Seats - how do you have yours?

B

BaJ

Member
Hi all,

I've had my Z4MC for a few months now but still can't seem to get comfortable in the drivers seat, I'm only 6 foot so no massive lanky bean pole!

It's confusing me as at first glance you would think the electric adjustment would provide unlimited tweaking, I keep fiddling but just can't seem to get it quite right, maybe it's in my mind, hmm! Anyhow I took the car on an extended trip to, and around Wales the other weekend and had horrendous back ache after an hour or so behind the wheel. My left leg also began to ache despite being sat on the foot rest half of the time. I've tried extending the thigh supports both in and out but that didn't seem to make much difference.

How do you find your seat? What about thigh support - in or out?

Cheers

Oh and whilst I'm here, a sneaky pic from the Wales trip :wink:

4287882396_e0c1d765a4_o.jpg
 
It took me a while to get the chair in an acceptable position, and I still wouldn't say it was perfect. As for the thigh support, I always have that tucked in.
 
BaJ, here's the procedure as described by Adrian from BMW Driver Training:
1. Adjust the seat forward/backward until your legs are just slightly and comfortably bent when depressing the pedals fully. (If your legs are able to "lock" in the straight position, you will be severely injured in any frontal impact).
2. Adjust the backrest as close to upright as you can, while keeping four finger widths clearance between your head and the roof lining.
3. Adjust the seat up/down until you achieve the above if you are too tall (I'm 6'3").
4. Adjust the steering column in/out until you can place your wrists on top of the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position, with your shoulders against the backrest. This allows you to turn the wheel fully while keeping your body in the seat.
5. Adjust steering up/down for clear view of instruments.
6. Adjust the mirrors.

I found that my seat is quite far from its furthest back position and I never use the thigh supports. So far I have only done one three-hour trip, but without any body aches (over and above the usual ones caused by old age).

Here's a picture of Adrian giving his seat position lecture:

DSC_0530reduced.jpg
 
I don't find the Z4 seats anywhere near as comfortable or supportive as my e34 seats were (could adjust them in more ways to make them really bucket-like), but I've got them into a position that suits me most of the time - and that's doing 4 hour commutes twice a week.

page13-1004-full.jpg
 
Siener2 said:
BaJ, here's the procedure as described by Adrian from BMW Driver Training:
1. Adjust the seat forward/backward until your legs are just slightly and comfortably bent when depressing the pedals fully. (If your legs are able to "lock" in the straight position, you will be severely injured in any frontal impact).
2. Adjust the backrest as close to upright as you can, while keeping four finger widths clearance between your head and the roof lining.
3. Adjust the seat up/down until you achieve the above if you are too tall (I'm 6'3").
4. Adjust the steering column in/out until you can place your wrists on top of the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position, with your shoulders against the backrest. This allows you to turn the wheel fully while keeping your body in the seat.
5. Adjust steering up/down for clear view of instruments.
6. Adjust the mirrors.

I found that my seat is quite far from its furthest back position and I never use the thigh supports. So far I have only done one three-hour trip, but without any body aches (over and above the usual ones caused by old age).

Here's a picture of Adrian giving his seat position lecture:

DSC_0530reduced.jpg
Click to expand...

That's the way I have my M seats in my Si coupe. I also have it lowered as far as it will go and the thigh supports out just a bit. I have the side mirrors adjusted to have no blind spot (takes some getting used to but works great)
 
Siener2 and gannet - thanks for both of those, I'll try later on to see how I get on. I already try the 'rest your wrists on top of the wheel' thing but will give it another shot.

Actually that's another thing that confuses me, the seat bottom angle adjustment, do people have theirs more flat like or tipped back?
 
BaJ said:
Actually that's another thing that confuses me, the seat bottom angle adjustment, do people have theirs more flat like or tipped back?
Click to expand...

My front it cranked up, the back is cranked down.
 
My seat is flat. There is a built-in angle with the front a bit "up". I tried it more up in front,but my legs tended to go a bit numb. Much better now.
 
It does take some doing to get there and I echo Siener2's noted method.

The only points I would add is to try to have the backrest reclined a little and not too vertical. Several knowledgeable people have advised that it's good to ensure that vertical movement of bumps and bounces travel into the back of the seat and not straight down the spine into the seat base.

Equally the front squab thigh support should not be so far extended as to interfere with pedal movement or behind the knees but just provide gentle thigh support.

I'm 6 foot and find the Zed ///M sport seats are very comfortable and lots of movement when combined with the tilt and reach steering wheel. Not armchairs, but I get out relaxed after a regular 150 mile commute/drive.
 
You should definitely be able to find a comfy position - I'm 6ft and have done 4 or 5 hours straight behind the wheel without any complaints. Wheel adjustment will make a real difference but when you find the right position (and you will!) make sure it's set into the memory. I just got mine back from the garage and the seat was practically through the roof - would have been a nightmare without memory seats...
 
