We have an '07 MCS with Sport Seats. Hated them from day one, especially versus the Mk1 seats. Have they ever changed or been updated on the cars that are now being sold?

 

Wow, I sold my R53 in order to get the seats in the R56. They haven't been updated from the introduction of the R56, as far as I know.

 

Funny how that works. We expected the R56 seats to be similar to R53/BMW Sport. My wife has TMJ problems and we had to have the seats customized due to lack of support.

 

I have no doubt that you could find someone to trade you seats provided they bolt straight on.

 

wish i could get racing seats without the airbag light being on =/ i have too many lights on right now haha

 

What's one more?

 

Temporo-mandibular joint? I had chronic problems with that for a brief period... didn't realize seats affect that.

 

I have never been able to find a comfortable position with these seats! I've moved the seat forward, back, up, down, recline, forward, nothing works...

 

I find that the side bolsters on the sport seat bottom dig into my thighs. This only becomes apparent after driving for an hour or so. My solution was to buy one of those cheesy seat cushions from PeP Boys, cut off the bottom half and use it to pad the seat. It looks awful but works well.

 

TMJ is in the jaw. He must mean something in the lower back like sciatica or something.

 

They did update the seats. Well actually, the headrests. I was checking out an '09 S and the headrests seem to be much thicker than the ones released on '07s. Also more comfortable?

 

I find that changing the seat height, which changes the angle of the seat cushion as well, makes that problem go away. So on long journeys, I'll set the seat height up a bit.

As far as I can tell the sports seats haven't changed over the years, except for the head rest. There is a big difference between the cloth ones (and presumably the leatherette ones), which don't have lumbar adjustment and the leather and leather/cloth ones which do have the lumbar adjustment.

I find the leather/cloth ones to be slightly wider, so they fit my ample back end better, also the lumbar support on the non adjustable ones is too agressive for my backs liking (which is very unusual, my problem is usually lack of support). I find any sports seats to be much prefereable to the plain seats, which just don't have any support anywhere and feel like half a bench seat to me.

 

I think the seats are very comfortable, surprised there are complaints. I could see it being an issue for heavy-set folks, but thats hardly mini's fault.

 

i prefer the previous Gen 2 sport seat headrests. i'm only 4'11" and the beefier headrests in my 09 MCS force me to tilt my chin about half an inch down, even if the headrest is at its lowest position. raising it does not help. so i widen the angle of the seat back to the seat bottom a little bit so my head does not touch the headrest, but only if i'm in the passenger seat (this is also the only time i use the center arm rest, which is a relief for my intermittent left shoulder pain). if i'm driving, i have to keep the seat back at a shallower angle and raise it almost all the way up otherwise i can't comfortably push the clutch all the way down (and this is with the seat pulled all the way forward).

it's not an unsual thing for me. the boyfriend's titan causes the same, literal pain in the neck, but slightly worse. in fact, i hate headrests in general. they're one reason i don't like going to the movie theatre. the ones there force me to tilt my head down at an even more severe angle.

 

Just lean the seat all the way back and lean like a cholo

 

if i could get my paws on a set of r56 S seats would they be a straight bolt into my r53? as i really really like the r56 sport seats, way better than my 115k mile 2002 s seats

 

diamond in the back
sunroof top
diggin' the scene with the gangster lean
wooo-wooo-wooo

 

More like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPD_mRGegEI

 

Stratmosphere: Do your seats have the adjustable lumbar supports? My '07 MCS has the cloth sports seats which did not come with adjustable lumbar supports. Here on NAM is a post which shows step by step instructions, includes part numbers, great photos etc. to add the adjustable lumbar support feature. As I remember the parts were about $80/seat, installation was a piece of cake and this made quite a difference in comfort for me anyway. Worth looking into if you do not have adjustable lumbar. Good luck.

 

We have both the R56 and R53 and my back feels much better while driving the R56, one of the reasons I wanted it when we bought our second MINI. Maybe you could find some JCW Recaro's from Europe................for $3000 that is!

 

I have to agree with you. The sport seats in my '06 felt perfect to me. I now have an '08 and for me the issue is with a lack of thigh support and no way to tilt the seat bottom upward (lack of adjustment). I'm getting used to it a bit more now, but still miss the old seats. I have the Lounge Leather in my car which does seem to be a bit better than my buddy's MC with regular seats, though.

I've also noticed that the seats don't really line up to the pedals well....i.e. when you rest your left foot on the dead pedal, your left thigh is crammed against the left bottom bolster...and the steering wheel doesn't seem to be lined up exactly in the middle of the seat. Just overall it feels a bit off to me in this '08 MCS compared to the old car....just takes getting used to, I suppose.

 

I placed a stack of stainless steel washers under the front mounting bolts in our R56 in order to adjust the rake of the seat bottom.

I've taken some long trips since doing that, and I find the seat much more comfortable.

I have a bunch of steel in my left leg that hit the "wings" in a bad place. Tilting the base moved my tailfeathers back on the seat and changed the pressure points.

The washers cost less than a new set of Recaros.

 

you can also try installing the lumbar support. I did it to my car and it only takes about 45 minutes and less than $200 in parts.

 

so anyone have a set of r56 seats they want to part with.

 

+1 on adding lubar support to the MCS cloth seats. I did it recently and think it is a very worthwhile improvement.

Gilboyto is about to install a Recaro drivers seat. So, he may have one extra seat...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...cw-recaro.html