------------------

2000 CCS EX-NAVI

 

[ckonarske]

I just got back from ordering an Accord deadpedal from the dealer, but that's another story. Anyway, it's about a 10 mile drive. The seat felt pretty good, but it seemed like it could still use a little more "relief" so I added three horizontal cuts across the area that had been cut vertically, ending up with about 1" individual squares of foam at the bottom of the cushion.

If nothing else, the seat bottoms now feel about 1" longer and I don't feel like I have to keep scooting back on the seat. Of course, a longer drive may change my perceptions one way or the other.

What I think may happen is that the friction among all of these sections of foam at the cuts will cause a little bit of acceleration of wear in the cushion, making it even better.

It feels pretty good. I'll keep you posted.

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 07-17-2001).]

 

[ckonarske]

I just thought of another way to do this. It'd be very easy to cut out a rectangle of foam in the area of the seat I've been working on and replace it with an equal sized piece of slightly softer foam. You wouldn't need to cut all the way through the original cushion, maybe about two inches or so. This method would make the cushion firmness somewhat adjustable depending what density of foam you chose.

Just a thought for anybody else thinking about doing this.

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

 

[ckonarske]

UPDATE: Drove around a little today and the seats still seemed a little firm. It seemed like a little foam removal might not be a bad idea, so I removed probably about 10 cubic inches of foam from each of the front seatback cushions in addition to the slits in the cushion foam.

The covers still fit well and the seats are getting more and more comfy. It looks like this is gonna do the trick!

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

 

[Odyinid]

Great pictures of the surgery! Do you have any new photos of your most recent work. My "Helms Anatomy" only has line drawings!

------------------
'01 TW EX

 

[ckonarske]

UPDATE: The "surgery" to the front seats really helped improve the comfort for both my wife and I.

I just got back from my second round trip to Grand Ledge since doing the mod and am very happy with the results. Granted, it's a relatively short drive, about 90 miles each way, but there's much less shifting around in the seat to find a comfortable position.

They're still not Recaro, but they're much better than they started out.

------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes.

[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 07-29-2001).]

 

[carln]

Hey Chuck - can I just buy your Odyssey? That way, I don't have to do all those mod's to mine! You da' Odyssey Man!

 

[maverick]

Pictures of seat foam mod

I'm dying to try the mod myself, the seats are way too hard for traveling long distances. I followed your link to see a picture but the pics are no longer there. Any chance you could send me a pic or 2?

 

[psu ody fan]

Re: Pictures of seat foam mod

I'm dying to try the mod myself, the seats are way too hard for traveling long distances. I followed your link to see a picture but the pics are no longer there. Any chance you could send me a pic or 2?

Unfortunately, Chuck K has not posted to Odyclub in over 3.5 years.

 

[egads]

But there are still pictures in the tech section here at the Odyclub. Look under the C above.

 

[SLOdown]

front seat mod

Hi,
I used to read Ody Club a lot back in 01 when I got my Ody. I did Chuck's front seat mod (cutting out some foam) back in '02 or so and extended it to the seat bottom as well, and it took my Ody seats from a comfort level of about 6 to 9, immediately.

Just curious if anyone has tried this mod with a newer Ody seat, one with side airbags.

I still have the Ody at 99k miles, 2nd transmission but everything else has been great.

I have an 07 CRV now, and I find the Ody seats way more comfortable. I'm hoping to modify the CRV seats, but I'm concerned about all of the sensors and airbags.

Does anyone have good knowledge of how Honda seats are constructed, with regards to wires, sensors and such?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[FlyboyTR]

The seats in my 2002 were flat and hard. I have always preferred a seat that cupped or cradled my posterior…sort of like a tractor seat. Press in, and support, on the sides to help relieve the pressure on the coccyx area. …in any case…

I have completed two mods to my driver’s seat. I removed the driver’s seat cushion, released the hog rings and opened things up. Investigation revealed that both sides were flat (depressed…the left side more than the right…obviously). My plan was to bolster up each side and soften the coccyx area. I marked off a square in that area and then scribed lines ¾” apart to create ¾” blocks. Using the knowledge of the original poster on this thread…I cut the squares about 1” deep and then removed some of the blocks.

After that, I made a template for the bolster that would go on the each side of the seat. I used a medium density memory foam for this. The edges were tapered to help it lay and to reduce a visual edge in the seat after the cover was replaced.

It was a tight fit getting the cover back on…but working slowly…and a little forcefully, finally everything was back in place. I did not use hog rings to reattach the cover to the pan. I used a good quality plastic wire tie (which should do well…and I’ve used them in the past for other seat projects).

The seat fits my posterior a lot better. I have support on each side, the coccyx area is softer and because of the side support, my coccyx is sort of lifted up slightly. Should I have some type of failure or upgrade to this mod, I will post it here.

Edit: I will take a couple of pictures of the finished product and post them as soon as I can.

Travis

 

[psu ody fan]

help relieve the pressure on the coccyx area.

Hey pal, this is a family site........