Why does this seat suck so bad?

This is my latest experiment.

Seat jackers plus neoprene foam stuffed into the side bolsters. A quick drive around the block says that I set it a little too narrowly. I'm going to ride it for a week to see if it breaks in. I do feel like I've gotten used to the jacker though.





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Wish I wasn’t a peasant. I’d order some Recaro seats.

 

So a (not so) quick update on this:

I almost immediately ripped out the neoprene and reworked it from scratch. Even though it's only 1/4" foam, doubling it over along the outer edges was a huge mistake. It created all kinds of uncomfortable pressure points.

So I just put in a single, 1/4" layer along the side bolsters and tapered down from there. In other words, almost stupidly subtle.




Night and day difference. Almost. Almost there.

My next issue was fighting seat position. Even after a week of moving the seat forward one notch, going for a drive, moving back one notch, going for a drive, tilting the seat back, test driving, cranking the lumbar knob a 1/4 turn, test driving.... I just couldn't find it. As hard as I tried, it was either uncomfortable or it was a position that felt downright squirrelly and alien.

I can't even describe it properly. Ever pilot a ski boat and stupidly (not drunkenly, I swear, occifer) hit a series of waves at the wrong angle? Like the first wave knocks you into an odd position, and somehow you just know that if the next rollers hit as hard you're either going over the bench or worse, yanking the helm so hard you capsize it? That's how the truck felt. Disconnected without being able to describe why, the seat was threatening to not keep you centered behind the wheel through the entirety of the turn. I just could not find a position that felt secure, in other words.

So I removed the seat jackers. And fuck me, there it was, perfection. Or as close to instant perfection as the stock seats could provide. All it ever needed was that very subtle 1/4" foam on the bolsters to offset the seat covers and heating pad. Everything feels right, natural, and connected.

It was a long experiment, but at least I know now. For me, the grass is most definitely not greener with the jackers, but I'm at least glad for learning that the hard way.

 

@Rock Lobster so you only put foam on the seat back and not where you sit?

 

Visa versa (cover is flipped up in the picture.) Foam along the sides of seat cushion only. Seat back left alone.

 

Gotcha. I plan on following your lead. I suffer from pain in my right hip area because of the unbalance with that left dead pedal and also a fracture on my left side. Do you think this will help or should I add some neoprene to the back? Did you have front and back seat jackers?

 

I just had the front. And no matter where I positioned, it was either hitting a pressure point, putting my head against the ceiling, or it was the weird disconnect thing I described earlier. The jackers just weren't the solution I was hunting for.

For me personally, the seat back is proper as-is. It's bolstered enough to restrain the torso from lateral acceleration, and the lumbar knob can be adjusted to compensate the covers. So I didn't mess with that part.

Putting the 1/4" neoprene into the bottom bolsters was so subtle that it doesn't create pressure points, but it also adds a very slight assist to the legs so that they aren't swinging to and fro with every turn. And for me personally, it was my own muscle strain - holding my previously unsupported legs in place - that was putting pressure on the hips and lower back.

Is it fully supported? No. Not exactly. It just makes the covered seats feel like stock again. Does it help? Oddly yes. It helps a lot. Where before I had to tuck my left foot against the seat bar and wedge my knee against the door, now I can plant my shoe on the dead pedal and feel somewhat comfortable.

I'm in the same boat, I've always had a lower back weakness, but my most recent injury has been taking much longer than normal to recover from. So, things are sore. Welcome to middle age, rock lobster.

However, for 15 bucks and an hour of cutting and fitting, I'll take the victory lap on this one. If you find that you're in the boat that I am, and who knows, maybe I'm alone in this because I haven't heard anyone else describe their left leg never feeling "seated." But if that's your issue, boosting the bottom bolsters helped me.

 

Seat Jackers are da' bomb, and a very inexpensive upgrade. It is like night and day once you install them.

 

@Rock Lobster thanks for the update/response. Time will tell if your method works for me. Something's got to give. I feel like I've tried everything and it doesn't work. Merry Christmas brother.

 

The seat jackers (front only) helped me. It seemed like all my weight was on my heels and the bones in my butt, my leg muscles would be constantly engaged and I could only drive about an hour without getting achy and be shifting around trying to relieve the pain.

What is "funny" though:
I have always had issues with seat backs and need to sit very straight to avoid pain. Older Chrysler seats were the worst as the straight up position was somewhat reclined, they also lacked thigh support as well.
My first test drive was specifically to see if the seat would bother my back, no issues noted.

Not since those Chrysler cars built close to 40 years ago had I encountered a vehicle seat that the issue was the cushion.

Of course everyone is built differently, however at 5'11" with a 30" inseam I'm a pretty common guy.
It seems Toyota could have done just a little better with this. Desert Does It fixed it for me, worth every penny.

 

6'0" here.

No complaints with stock seats @ 50K miles. The electric adjustable ones would be nice but I never adjust my 19's manual seats much anyway.

 

Question: Does the foam seat cushion have groves molded into them for the seams of the cover to fit into?

 

The foam is something I cut myself, but I used the cover seams as a guide and fit the foam between the stitches.

 

What I'm getting at is you may get better results actually cutting precise pieces of the foam and gluing them to the cushion. Use the cut outs as a guide and leave 1/4" from the edges. Then tuck each seam of the cover precisely into the grooves. This way you get a perfect distribution of pressure points and less likelihood of the foam slipping out of position over time. I've had that happen to me before especially when adding to bolsters.
I'll post the upholstery glue I used, trust me once its glued it is then a permanent part of that cushion.
I put a new leather interior in my other car and it worked phenomenal. Also you should "steam" the cushion while it's out to restore it to it's original shape (youtube ).

I admire your perseverance searching to get the perfect seat. I thought I was the only OCD psycho that did stuff like that (no insult intended, just self depreciation on myself).

 

Forget the 3M crap, Permatex, Gorilla spew or whatever you're going to buy because you could literally glue two greasy piece of fabric together with this stuff.
I purchased it from the company I purchased the leather interior from (leatherseats.com).

 

Do the front seat risers come in any height other than the 1.25” commonly found? I have a set I installed but to me they seem extreme and raise my legs too far up with the short seat.

 

I installed seat Jackers and am not impressed. Maybe slight improvement but not the improvement I was hoping for.

 

I wish my tractor was this comfortable

 

Anyone try to remove the driver's side foot rest?