Xantia Replacement - RESOLVED

[vulgalour]

The suspension is superb, I have absolutely no complaints about the ride.  In fact, if it weren't for the suspension I daresay i'd've got rid of this car many hundreds of miles ago!  I think if I can eliminate the discomfort from the seating position - get legs comfortable and I can't reach the steering wheel, reach the steering wheel and I can't use the pedals... I am a T-rex.  Find the sweet spot between the two and chronic back pain - then this really is the perfect car for me.  This is why it's such an annoying situation.

 

I'm going to try Moog's left-over Pug seats, if they work for me then happy days and a retrim to make them match the interior.  I do want charcoal velour seats with zebra print centre panels and matching door cards anyway, this could be the ideal opportunity.

[twosmoke300]

If you speak nicely to mr livered on here he may sell you the lovely brown velour seats out of my old Saab 900 . In good nick and very comfy

[Station]

Moog's actual 405 seats:

 

 

They were comfy.

[hairnet]

Keep car change seats

 

I found ours too squishy too

[vulgalour]

Hmm... is the Peugeot steering wheel any bigger I wonder?  It's certainly a nicer looking design.

[406V6]

Mentioned already but 406 seats are pretty good. If you get the higher trim levels the seats are fully powered back/forward/rake/squab up & down so you can adjust to any position to suit. One other point not mentioned, if you've got a bad back then go for a Badermatic and avoid the strain on your lower back via the thigh and upper leg muscles. Also consider a more upright seating position like a Qashqai (yes, I know it will be outside your budget but trying to give an example).

[purplebargeken]

The worst seats in the universe belong to the bastard Smart ForTwo. Designed by Satan and made by his evil little Imps. 

[messerschmitt owner]

this

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/175213/mercedes-w210-elegance-estate-berks

 

 

[Cavcraft]

[messerschmitt owner]

984 is calling

 

image.jpg

'984 is calling

[carlo]

I've had back trouble for twenty years and the choice of car, and seat, is critical.  It's one of the main reasons I haven't moved from 405s for ten years.  It's not just the seat, but the driving position and seat/suspension combination.  The 405 got it so right, it's a marvelously comfortable, and enjoyable car to drive.  I keep trying something new, then after a few weeks have to go back to them.  Certainly trying a 405 seat in your Xantia may be a good first step (I seem to remember Xantia seats were fairly hard), but I reckon you'd love a 405 diesel estate.  Simple, handles and steers well, comfortable as hell and classic autoshite. 

[barrett]

Ruffgeezer is trying go get rid of a 22000 airfix BX diesel too

Moar Infos?

[Honey Badger]

I'll put a vote forwards for Honda seats, doesn't seem to matter the model they all seem comfy and very supportive. The S2000 buckets were excellent, even for a raspberry ripple like myself and early 00s Civic Type S were very comfy even when driving all day as I did when it was my company car.

 

Accord coupe seats are very similar, not soft but just enough give and very supportive you could happily sit in them all day with no Bach ache.

 

I had a 406 company car for a while and the seats were very good as well.

[Inspector Morose]

Moar Infos?

Bottom of page 879 of the news 24 thread. I'd kill to save it but my head really isn't in the right place at the moment to start projects like that. (Long story)

 

It looks good from the pic and if I can remember Ruffgeezers story correctly it was subject to a new citroen shell a number of years ago but never finished off. Just about the best unrestored BX in the country I would think.

[Taff]

Actually, I'm going to ignore everything in this thread so far and just do this.

 

 

WCPGW?

 

 

ignoring Autoshite advice is for winners

[vulgalour]

I don't get on with the Junkman Gearbox as a rule, Chompy's old 216 SLi was an exception to that and in fact was a great car for me all round, just not as nice a ride as the Xantia.

 

Tell you what, this thread has made me feel like a proper old man.  I'm hoping the Moog Pug seats do the trick, they do look more the right sort of shape and proportion for what I need.

 

I wish I knew what exactly it was that's wrong with the Xantia seats as a driver.  As a passenger I'm fine with them long distance but as a driver they're just horrible.  They should be really good, they're firm but with enough squish to feel well balanced, they've got enough of a bolster to stop you skidding off them and quite a bit of adjustment but they just don't want to fit me at all.  As a solution I'll go back to driving the Xantia with a break at least once an hour if I'm doing longer distance stuff and only use it for short distance treks the rest of the time.  I shall drive around the problem, like I have with every other car I've ever owned.

[M'coli]

So where exactly does it cause you discomfort/pain?  Different seats cause different types of pain - for example, the driver's seat in a 2009 Insignia cuased me such desperate right-leg hamstring pain after 30 minutes due to an old hit-and-run injury that I was glad I found the cruise control.  The shape of the seats in a 2000 Polo caused the muscles in my upper back and shoulders to wind-up and cause pain that way, I could feel my shoulders and arms unwinding themselves as I walked about after getting out of the car.

