I may have to get rid of this car, These seats SUCK

Whenever I drive the car for an extended time, (took it 300 miles today) My lower back is horribly sore. I figured out today it is from the lack of lumbar support. Anything I can do about this?? Do the seats have a lumbar adj I cant find? This is really a problem and bumming me out. Sad.

pics of seats

why? where there differnt types? I will ahve to go take some and I am not getting off this heating pad right now.

The seats could be ordered with lumbar support, I know because my buddy has them in his. Unfortunately I don't have them in mine and can sympathize with you. I saw an aftermarket product once that you put into the center section of the back of the seat that you could inflate, but I can't find it right now (tried Google). It looked better than some of the products that are just pads that go on the outside of the seat. You might find a set of seats on Ebay or at a wrecker that have the lumbar option. the option number (for 2000 at least) was 513 for the passenger side and 586 for the drivers side. It required the P15 option for electric seats.

My seats suck as well, they are the standard with no lumbar..... I broke 3 vertebrae in my back a year and a half ago... by back hurts after long drives as well. I have heated sport seats being shipped, hopefully they will make a diff. I still need to figure out how to hook up the heat though...

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Thanks. Ill be on the lookout. I have both sides power seats, But not sure of the lumbar, I doubt I have it unless they are hiding the control for it somewhere

Kyle- Try this. http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/inseluinairc.html I have the same issue and have one of these. Have yet to put it in yet but I think it will work. Pete

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thats looks like some sick sex toy. I LOVE IT! J/k I am going to try that. That may do the job

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Not that there is anything wrong with that........its cheaper than new (used) seats.

I did buy those thin inflated cushions that you insert in the lumber area of the seat-backs and they did help support my back. Surprisingly the air in those things last quite a long time as the materials are sturdy and well made like the ones you find in the medical field at hospitals etc... I do recommend those if you want something simple and easy to install.

Having owned many 928s over the years I can sympathize. The standard seats leave a lot to be desired. A regimine of 100+ situps a day as recommended by the wifey has helped immensely. Your mileage may vary!

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Thanks for the input, I am going to order one tomorrow and giver a try

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You could always buy a Buick grampa

so dramatic .... exercise?

Depending on the wear and tear on your back you might be going the wrong way in temperature treatment of you back. Heat is for muscles. If it's the cartilidge of your back then you better go with cold. If your back hurts worse when you wake up then then gets better during the day it probably is cartilidge swollen up pinching nerves so cold is the way to go. Now for the hard part. Best to listen to Marc Gelefsky and get a buick ha ha ha. Actually changing the angles and other settings of the seat could help you out. You'ld be amazed on seated positions and if legs are supported or not changes things. One of the checks during back pain is with legs hanging off or supported. Maybe try tilting the seat back some so your legs get support around the knees. I primarily make sure I have the correct distance of both hangs on the top of the wheel able to push me back in the seat some so that the car is always controllable. You might just be wrenching your back with an improper set up where you twist your back a little steering. You might find it isn't the seat but the set up.

+ That should do it...... Kyle....you sound like my old man when he was getting out of my old 944(sparco race seats).

I have the power lumbar support option on my seats, and if you had it, you couldn't miss it. The switches are quite obvious. They improve the comfort of the seat quite a bit, and if you could find some to swap out, that might help with your situation.

The inflatable inserts that sneakypete showed are the ones I saw. If you have the power seats than there is a blanked button/area on the side control panel that is where the lumbar control goes when you order this option.

Try a Whoopy cushion Can you tell I've broke my back before and have no mercy

Well after reading this post, I realized how lucky I am to have lumbar support option but also realized that it wasn't standard on all 996's, which I assumed up until this point. When I picked up my car, I drove it back 800 miles without any issues. I do remember adjusting the lumbar support before I drove it back which probably helped a ton, now looking back.

I also have the lumbar support option in my P-car and I find the seats incredibly comfortable. However, I have yet to make a 1,000 mi journey. Maybe this summer...

I swear the person that said do sit ups has it right. Changed my life. I was rearended by a car doing 50, I was stopped, the truck I was in had a cement mixer on the back that the guy hit, the seat had no head rests and my heafd was turned looking straight out the passenger window. Yea 15 years of pain in the back and neck. Days of not being able to move, ambulance to hospitol because I could barely breath, years later - I know about the pains Seriously - sit ups (crunches) in the 3 major stomach muscles - absolutely 100% changed everything. Its not perfect but I can drive for hours and before I could barely drive 1 hour

I've got lumbar support in the seat too. Nice little round adjustment. Doesn't do much for my comfort. I want power not smooth

The controls look like this when you have the lumbar (round button) and full power adjust:

Do some core exercises, strengthen up the those muscles, and you'll be fine. I have a really bad lower back (thanks Dad) and when I stop working out for a period of time I can tell as the back is the first thing that hurts. No joke, working out is the key.

