Ouch...my back!!

Hi All, I finally bought a 996 before going on holiday 2 weeks ago and it is an absolute dream....I will post photos very soon, but in the meantime I have the soft ruffled leather seats and after a long drive of about an hour or so at the weekend, my back really started to hurt! Before I continue, I'd like to point out that I'm a very fit 32 year old with no history of back problems!!..also my previous 911's didn't give me this problem. Should I switch to the sports seats?....will they be more comfortable over long distances?

Before you do change the seats, you might find you can slip something thin behind the seat back cushion (a mousmat or 2 works). I know the sportseats I used to have in the Boxster had back cushions that were open at the sides and you could carefully slide such extra THIN padding in - the 996 standard seats are (I think) the same. You would need to play around with thickness/height of the extra padding a bit - but you might find it enough?

I have the sports seats in my BoxS an i get the same problem as yourself, i find there is a big void between my lower back and the seat as there is no adjustment for the lumbar area. PS. The seats in my old 964 (sports) also caused the same problem

Want a mousemat Elliot? [ ]

Seats are just too personal to generalise. What suits one person may not suit another. I've got standard seats on a 996 and they suit me fine. My wife has adaptive sports seats on her 987S and claims that she still can't get comfortable. Maybe you need more lumbar support. Sparco do various small cushions for their race seats that attach with velcro. Or, perhaps it's bad posture - common if the driving position has the steering wheel too far away. If your arms are too straight when at the '10 to 2' position you'll be twisting your shoulders and back when steering.

Could be too much oversteering a la Clarkson?

A nice soft gel one please Mark [ ]

I have a compressed L1 Vertabrae and I find the seats great!, some cars give me agony after 5 mins.

Mines is just the same. Although I do have spinal fusions in my lower back I have no problems with any other car I drive - just the 996 which also has ruffled leather seats. I looked at the seat back and found that it is very cheaply made and poorly sprung, with little or no support in the lower back region. The top third of the seat is of a hard foam and the bottom two thirds is thinly sprung. Its at the joint of the two that I find makes my back really sore and uncomfortable. In fact its the worst car driving seat that I have ever sat in. It go so bad at one time I thought of selling the car, but as it has just covered 4K miles I would find it hard to part with as the rest of the car is a dream. But if I can't find a solution or it doesn't soften up soon then its going! PS My Fiat Stilo is heaven to sit in ....[ ]

I have no problems with my 'ordinary' seats but the recent agony of getting into, out of, and sitting and driving in a Lotus Elise was unbelievable. Never, ever again. A contortionist like Harry Houdini might be able to get in and out - it was almost impossible for me. Incidentally, what are the sports seats like for a 'standard' Boxster? Do they have lumbar support? Can they be fitted after purchase and how much are they? Just asking.

The standard non adaptive sports seats do not have a separate lumbar adjustment, but I still find them infinitely more comfortable than the non sports seats I had in my last 986. This could also be due to the fact that the 987 has height adjustment on the steering wheel as well as reach, so I may just be sitting in a better position. For enthusiastic driving, the sports seats are the business, and for me, are no compromise at all when I'm not hooning about. I would think that retrofitting sports seats is no problem though finding ones in exactly the right colour and condition to suit your interior may be a bit of a pain (ie a pair that have aged exactly the same as the rest of your interior) if you go to a breaker. Brand new may be prohibitively expensive.

This is an interesting thread - my 944 had the comfiest seats I have ever had - you could drive for 6 hours and get out fresh as you started. I have just experienced two weekends of back trouble after 996 trips and tried all sorts of seat adjustments. Regular drive is an Audi A3, same as the 944, very good. I have always thought German cars offered the best support, a French car would cripple me. I am no old crock and I will have to get to the root of it. The car has ruffled leather memory seats - not sure if they are sports seats? Am interested to see how this one develops. Hugh

If I recall - ruffled was not an option on Sports Seats. Try the mousemat trick - it just slides behind the back cushion (if it is the same construction as I think it is)

I find it hard to beleive that sticking a mousemat behind the seat will help!...and since we are talking about cars with a value of £30k plus, the solution does sound a bit cheapo [&o]. Those who have sports seats.....are you happy with them from a comfort aspect??

Yep. But we're all different. My brother-in-law hates them...

Just trying to help - I know it was a common solution that have others used. And the mousemat is probably better made than the rest of the bits you can't see inside your seat!

Purely personal, but I've never been all that keen on the sports seats since the 911/964 era. I prefer being gripped round the kidneys rather than the shoulders.

Sorry Mark, wasn't meaning to sound unappreciative of your comments!....my post sounded a bit blunt didn't it? [ ] Hey, who knows maybe I will try it just to see what it feels like. I think Porsche Apart, the breakers are coming to the Porsche Festival at the weekend and it maybe a good opportunity to change them was my thinking.....

No worries! I get misunderstood all the time... [ ]

I bought a Recaro seat for a Subaru Impreza I used to own, and it came with otional lumbar support - a foam pad, about the size of a mouse mat!

Forgive me if the proclamation that I have all the electric goodies on my "ruffled" seats makes me sound like a smart a*se. But those goodies include an electric adjustable lumbar support (without which I would struggle with my dodgy back bones). Would it possibly be cheaper to retro fit the lumbar support rather than buy 2 new sport seats (accepting of course that a mousemat is slightly cheaper still [ ] )

I know you're missing that water bed David, so how about a little hot water bottle tucked under the cusion. Same effect as a mouse mat with the added advantage of being able to adjust volume and even temperature with a little warm water for those cold winter mornings. Is electric heating included with all those goodies ? I can't remember!

Interesting thread... I have had 944s and now a 930 turbo all sports seats with adjustments. None have been great for longer journeys for me,but i have discovered the cure! Drive faster , get the adrenalin up , focus, seat of the pants etc,and suddenly all aches and pains disappear ! I was wondering if i needed to go "modern" for more comfort but i think it unlikely by your comments! Also the deppreciation you suffer would be an even bigger pain in the butt!