 

Lower back support is different:  a once-comfy seat can become shit due to over use - I had a pukka Recaro SRI seat in my first mk2 Cav that became agonising because it had stqarted to collapse and was replaced by a passenger seat out of an Astra - and here's the Xantia question - the mk2 Cavalier seat is just about perfect for me, but even I can suffer if the materials have become saggy over time, hence I have rebuilt the ones in Poppy the 1300L with added strips of carpet (about 5" wide) to help in the lumbar region.

Perhaps the answer is to see if the (relatively underused) passenger and driver's seat will switch around?

[Bren]

Whatever you buy nothing will be as capable or economical as the xantia.

[messerschmitt owner]

Whatever you buy nothing will be as capable or economical as the xantia.

there are lots more cars more capable! SOme of those are even more economical. Some are more comfortable, some less so - young VG needs to go on the adventure of finding which suits him best!

[vulgalour]

The back pain ranges from hamstring and upper thigh pain to lower back pain, upper back and shoulder pain and even neck cramps.  It gives me the whole gamut of hurt, I've never known seats as bad for it.

 

Mike adjusted the seat today and somehow made it worse, I didn't even know that was possible.

[vulgalour]

It's worth noting, the Corsa gives me no grief at all.  I'm blaming Billy for this issue, it's clearly some sort of ploy to get me into Corsas full time.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I recently had a bit of physio on a slight back injury and after one session the physio asked to see my car,as I spend 10 or more hours a day in the thing.

Anyway she got me to adjust my seat in a way I've never done before, ie raised the cushion (as much as can without crushing my head against the roof) and tilted it forward . She said basically your hip joints should always be higher than your knees. It felt a bit odd at first,but I've kept with it and got used to it,although to be fair the car seat never really aggravated my back.

[vulgalour]

What your physiotherapist is suggesting is the most uncomfortable seating position for me.  As soon as the seat base is tilted forwards I find it puts excessive stress on my lower back which then spreads down into my legs and up to my neck, it's appallingly uncomfortable.  Interestingly, it's also what the Xantia feels like it's trying to inflict on me lately.

 

For maximum comfort and minimal long-distance driving-related pain, I prefer to have my knees a little higher than my hips (ideally with some support from the seat base) and the seat back leaned back a little so it's not completely vertical, a more natural seated position for my particular shape.  I should then be able to reach the steering wheel with my arms slightly bent.  Even better if the seat itself can be quite high, I find having my legs sticking out in front of me too straight to be more painful on my lower back.  What I end up with is a bit of a pensioner seating position, but without me leaning forwards or having my face pressed to the windscreen.

 

I have also wondered if a deeper dished steering wheel might help, one of the really big problems is that I can get the seat comfortable but then I can't reach the steering wheel without stretching somewhat.  A larger steering wheel somehow seems to counteract this, I'm not sure how.  The seating position in the Princess is excellent and when I swapped from the smaller Ambassador steering wheel it had to an original spec it became absolutely blissful to drive.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. The Princess is comfortable for you because it's meant for British people to drive, I bet if you were a chain smoking,garlic smelling beret wearer with a flick knife and a pocket full of fireworks , Harris Mann's finest would cause you pain.

In the same way older Alfas etc were said to have an Italianate driving position.

British,Swedish and German cars are built to cosset big solid Anglo Saxon arses not yer Meditteraenean cafe culture skinny latte bollocks.

[vulgalour]

I have neither a big solid Anglo Saxon arse nor skinny latte bollocks.  But I get your point.  I'm a traditional austerity-era British shaped person, I need a traditional austerity-era British shaped vehicle.

[ruffgeezer]

Has your Xantia got the lumbar adjustment on it? I found that used to help on one of mine (I think I've had 5 now), if you can get moo moo seats, the heaters on them are awesome and help muchly.

[vulgalour]

It does have lumber support, it makes things worse.  Heated seats I don't like because I feel like I've wet myself and modern leather seats I also don't like because they're too hard.  If the leather isn't buttoned, pleated, or at the very least ruched, it's not going to be comfortable for me.

[ruffgeezer]

Is it uncomfortable in the passenger seat too? I have know of the seat bases to collapse on them.

[messerschmitt owner]

Is it uncomfortable in the passenger seat too? I have know of the seat bases to collapse on them.

He says it isn't - scrap it and get a sofa on wheels built on a reliant chassis.

[vulgalour]

Passenger seat I'm okay, though I do tend to shift about a fair bit so maybe it's not as okay for me as I think it is.  I don't think there's anything wrong or collapsey with the driver's seat I just don't think it fits me as a driving position as well as it could.  Deeper dish/larger diameter steering wheel, different seats, pedals that are further away... these are all things that might help.  Weirdly, diddy French cars normally fit quite well but the offset pedals annoy me.