GOod tips posted here.
Regardingly the seat bottom, I have mine flat otherwise my legs push down on the seat front when depressing the clutch and that just doesn't feel right
For some reason it took me longer to get a comfortable position in the M than it did in my 3.0Si, not sure why, probably just me as I would have thought the M seats have the same adjustability as my Sport seats did in the 3.0Si. I'm just under 6ft and even though my position could probably do with a little tweaking, I can drive for hours without any issues
 
My Z3 was a bastard on the butt, no matter where you put the seats, my M3 was a lot better, I had a setting for performance driving much similar to that described in the post and another one for Interstate driving, sit back and relax with little or no shifting. Now I'm going to go home and see what it feels like to follow the instructions and set the seats in my e89. I haven't driven it longer than an hour at a time but I fiddle with the seats constantly so maybe this post will help me find that magic position that works.. :D
 
Problem with mine is that the seatbelt is at an angle and doesn't retract itself in!!! Annoys the hell out of me.
 
BaJ said:
Actually that's another thing that confuses me, the seat bottom angle adjustment, do people have theirs more flat like or tipped back?
Click to expand...

You're supposed to sit on your behind, not on your thighs, so the upper body weight should rest on your pelvis. The thigh support and tilting of the seat bottom should be very, very subtle, just enough to have the front of the seat bottom support your legs (but not your upper body). Tip the seat bottom all the way back and you'll end up with back pain very quickly.
 
cj10jeeper said:
It does take some doing to get there and I echo Siener2's noted method.

The only points I would add is to try to have the backrest reclined a little and not too vertical. Several knowledgeable people have advised that it's good to ensure that vertical movement of bumps and bounces travel into the back of the seat and not straight down the spine into the seat base.

Equally the front squab thigh support should not be so far extended as to interfere with pedal movement or behind the knees but just provide gentle thigh support.

I'm 6 foot and find the Zed ///M sport seats are very comfortable and lots of movement when combined with the tilt and reach steering wheel. Not armchairs, but I get out relaxed after a regular 150 mile commute/drive.
Click to expand...

Second that; I'm 6' 3" and I've always found the Zed to be about 3" too short in the cockpit. Even with the seat jammed back against the bulkhead my left kneecap is about two inches from the bottom edge of the dash and I'd probably lose it in a head-on!

Can't agree for one second with the BMW guys upright seat back - thats a definite recipe for a bad back, especially if you're tall like me, any doctor will tell you that.....the seat should be tilted back quite a bit so that the backrest takes some of the body weight rather than letting it all fall on your pelvis - I've had to do that in every car I've ever owned. I have my seat base as low as it will go, then tilt the backrest until its comfortable, then slide the whole shebang as far back as it will go!

A consultant at the JR in Oxford (who also underlined the advice about the seat back) told me that the back is the second least understood part of the body after the brain, because the muscle groups are so complex and their interraction and the way they compensate for weaknesses is still being extensively researched.
 
My process was.

Right down, right back, seat base flat. Seat back back as far as it will lean till it scrubs.

Move forward until you can clutch fully still with a kink in the knee of the left leg. Check other legs can do full motions of travel.

Tip seat base up until the angle of it meets with the angle left in the kink of your leg when pressing the pedals... ie, the base isn't so far tilted that you kinda pivot a great deal over the end of the seat to press the pedal. The front extension should move in/out and you not really notice (I have mine right out, and when resting my left leg on the clutch I can kinda roll the knee to the side and support the leg over that extension)

Once that is done, you just have the seat back angle... I prefer this leant back a little mainly because I like my head low. The Z4 screen is fairly raked to the sides, and being too high up and forward reduces visibility imho. On track, being closer to the wheel is nice... leverage, speed, control benefits, but on the road, being a bit more back/down seems to be beneficial for visibility. Also, the natural support of the seat seems to benefit from being laid back a bit more... while the non-M sports seem to be better more upright for support.
This really is personal preference, and I'd go for comfort here first.
Then steering wheel adjustment. This again is more preference, but I am to be able to hold both hands nicely on the 12o'clock with my shoulders still touching the seat back. Having it so close your hands droop over the wheel is too close imho. Again, good for track work, but I prefer being back a bit wrt crash considerations, and also you get a better view (imo).


After all that, I still tinkered with mine a bit over a few days, but those seem to be the fundamentals. They are a good seat once right, but I can imagine if you get it wrong it'll tell you about it. The non m-sport are comfy, but I never found a good position and ached after an hour or so. The M-sport are harder, but once you find the sweet spot and get the support right, I have found them excellent.



Good luck finding that sweet spot :)

Dave
 
Mr Whippy said:
Move forward until you can clutch fully still with a kink in the knee of the left leg. Check other legs can do full motions of travel.
Click to expand...
Remind me to never sprint against you three-legged guys in the UK. :wink: :lol:
 
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