How did this turn into a 'Jack LaLaine' commercial? But you know Dell and Ed are correct for long term help. I have a bad back too....even gone thru 3 shots of steroids in the spine. In the recent past I stopped being active outside of the norm and my back feels it. Exercise is the ticket but damn that leather couch looks good!

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not really dramatic, it is painful enough to end me wanting this car. PERIOD. If your wife bit your ***** at the end of every blow job, you would either get rid of her or not put your ***** in there anymore.. same thing here. I was just stupid as a kid. I DJ'd parties to pay my way through school. Lots of heavy lifting. Big speakers and those racks and racks of 33's where freaking heavy I have a gut and I know it is part of the problem.

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Not part, it is the problem

Get a copy of "Healing Back Pain" by DrJohn Sarno. I've had back issues for over 25 yrs. and reading his book actually helped me a lot. Exercise will stretching can also help.Stress about your job etc. can also contribute.

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well at least ONE thing changed over the years

There's only one thing worse than a bad back, and that's a bad front! lol

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Well, I guess it depends on how hard she bites!

Kyle, You're not putting your ***** somewhere in the car that you shouldnt be..... are you?

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Yeah, me too but my back has never been an issue... my knee's have been a mess lately. Does not give me an problem when driving but I ride my bicycle (road bike) quite a bit and that is a bit painful! Getting older.. not fun However, I have been dropping weight and feeling a million times better.

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Actually, the gut is only part of the problem. It is the underdeveloped core muscles underneath. Back extensions using light weight, crunches, and obilque training are key. Oh and another thing that most guys don't do.... strech. This is especially true for yor hamstrings. I know that my car is "the car for me" because it came with Lumbar/heat/power and supple leather. It may be the granny seat on the options list but with 56 sport coat, it's the only ones I would order.

On my Boxster, the lack of lumbar would sometimes make for an uncomfortable long trip in an otherwise wonderful seat. My 997 and Passat wagon have lumbar and I have it set to max on both. If you have a black interior it shouldn't be hard to source a full power seat with the lumbar, and after your IMS a seat R&R should be cake. The center seat insert attaches at the bottom of the seatback in the rear, held by a straight piece of plastic that pressure-fits into the seatback. Pull that out, grab a piece of something soft that you think will be adequate lumbar, and stuff it in there. Take pics.

stretching is cheap as hell, only takes a few minutes (really) and works like a champ too !! - like said above the gut is a problem but dude, I wear size 32 pants and weigh 155 lbs - NO GUT and still if you dont get that stomach strengthened it will kill your back no hope for you marc...just give up and mail me your car keys

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When you pry them from my COLD DEAD HANDS!

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Dr. Strangelove teaches us that missile #69 is considered a mutual assured destruction position that one should take advantage of...

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Haha, funny guy, what time u due back In boys town?

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something tells me even then - I will not succeed

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In a crunch (forgot my little pillow) I have used my dash sun shade visor jammed behind my back it is made of small air bubbles. Some of the LA freeways are the worst and contribute.

The rides smoother if you fly over the bumps and pot holes

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its not a ride issue. Its a contour issue. I think they had these seats designed by someone at kmart.

Normally every little vibration/shock to the spinal cord increases the compression of the bone on the backs cartilidge thus compressing onto the nerves causing pain. Hence fly it for smoothness and times will be less of feeling the pain of being a burned out old man Don't ask me how I know.

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Put it in!! My only regret is I only bought one, should have bought one for the passenger seat also.

Kyle, I have the same complaint with my seats. I have researched all of the different seat options for our cars and found this post: "Are my seats the only ones that are so uncomfortable? " on Rennlist, to have the most cost effective option. A member here added additional factory padding to the lumbar area of the seat to improve the comfort. I'm recovering from spine surgery number 7, with 3 levels fused....so I am pretty desperate to either replace or improve my seats. I have also considered some good old fashioned sheep skin seat covers, with a little memory foam in the lumbar area. Good luck. Please keep us posted on your solution.

Hey Mark, how long do you think for your recovery this time, and will you be going to a PT as well? Hope all goes well for you.

