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seat lumbar support suggestions

26698 Views 37 Replies 16 Participants Last post by  scotty
One thing negative about our seats is imo a lack of lumbar support (lower back). I don't like being slouched. I been searching for lumbar pillows for our bucket seat. Anyone have one that works well and fits the seat well and also stays in place. Whatever the case, any suggestions. Thanks
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I too am finding a tough time getting 100% comfortable in the seat for longer durations. Not sure if it's that the cushioning isn't broken in yet (if that's a thing), that I'm a bigger guy @ 245 lbs, or if it's residual back issue from my car accident in Oct that wrote off my last 3 (rear ended pretty damn good on the hwy). That was a 2010 GT with no adjustable lumbar support, but had memory seat which was amazing, and I could go for hrs in that thing.

I find myself fiddling with the seat here and there still after a little over 3 months and 11,000 kms - it's my only real issue with the car.

Hasn't been bad enough that I've wanted to buy a support or anything but if there's something that works, especially one that will go inside the seat, i may be interested in getting it installed.

Unfortunately there's no memory seat like my 10 had, so as soon as I think I get it damn close to just right and I need to fold the rear seat down I have to move my seat position because the back seat won't fold flat with where I had it set and it takes me forever to get it back close to where it was.
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I tried the manual lumbar support switch today. It's pretty anemic. Nothing like the power lumbar support in the Mazda 6.
Agreed. After spending 14 hrs in the car this weekend and another couple of hrs in traffic today I sat in my wife's Kia tonight for a quick jaunt. Although it has no side bolstering at all, the lumbar support (also electric) is much more substantial / tunable.

I've pretty much decided I want/have to try something. A pillow won't cut it for me, I want it to look factory and want it built into the seat.

Does anyone have any experience with something like one of these, or similar?

Car, Truck and SUV Lumbar Support System by Rostra

The only concern I have is how much is involved in opening up the seat back and squeezing the bladder in there.
Interesting find. I wonder what supports the bubble from behind? Why wouldn't it just expand towards the rear of the seat instead of towards your back? Is it sitting in there with something hard actually behind it so that when it expands it only does so towards your back?
There's a plastic board on the backside of the bladder that protects the bladder from getting pinched on the springs in the seat.

I've taken the plunge and ordered one of the Rostra power kits I linked to. Not cheap after $ conversion and shipping to Canada but if it helps it will be worth every penny with the amount of seat time I put in.
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I've made 3 adjustments to my seat and my regular daily commute (1+ hrs each way) has become much more comfortable in the un-modified seat. After reading around I did the following:

- raised the seat as high as I could - a fist worth of space between my head and the headliner
- tilted the seat back more upright
- reduced the lumbar support adjustment
- also pulled the steering wheel closer to my body so I wasn't reaching for the top of the wheel.

Although it now feels like I'm a tad close to the wheel compared to what I'm used to I am now much more comfortable both upper and lower body. The only downside is my left arm no longer reaches the armrest on the door even when fully relaxed (I have short T-Rex arms). However left elbow on the window edge and hand-to wheel is much more comfortable.

At this point I actually haven't touched the seat controls since before the drive home Monday afternoon, whereas prior to that I was fiddling with them at least once a day.

With all that said I still intend to install that electric air bladder lumbar support I ordered - I can't cancel it anyways as it's already been shipped. Although I am now much more comfortable than before I feel the OEM lumbar adjustment just isn't in the exact right spot for me and if this kit offers me greater flexibility and customization it can only be a good thing for me.

Having the seat foam modified was not an option for me. I want it adjustable in case my needs change down the road or my wife needs to drive the car so she can make it comfortable for herself.
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would you mind explaining better just how you opened up the seat? I looked yesterday and couldn't really see what/where you are describing. And did it all go back together nicely? Thanks
From what I saw in the '14 service manual the seat cover snaps together at the bottom of the chair then it either unzips or unclips up the sides at the back to reveal the back of the chair.

What I don't see is the OEM lumbar support. I'm just hoping that it's a basic bar-type adjustment and it won't interfere with the kit I want to install.

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It took me about 3 months to get comfortable in my car whereas it normally only takes about 1 month for me in a new car.

What I eventually figured out by getting out of the car and kneeling down right next to the seat and then adjusting it and closely watching the seat movement as I made different adjustments was that the seat height adjuster also moves you incrementally closer to the steering wheel as you raise the height. So if you get the fore/aft distance right and then adjust the height after that it changes the fore/aft distance slightly, just enough to throw you off as you think the fore/aft is set right and then as you drive it feels off because the height has changed this distance. I've never seen this before but I think this may be the reason some people find it hard to get comfortable in these seats.

Once you are aware of this behaviour it makes it easier to adjust accordingly. In a roundabout way this is actually a benefit as it allows you to make smaller fore/aft adjustments by using the height adjuster, raise it one or two settings to move closer and lower to move further away without having to use the seat slider adjustment.
I am aware. It's due to the linkage in the seats for the adjustments. Rake of the seat back does the same.

For these reasons I adjust in this order:
- Seat height
- Seat back rake
- Seat position fore / aft
- Steering column (for arms / reach)

Of course there's always little tweaks here and there in the process, but that's the main order I aim for.

And as a follow up I have been MUCH more comfortable in the car since my last post about seemingly finding my sweet spot. I haven't touched it since and discomfort / lower body pain on a daily basis is gone.

No multi-hr drives to really test it since then, but I've been in the car for 3+ hrs in a day and have been good.
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Sorry for the delay in posting. Let me know if you have any more questions.
That blue bar - that's the OEM lumbar adjust I assume?

Thanks for the pics - immense help.
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