As you know the sport seat bottoms tilt back severely and cut off the circulation in your legs unless you move the seat up very close.

I have found a fix to the uncomfortable sport seats. Time will tell if this is a complete fix, but here is what I did.

I removed the seat by taking out the 4 #40 torx bolts which hold down the slide rail. There are four electrical connections and two wires that are tied up to the frame with a plastic wire tie. After lifting the seat out, I looked at the under side of the seat and realized that the weight bearing points would not be likely to bend the slide rail if it were supported at it's front and back ends as opposed to sitting on the floor.

So.......I inserted a 1/2" spacer under the back. The original bolts are long enough to possibly insert 5/8" but it would be close.

You do not need to take the seat out.....here is all you have to do.

1. Losen the front two torx bolts and remove the back two.
2. Slide a spacer or washers under the back bolt hole, insert the bolt through them to hold them in place, and tighten all four bolts.

This made enough of a difference that I can now put the seat at the lowest position and pump it up 4 pumps and it no longer cuts the circulation off.

 

I just adjusted my seat higher and reclined the back a little more. Took the pressure off the back of the thighs for me.

 

I have the same problem, I'd like to drop the seat lower but the angle's too steep for comfort. I'd been thinking along the same lines, just haven't had time to actually take the seat out and look at it. Thanks for the tip!

 

seat comfort is a huge issue for me due to back injuries so whenever I go shopping for a car, I let the salesmen know that I need to sit in a seat for at least 20 minutes. when I was first looking at minis the comfy seats were a big selling point for me. panther were more comfy then the sport for me.

 

For anyone considering adding shims to raise any part of your seat and wind up needing to get bolts that are longer than the stock bolts, please do not go to the hardware store and get an ordinary low strength bolt.

Please go to a specialty fastener company and get a 'Grade 8' bolt. If my failing memory serves me right, it will have five raised lines on the top of the head. Someone please correct me here if necessary.

If you can't find a source locally, go to

McMaster-Carr on-line, they aren't the cheapest, but they will have exactly what you need.

If you are in an accident, there can be a very large shear force applied to those bolts. Get the 'good stuff'.

YD

 

i have the sport seats
i never noticed any loss of blood flow to my legs
i had the regular seats in my first cooper and i have had the sport seats in my last 2 coopers and love love love them

but interesting to hear i guess it just depends on the height of the driver

 

It's not a problem if you are in the habit of sitting close to the wheel. It appears a lot of people here find it a problem. I sit back from the wheel and the sport seats are very uncomfortable. I am also having hip problems because the dead peddle is so far away and my left leg has nowhere to go!

It's all a simple matter of what you are used to.

 

my only problem with the sport seats is after a long ride, my back starts to hurt. but ive had back problems before (pulled alot of musels in my lower back)

 

I sit pretty far back (for my height, anyway) and I think the sits are super comfey. I was wondering how that modification would alter the crash-worthiness of the seats...

 

Leg falls asleep because the seat is too far away, can't reach the dead pedal. I'm think the eaiest solution is just to slide the seat forward, which also has the consequnce of better grip on the steering wheel, but thats just me. Check out MINIUSA.com in the freestyle section for how to properly adjust seating.

I too have never had issue with the seat cutting circulation, when I changed wallets to one that folded differently I had that issue on occasion, but raising any part of the seat just isn't an option for me as I already bump the ceiling on occasion at the lowest height setting. And it's all a matter of my waist to top of head being where my height is instead of it being in my legs.

 

I haven't really had any problems. I like them, especially how they "hold" you in. Compared to the regular cooper seats, they are sooo much better!

 

I think the comfort level of the Sport seats has a lot to do with the size, weight, height, and shape of the individual Mini owner. I'm 6'1" and 225 lbs, and I find my Mini Sport seats uncomfortable for any trip over an hour or so. The first weekend I had the car I took it on a "break-in" trip of about 1200 miles, with as much as 6 hours at a time in the seat. About every half hour I had to adjust the seat height, back angle, and/or lateral position so I wouldn't be overly uncomfortable.

