4 months ago, I bought a 2003 mini cooper with the sport package. I have been taking 4 hour trips every other weekend, and to start with, my back was ok. I don't really have serious back problems, but now my back is hurting everday. This is the car I drive 15 minutes to work everyday and I am either having pain in between my shoulder blades or in my lower back (it depends how much of a recline i have in my seat). I prefer to have the lumbar adjusted all the way in becuase it just feels like its totally jabbing me in the lower back. I am considering buying new seats or trading in on a new car altogether because of my back pain everyday. I am looking at the corbeau gts II seats, and I was wondering if anyone knew if it would even be worth $320 a seat (if they even provide extra comfort). I am just incredibly frustrated with this nagging pain in my back no matter how I adjust my seat. Have any suggestions?

 

OUCH! Been there, done that!

However, my back pains (same areas as yours) were due to stress & tension at the office + the death of my Dad + the death of ex-FIL 2 wks later + the death of my step-FIL 2 wks after that! Whew!

Anyhow, I took advantage of a free chiropractic eval. and 12 sessions @ $20 each (ins. covered the rest). I was advised to NOT recline my seat while driving or while passenger, to ONLY put my feet up on a footstool if I had lower back pillow support (even if I was using DH's ultra-comfy recliner), and to buy a new mattress. Naturally I didn't do everything all at once...but each little change made a SIGNIFICANT difference! Once we bought the new mattress from the Original Mattress Factory, what little back pain that remained at that point truly disappeared!

See if there's a medical reason first...if there is, different seats may or may not help at all.

However...if you're looking for a logical reason to give the spouse to justify the expense of swapping seats and/or trading in the car, back pain sounds good to me!

I wonder, though, if the seat isn't simply "worn in" by the previous owner?

I'm interested in reading everyone's replies/suggestions....

 

hard to believe but my wallet in my back pocket caused my problems.

 

A buddy of mine in california, was having sciatica pain. The doctor told him to stop sitting on his wallet. Long behold it went away. He must have had a lot of money.

 

Similar problem but different seat ... I only got the back pain at the end of a longer (45 min +) drive, so I assumed it was the seat. Had it reupholstered, changed foam density, did that all over again, made brackets to adjust the angle of the seat a bit, shimmed it to change angles several times, installed an inflatable lumbar support a little higher than factory one. Each thing had an impact (not always positive), but since I saw change, I was confident the seat was the problem. Not so.

Moving the wallet from my back pocket to front solved the lower back pain within 2 or 3 days. A couple months later bought a new mattress (sleep number bed), which solved the upper back within another 4 to 5 days.

Of course, it is possible the seat is the cause of your pain. try pillow support or other such 'free' fixes to see if it works before spending the $.

If all that fails, and you want Corbeau GTs, if you are in the NJ area, PM me and you come sit in ones I have (but not installed). The ones I have are fixed back, but have the pirelli seat suspension system. I installed them in a 1962 Mini and then discovered I can't get to the back seat, so I took them out. Virtually new, although they have been stored for several years now.

 

The mistake I made early on in MINI ownership was sitting too far from the steering wheel. It seems intuitive that in a small car a tall person would move the seat way back, not so with the MINI.

Move the seat far enough forward so that you can wrest the bottom of your wrist on the top of the steering wheel. A more upright seating position will help a lot too. I also recommend adjusting the rake of the steering wheel down as far as you can and still see the tachometer (I actually cut off a tiny bit of the top).

This made a huge difference for me, though I still curse MINI for not having a telescoping steering wheel.

Good luck.

 

The guy who played Mr. Brady on the Brady Bunch refused to carry a wallet in his pocket because it gave him back problems, there are about 3 or 4 episodes where he pulls a wallet out.

 

A Friend Of Mine Puts Two Wallets In His Rear Pockets (one On Each Side) , One The Real And The Other A Stuffed Fake, Helps Balance Your Sitting Posture.

 

Buy a inversion table and use it for ten minutes 3 times a week and it will help you a ton. I used to go to a chiropractor pretty often but no longer need it. Best $150.00 (ebay) I ever spent.

 

All very good suggestions. I would add to try the lumbar support cranked out a bit and see how that feels. It feels different at first, but you may come to appreciate it.

 

I have had Major Back Surgery done twice. Not fun. When i drive our Mini i make sure the Seat back is slightly reclined. On a long trip i will stop at a Rest Area & get out & walk & stretch for a awhile. We bought one the Memory Foam Beds & it has helped a great deal in reducing the Back issues i have.