Have a cabrio with sport seats. Cannot drive longer than an hour without my hips going to sleep.(PAIN) Does anyone else have this problem? Other than that, it's an incredible car. This is a real issue with me, I have a sheepskin throw that helps a little, but a seat insert that levels out the bottom of the seat would be nice. Any suggestions. Wonderful car, JCW engine kit, loaded, if I could just stay in it for a road trip....btw, I drove a demo with standard seats for a couple of days. It was terrible.

 

I found the MCS sport seats to be too high in the front/low in the back, and of course there's no tilt adjustment provided. So immediately after taking delivery of the car I installed shims under the seat rail rear mounts, which has the effect of flattening out the angle of the bottom somewhat. You should be able to go up to 3/8" thick shims and still have enough thread engagement on the bolts; after that you'd have to to pay attention in case longer bolts are required. (The guideline is to have a length of thread engagement at least equal to the diameter of the bolt, 10mm in this case if I recall correctly.) I've forgotton how much I shimmed mine, but can easily check for you.

Also over time (5 months and 3K miles) my seat has formed itself to my shape - or is it the other way around?

Neil
05 MCS

 

Try lowering the seat position.

 

There is a control on the sport seats to raise or lower the seat. It does not actually raise the seat straight up like a lot of electric seats on other cars. As it raises, it also TILTS. Its almost like the front of the seat stays planted and the rear of the seat pivots up (or down). Try playing with the raising mechanism a bit. After you get tilt and height right, you'll probably need to adjust the angle of the seat back. Keep monkeying with those controls and you may find a setting that works better for you. Good luck!!!

 

Brian - just what I was going to suggest!

Nothing to add, except welcome from a fellow Bostonian (Brightonian, to be exact), and good luck figuring this out so you can enjoy the car to the fullest.

Chris

P.S. I'd have this thread moved to MINI Talk, since I'm sure there are others with this problem or with valuable input who won't see this in the 1st gear forum.

 

I have a bad lower back and would second the advice above: Adjust seat heighth, which also adjusts the amount of thigh support, and adjust the amount of rake, I found a less upright position than I drive in our Miata works better. I just returned from a 2000 mile trip in the MINI and was fine once I found the right combo. (The first day was bad because I hadn't found it yet)

 

1st drive to work left leg went numb

 

I didn't know until a week after I got the car that the seat has so many adjustments. It was darn uncomfortable at first and I regretted getting the car, but once the seat was adjusted I have had no complaints (admittedly my longest drive has been 40 miles). Try different combinations around your comfort level. If they really don't work for you then post again on NAM. Good luck.

 

Unfortunately I find that this feature of the sport seat height adjustment to be part of the problem, not part of the solution. As the seat height is lowered the base also tilts backward, aggravating the "butt in a bucket" syndrome. This creates pressure points under the lower thigh, above the back of the knees, which are uncomfortable and can block circulation. I'm 6' tall with average proportions and keep the seat toward the lower end of its height range, but not all the way down.

This is what led me to install shims under the rear seat mounts. Incidentally this isn't a problem I've experienced in other cars, so I'm not inclined to think it's just my weirdness.

Neil
05 MCS

 

Good luck finding a solution to your seat problem. I think this is one based on individual body parameters...some seats by some makers work...some don't...some have more adjustment...some don't. I personally find the sport seats incredibly comfortable. Are there aftermarket items which can help drivers tune seats for special needs? I don't know...my body is pretty tolerant where others aren't. I ride a commuter rail and lots of passengers have things which help make their ride in the train seats more bearable for them. It's be cool to have a seat cover with which you could add/remove bolster material to raise and lower section of the seat.

 

Fortunately for me I was able to find a comfortable position using the adjustments available. Have logged in some long drives of over 5 hours with no problems. FYI, I am 6'2" and over 200 lbs. My wife and I find the car to be very comfortable.

Invest the time and fiddle with all the adjustments. You will probably find a comfortable setting.

 

Speaking of seats... I just managed to pick my MINI up this morning (yeah!). I noticed that the sport seats (leatherette) don't have a lumbar support adjustment. I asked my MA and he said "oh, the sport seats in leather don't have that option". Here's the weird thing - maybe because I'm only 5'2, but it seems like there is a large bulge right in the middle of my back from the seat!

I guess I can only hope I'll get used to it!

 

The lumbar support has actually been my biggest problem with the sport seats, although it's certainly not a deal breaker for me. I have leather seats (05 MCS) which come with a lumbar adjustment. However, even when the control is cranked to its least aggressive position, the lumbar still sticks out more than I would like. My wife's 04 MCS, also with leather seats, is somewhat more comfortable, although I don't know why it should be.

In the beginning I had to mess with the seat controls at some length before finding a combo the worked best. Since there is nothing I'd rather do than mess with MINIs (well, its maybe my second or third favorite thing), I didn't consider this a chore. I don't think I would say that MINI makes the best, most ideal or most comfy seat around, but I think they are workable. I've made a bunch of 5 and 6 hour drives in the car without problems.

 

Not sure if your quote from the MA was a typo, or if he was mistaken, but what likely determines the presence or lack of lumbar adjustment in your seats is their being leaterette, as opposed to leather.

When I got mine, I was told all leather seats came with the lumbar support adjustment, while non-leather seats did not. I got leather sport seats, and sure enough, lumbar adjustment was there.

My sport seats have actually been great for my back, btw. I've taken my MINI cross-country, and up to Canada, driving 6 to 8 hours at a time, and absoutely love them.

Good luck,
DW

 

I also shimmed the seat rails in my 02 MCS for the same reasons. I used a stack of washers under the back of the rail.

My 04 has the same seats but they seem flatter and more comfortable. I did not add shims to this one . . .