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Ed I'm in the same boat, got rear ended while sitting still on the freeway, by an illegal with 8 kids in the back and no insurance. My life was changed, spent years in hospitals with a ruptured disc and pain in my entire body (abdominal, kidneys, etc) and finally had a disc replacement surgery which didn't help..so I know all about it. You are absolutely right about sit ups and exercise in general. My doc also told me to lose all the weight in my belly area and it's a major help. Regarding the seats, my wife's Boxster had the 996 style seats when we bought it and every time we took a long trip from AZ to CA my back was killing me. I just swapped the seats for a set of 997S seats, it's a HUGE difference, I highly recommend it!

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Wow sorry to hear about your back surgery hope you did not loose to much motion and get better soon, took my wife about a year to fully heal now shes back to throwing things at me with the best of them. Sheeps are comfortable but finding the right firmness of the foam for the lower back is a different story my pillow is set to firm. GL

Hey Steve (Barn996), this one is going pretty slow, since it is a re-do on a failed fusion. I'm at about 7 months. I was cleared to go back to the gym about 6 weeks ago and I start PT on Monday. Thanks for the kind words. It sounds like you have some experience with back isssues...25 years is a long time. I'm lucky, mine have only been for the past 10. Hi Steve (Mother), Thanks. Be sure to duck, when she throws. I haven't had sheepskins on a car in a long time, but I remember they were pretty comfy. Did you ever get the SC back on...or are you still on the break-in period for the new engine?

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Well it's still being broke in ... just in a different sense my wife borrowed the car and managed to hit one of those cement parking lot stops and well now am fixing the front. I'll get to the SC one of these days, however have been trying to design/fabricate a new intake which has been nothing but a self embarrassing experience.

I have the soft leather option comfort seats with the inflatable lumbar supports and have not issues with the lumbra support, it is infinitely adjustable. Rather the absence of bolsters and shoulder support is killing me, my 951 sport seats were comparatively awesome. I would gladly replace my seats with GT3 Sport Seats (not Euro GT3 seats) if I could find any Savanna leather ones at a reasonable price....

I had chronic back pain bouts for years, starting in my 20s. At times it was almost impossible to get out of bed, then crawl to the bathroom. I didn't want sit because I couldn't get up. I never consulted a doc because I knew people that had surgery and they had worse pain afterward. FF to about 10 years ago. My pain is gone, and my worse back problems now are a minor and barely noticeable lower ache that may occur once or twice a year for a few hours or less. I started hiking to help me quit smoking and noticed as a side benefit, that I no longer have back pain. I hike, rock climb, snowshoe and cross country ski. I have climbed over 40 peaks, many several times. A short hike may be an hour or two and a long one 8-10 hours with up to 5000' elevation gained and lost. This has also kept my weight in check. I drove my rough riding Jeep to Las Vegas over the weekend, doing 600 miles one day and 400 the next without even a thought to butt or back pain. I felt great at the end of each day. I find the Porsche standard seats comfortable, and the sports seats much more so. I'll trade you my Jeep Cherokee seats for your Porsche ones, problem solved!

I have the "supple" leather option and like the seats which seem to have a curve for you back. I drove the car back from LA for 2 long days and was very rested after 10+ hours of driving each day. My 968 had the conventional Porsche seats and there was no lumbar support - didn't like them. I had some Audi's and they had very pronounced lumbar support. +1 exercise & weight control are the solution to back problems. Helps other things also.

I have a 10 hr drive coming up on Monday... I am trying to tell my self to take it.... But I dont know.. thats going to hurt... I am going out to the garage tonight and see what I can come up with while I wait on the bladders

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I put one of these in. 30 second install and works great. One thing that occurred to me feeling around back there, is that the back cushion is pretty thick. And 1/2" less back cushion is 1/2" higher side bolsters. Hmmm.

You could blow up a 'couple' of these and tuck them in your seat. I here they take a good beatin'

I feel all dirty..... and I like it !!

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DOH!

getting oiled up doesnt mean the same thing it used to.... there is no way my garage floor will rust now !!

Kyle, here is the solution to your seat problem. I don't think they have lumbar support, but they look so gorgeous, you wouldn't care... http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/a...-cf-seats.html

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That thread was started by yours truly. It took me a year to finally find a good seating position in these seats. Once I did, I pulled the fuse so that no one, myself included, could mess with the seat angle - which is critical with these seats. The seats in my wife's Cayman are a world better than the seats in my 996. The sport seats in my old '84 are even better than the Cayman seats. The race buckets I use in the '84 for track days are better than either of those. What the he11 were the powers-that-be smoking when they approved those lousy seats that the 996 came with? Best of luck to the OP.