Are you sitting comfortably? blog on Evo Community by HenryCatchpole

ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

February 8, 2010 2:56 PM | Posted By: HenryCatchpole
10 Comments | 987 Views
Related Categories: Seats

I had a day off the other day and I spent most of it sitting inside on my pedal bike. A lot of people reading this will think that this was an exceptionally poor use of a day off and usually I’d agree (I’d want to be outside on my pedal bike), but on this occasion I had my reasons. I was being Body Geometry fitted at Specialized. This curious collision between physics, biology and PE classes basically involves checking that you’ve got the correct size saddle and handlebars and that they’re in the optimum position so that you’re comfortable, aerodynamic and generating as much power as possible through the pedals. You’ll have to trust me that it was a useful way to spend my day.

Anyway whilst I was perched on my bit of carbonfibre I had a think; do we, and the manufacturers, pay enough attention to our driving position in cars? Most of the time when we sit in a car we’re looking at buying we’re probably fairly happy as long as we’re not being made to sit with our legs splayed like we’re giving birth (Moss in the Mille Miglia 300SLR) or having to operate pedals that seem nearer to the passenger’s footwell than the driver’s (Ferrari 250LM, any pre-Audi Lamborghini). But given how much time we spend in the driver’s seat and the sort of highly precise and technical activity we’re involved in shouldn’t we be more demanding? I’d be surprised if the bucket seats in most sportscars fitted more than a quarter of the people sitting in them really well. Different heights, different waists, different shoulders all have an impact and we should be able to choose a seat to match. The Audi RS4’s inflatable bolsters were a good idea, but I’d like to see boxes on options lists that allow you to pick from a range of seat sizes. I don’t wear trousers six sizes to big or two inches too short so why sit in a seat that doesn’t fit?

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COMMENTS

Ewan Smith at 11:35 PM 18 February 2010

Someone at evo once commented on a type of recaro that appeared in alot of the best performance cars. Why not fit your own seat to your chosen car. We are all differant (im not) so rather than asking for more choice from each maker like a demanding californian milk conisouer why not give an option of a standardised seat runner that accepts all types. Or do what ariel do by providing a double plastic one fits all solid seat with an allen key adjustment.Who needs a spine anyway.

Andy V at 6:24 PM 15 February 2010

Do manufacturers read this? Another vote for it..

Gav_GT at 2:38 AM 10 February 2010

A small addition to this is the multi-variable seats in my Toyota Soarer. Heaven! I have had dual knee ops and struggle to drive anywhere without knee pain, but with the tweakability of the Toyota seats driving is heavenly!

Ollie Marriage at 1:11 PM 09 February 2010

Unfortunately there wasn't much of interest in the physio magazine article that I mentioned in my previous post, other than the fact that Volvo, amongst others, get physios involved early in the design stages to help input into ergonomics and seat design. I do think there's more to come in this area. I, for one, find it hard to really enjoy a drive in a car that I don't feel totally comfortable and secure in. Whether it's the height of the drivers seat in the Clio 172/182 and Focus RS or the aggressively cupped backrest of the latest 911 GT3, or cars that don't have enough steering reach adjustment, if I'm not comfy in a car, I'm not happy.

Blakkhaart at 8:43 PM 08 February 2010

You are absolutely right, research from the car industry shows that correct seating not only dictates your comfort and thus how long you can drive without having to stop for physio therapy, but how much of your attention is devoted to driving. It turns out that even small discomfort starts distracting bits of your brain, leaving fewer little grey cells to enjoy the ride. Also the position of the seat make a huge difference too, it controls how well you are able to operate the steering and pedals as well as defining visibility and therefore confidence when 'pressing on'. Seats are tested with groups of potential customers, and the resultant seat should be 'reasonably acceptable' to 90% of the population, leaving the 5% biggest and smallest with 'some discomfort'. But as everyone is different it's an impossible task to engineer a universally perfect chair, so posh cars will be getting greater degrees of adjustablity with inflatable bags and the such over the next few years.

Velocity at 5:52 PM 08 February 2010

Henry - think you 'fusspot' though i understand your point about seats. I've regularly done big 3, 5 and even 9 hour drives across Europe (any excuse for a good roadtrip) and have never suffered in various Porsches or BMW's in the least. You introduce an S, M, L and XL seat and you've got the problem of selling it on or the buyer having the expense of a new seat. One issue i do have is elbow resting points. I love the Aston AMV8 but its high window line makes the window resting point pretty close to driving a high rider custom Harley with your arms up like a hanging Gorilla. There's no apparent other (comfy) options to pivot your elbows either. Try doing even an hours drive without resting your elbows on something comfy! So that rules out the AMV8 for me as a GT, gutted! What we do need though is a chiller patch in the drinks slot to keep your Red Bull cold. Not all cars slot-out drinks holders can be positioned in front of the air vents so you can blast it with the air conditioning

Ollie Marriage at 4:30 PM 08 February 2010

This isn't going to seem instantly relevant, but my missus is a physio and her big bugbear is seat comfort and position in cars, and what it can do to everything from your long-term posture to your circulation. Porsche seats often come in for criticism (too narrow across the shoulders), most one piece seats fail to supply adequate back support. Oddly enough the cover story of the latest issue of her physio magazine is all about this. For the first time ever I nearly picked it up for a read at the weekend. Nearly. Tonight I will, and if there's anything worth adding to the debate I'll be back tomorrow.

action jack84 at 4:22 PM 08 February 2010

Yes thats a very good point , however comfort is not a word i would use to describe the optimum position for a man on your mentioned bicycle. Im fitted as well as i can be to mine its efficent but its not comfortable

jprestidge1 at 4:13 PM 08 February 2010

Regarding bikes, I always used to have my mountain bikes custom built for my dimensions. With the move away from high end steel, towards carbon fibre and suchlike, this has become much less common, though, which is a shame, as I always found that a bespoke bike rode so much better than one bought off the shelf. Both of my cars suffer slightly from bad ergonomics - the Elise's position is nice and low, but the relation of the non-adjustable wheel to pedals is not quite right. In other words, it would fit perfectly if my legs remained the same length, but my arms were four inches longer. My other car - a Panda 100HP - has the seat set far too high, and the steering wheel is too big, and, although adjustable for rake, is not adjustable for reach. JP

MartinM at 3:37 PM 08 February 2010

It's an interesting question, and one I've pondered myself on a fair few occasions. I personally think that driving position is a hugely important factor in getting the most out of a car. Seating-wise, i spent a good deal of time getting the right competition seat for my car. The first one, i blindly ordered from Demon Theives, fitted my criteria regarding price, fixing method and spec perfectly. However, it fitted my arse and torso very badly! The sides were constantly pressing on my hips which, in a side impact, would at worst have shattered my something in my skeleton. I now have an OMP (RS, if anyone's interested) that fits me perfectly. I also learned a big lesson when i first had some track driving tuition. The coach thought the seat was reclined too much which was affecting my ability to make steering corrections. As a quick fix he got me to roll my jacket up and put that in the small of my back. It felt weird at first but my laps times tumbled as soon as I'd got used to it!

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