-Keith

 

woo hoo, glad you got it worked out

The sports seats work fine for me, so I did not need an adjustment, but glad this will work for those that have the discomfort.

 

I averaged 500 miles/day on my last road trip and my body felt fine after each day's motoring adventure. They're not the best sport seats, but they're doing fine (and having the lumbar adjustment helps.)

 

Little Bit drives an automatic (according to the gallery). Manual drivers have to sit close enough to utilize the dead pedal as they need to depress the clutch. I think you do sit further back than most people your height (just a guess)

 

Good point.

Grade 8 bolts have 6 hash marks on the head. However, grade 8 is a SAE (fractional) specification and does not really apply to the metric MINI. The approximate metric equal is grade 12.5. FWIW, my local ACE carries 12.5 bolts. IIRC, all torx and allen head bolts are grade 8/12.5.

Additionally, be aware of how many threads are going into the body mounts when doing a mod like this. Manufacturers tend not to use any more "bolt length" than is necessary these days. Just because you can thread it in and tighten it down does not necessarily mean there will be enough threads to hold the seat in the event of an accident.

"a message from your friendly neighborhood paranoid engineer..."

 

LittleBit, I suspect you are under six feet tall. ?? I have no issue with the sport seats and think they're pretty comfortable. Sorry to hear you're not too happy w/ them.
Motor on!

 

The MINI forces you to adopt a pretty upright driving position. I see other MINI drivers seating too far back and too reclined on their seats.

People that have problems with the seats are often adopting very poor seating postures. Seating too far from the pedals causes muscle strains and pains. If you have to fully stretch your arms to reach the steering wheel you are then again seated too far back.

The key to comfort and full driver control is a good seating posture.

Here are some tips:

1) Sit at least 10-12 inches from the steering wheel to prevent injury from airbag deployment.

2) Hold the steering wheel by the 3 and 9 '0clock hand positions. Again this prevents hand injury from airbag deployment. The old recommendation of 2 and 10'oclock hand position on the steering wheel applies to oolder cars with no airbags.

3) Sit with the seatback as upright as possible. Make sure your back makes FULL contact with each section of the seatback. This ensures that you not only have an ergonamically correct posture but also you can better "feel' what the car is doing.

4) Place both of your wrists at the top of the steering wheel. Your arms should have a slight bend at the elbow joints. If you have to fully stretch both arms to reach the top of the steering wheel, you are seating tooo far.

5) With the clutch (or brake/gas pedal) fully depress to the floor, your leg(s) must have a slight bent at the knee. If you have to fully extend your legs to reach the pedals, you are seating too uncomfortably far.

6) Pumping the seat up affords better visibility above the hood.

These are just general guidelines. Seat adjutments are affected by the individual's body size frame, body weight, shape ,etc.

Seating tooo close to the steering wheels and pedals is DANGEROUS. This is a very bad habit, as bad as seating too far back and too reclined to "Look cool".

last but not least, losing some unwanted pounds here and there should go a long way in helping you getting more comfortable behind the wheel. If nothing else motivates you to lose weight, at least, let driving the MINI comfortably be a good incentive towards a healthier self.

 

WOW! The Mini should be priced ay least three times as high as it is!

It teaches every driver in the world to drive the same, where to sit and how to position your hands!

It makes you lose weight!

Unbelievable!

 

lol

 

Been there, done that, seats still suck.

 

well, you had to know that someone on here would know about ergonomics. and nutrition~ I want everyone to know that this thread brought about my nightmare last night. I dreamed that I couldn't reach the pedals because the sport seats were bad. I am going to stop reading nam before bed!

 

I also had a nightmare!

I dreamed that I was put to death for driving wrong my entire life!

 

I almost cancelled my order, and bought a new 07 335ci!

 

Thank God my mom is gone! She would have been so disappointed in me, 50 years old and don't even know how to sit in a car seat!