Uncomfortable Seat

[Jrkennedy37]

I’m curious how people adjust their seats - ie more of a laying back position or more upright. Sitting with a straight up-down back is way more straining on a lower back vs moving the seat closer and leaning back more. Too bad there isn’t an objective metric, like incrementally adjusting a sound system, for us to compare seat positions.

I generally find plush and more upright seats extremely uncomfortable and like the 14-way on our Panamera and on our Taycan. I’ve done multiple 2k or 3k mile road trips in the Panamera and feel fairly refreshed afterwards. Have done similar length road trips in SUVs with more upright seating positions and I need a couple days to recover afterwards due to the pressure on my lower back.

It’s similar to riding a hybrid/fitness bike vs a road bike. I always thought a hybrid bike with a plush seat would be more comfortable on the lower back but it’s way easier to log miles with a road bike due to a seating position that takes the vertical pressure off your spine.

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[gnop1950]

I have no opinion on the 14-way seats I optioned the 18-way seats in my car. As for the 18-way seats, once I got them adjusted to my tastes, they are some of the most comfortable seats I've had. I second louv's suggestion. I did move my seat a bit further forward than I would normally and reclined the back a bit more than I usually do, but now all is good.

 

[Archimedes]

Porschephiles, including myself, often say, ‘you sit in the 18 ways, while you sit on the 14 ways’. The shapes are very different. I’ve always found the shape of the back of the 14 ways uncomfortable, as I can’t sink into them, but rather they push into my shoulder blades.

Another thing that I can’t stress enough is that any seat that lacks lateral support will stress your back over time, as you will be using your back and core muscles more to brace yourself during cornering. You won’t even notice you’re doing it until you start to get the ache.

The 18 ways offer more lateral support, while the LWBS of the GT cars offer even more. The most comfortable seats to drive in I’ve ever owned are the LBWS in my GT4. If I could have specced them in my Taycan, I would have, even though they are a pain to get in and out of.

 

[whan]

I'm the opposite, I didn't like the 18 ways as much as the 14 ways when I test sat in them, primarily because the upper shoulder bolsters pushed my shoulders/arms forward. The 14 ways felt like they ended at the right spot to provide a cutout of sort letting my arms free

 

[f1eng]

I think seat comfort depends as much on an individual's physiology than anything.
I compared the 14-way and 18-way and the 14-way were much more comfortable for me, which is just as well since I fancied having the massage option.

I have a broad back and the side bolsters of most sporty seats dig into it even at their widest setting. The 18 way base was too narrow for my hips too.
I was in a friends option packed Range Rover Discovery last week and however I adjusted the seat the bolsters were too narrow for my upper back and dug in. I was very uncomfortable.

I actually sold my BMW M3 because of the seats and climate control. The seat looked great but was so uncomfortable I used to use the VW Polo N we had for the kids to learn to drive in on any journey over 50 miles. Its climate control was stuffy in winter too - the only car I ever kept a short time and entirely because of serious discomfort, the chassis and engine were super.

IME if the shape matches you firm seats are more comfortable than soft ones but the opposite is also true.
Generally soft seats are hopeless for fast cornering.

My wife is tiny and she has completely different experience to me in the same seat, car seats are definitely never designed for the female physiology and can't suit every male shape either..

 

[Sidicks]

I think seat comfort depends as much on an individual's physiology than anything.

My wife is tiny and she has completely different experience to me in the same seat, car seats are definitely never designed for the female physiology and can't suit every male shape either..

Agreed.

The folding buckets on my 991.1 GT3 were the most supportive and comfortable seats I’ve sat in - I frequently did 300+ miles at a time, only stopping to refuel, rather than for me to stretch my legs or take a comfort break. In contrast, my wife who is a foot shorter than me found the seats uncomfortable and used an additional cushion for her lower back on long journeys, but even then typically wanted a break after two or three hours.

I do whether in part this is due to the fact that when driving you also use your feet on the pedals or foot rest which can then take part of your weight off your to alleviate some pressure on your back, which you obviously don’t do as a passenger.

You really need to try both to see if they suit you, although being able to try them for an hour or two, rather than just a few minutes, may be difficult - I had 18-way seats on a 997 C4S so I’m hoping those in the Taycan will be similar.

 

[timc3]

I think you are right regarding being built for certain body sizes and shapes. I am lucky because I think my body size and shape must be the same as the model used when designing cars, airplanes, bathrooms or whatever. Not too short, not very tall, not very wide, not very heavy. That said I didn't think that the 14 way was very comfortable but I didn't spend a lot of time trying to adjust the lumbar support. The 18 way is so far very good but I need to go on a 3+ hour drive to really tell. BMW seats in general for me very comfortable..

Still unsure on exactly what that Porsche seat lumbar control does, I just messed with it until I found something that felt right. Is it actually documented somewhere what happens if you press up, down, forward, backward?

In the passenger seat of a lot of cars I can use the slope in the footwell to position my legs and alleviate some of the back pressure @Sidicks is talking about - you need to have the seat a bit more forward than perhaps you are used to, but I am not too close to the dashboard even then.

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