kilster

I own a CPO 2012.5 C2S with 14-way seats. After a long drive (> 2 hours), my neck and shoulder hurt because of the headrest. A quick search shows that this design is due to the NHTSA guideline on reducing whiplash from getting hit from behind. Does anyone experience this issue? Any solutions that work for you? I am 6 ft tall with ~155 lbs. My wife has a similar problem, who is thin and around 5 ft 5 inches. Thanks in advance.

Gordon Shumway

At the risk of sounding like a wiseass, which I don't want to do, they are 14-way adjustable. I understand the problem you are describing, and am sensitive to it. However, I'm 6'1"/185#, and with all the bottom seat positions/angles available, I have no problem adjusting the bottom to easily allow tilting the seat back just enough to eliminate the headrest problem. You just need to experiment a little.

BTW, I am not a fan at all of either the Sports or Sports+ seats, but the headrest position is not the reason.

Needsdecaf

fester

Jay-S

I had a lot of trouble (back more than neck) when I first got the car from longer drives. It just took patience to figure out how to manipulate the 14-way seats to work for me. I also despise modern forward tilting headrests so that is part of the equation of getting the seat just right.

One trick you may want to use is while you try to sort out the perfect seat position is to commandeer all the seat position buttons. That way If you try something and you make it worse, you can go back to a previous seat position and go from there.

kilster

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I have watched a number of YouTube videos on seat adjustment and read threads on the same topic, but mostly on lower back pain. For daily driving, I feel fine. For long drives, my back feels great interestingly. Since I don't drive long distance often, it is a bit challenging to try out different seat adjustments, but you all gave me some ideas.

When I did a search on neck and shoulder pains, there were a lot of hits on non-Porsche brands. So hopefully I will find a solution. Thanks again.

gregv8

Allow me to chime in because this issue has been my pet peeve ever since cars existed. First and foremost, for the record, my 991.2 with 18-way seats is the first sports car that does NOT cause me any pain.
However, through the recent years, I shopped for a bunch of cars, and also owned a few and seat comfort has been a paramount concern. I walked away from some excellent vehicles simply because the headrest was pointing the wrong way. I am insanely sensitive to seat comfort. I can be an absolute b***h. But I figure, if you spend the kind of money, you expect perfection. (I also tend to stay away from too tight bolstering on the bottom which causes leg pain. But I digress.)

So, to the OP, I feel you. Even though my Porsche is fine, I know how annoying this can be. One other thing to look at -and this might be your issue- is all the other cars you drive. I find that switching between my different cars every few days can create discomfort or pain which usually takes a day or two to go away. It really depends on what cars you drive. My current fleet is pretty compatible with each other, i.e. I get used to the seats pretty quickly.

But as an example, I once rented a Cadillac ATS, which was a fantastic ride. I really enjoyed driving that thing, but man, were the seats bad. Just after 1-2 hours I was agonizing in pain. After a few days of driving that rental, it was again hard to switch back to my own cars.
Many years ago, I was shopping for an SUV and really liked the -then- Ford Edge. Everything was great, except the headrest was pushing my head forward. I badly wanted to buy that car, but in the end I had to walk away due to the headrest only.
A lot of people say they have the same issue with the BMW M3 and M4 seats but to me personally they are fine.
Also, in the more luxurious BMW's you can opt for the multi-contour seats which are brutally customizable. The seat back has multiple adjustable bending points and well as the headrest, and even the cushion on the headrest.

So I guess it's all relative. My advice is to look at any other car you drive and look at your pain patterns.

kilster

Greg, great points. My other daily is a 987.2 BS with manual seat adjustment. I don't have as much issue with the Boxster. Here is my general seat configuration -- flat bottom, fairly upright back support at about 95 deg, and just enough lower back support. In this configuration, the headrest angle seems perhaps 2-3 deg too forward given my spine. If I can adjust the tilt angle a bit, I feel that my seat will be perfect (Tesla drivers were asking for this feature, and they listened). I will try ~100 deg back support while lowering the front of the seat slightly that Needsdecaf suggested.

During long drives (perhaps once every quarter), my wife and I find ourselves making small adjustments, but haven't found a sweet spot yet. I don't recall having this issue when I used to travel with my dad in his MB S 500, but that was a while back. I also drove M3/M4 and CTS-V/ATS-V at the COTA and their seats felt fine, but that was just for a day track event.

Perhaps it is related to the stress of looking for speed traps

Valvefloat991

No one is mentioning the other key ingredient in this problem--the steering wheel position.

I am about your height and weight as well and in almost every car I drive, I adjust the steering wheel all the way out and all the way down. This allows me to recline the seat a fair amount and still have a proper reach to the steering wheel. A 35-inch sleeve length doesn't hurt either.

With this position, the headrest didn't even bother me during a track day when I was wearing a helmet.

Jay-S

Good point on the steering wheel position...I do the same.

kilster

Interesting point. I do the opposite with the steering wheel -- all the way out and all the way up since that's the only way to see the full gauge cluster and I would like to sit up for better road visibility, but I can play with the 14-way seat adjustment for more flexibility. Is this -- all the way out and all the way down -- a common steering wheel adjustment for 911 drivers?

Jay-S

I don't know if it is common but you do want to be able to rest your wrists comfortably on the top of the steering wheel. That will put your arms in a driving position to help with arm fatigue, ideally 90 degrees at the elbow when your hands are at 3 & 9. I learned that at the Porsche Driving School in Alabama.

I can't quite get there on my wrists as I then tilt the seat back some to take pressure off my back but it is a critical component in getting everything aligned. And you do lose some visibility with the gauge cluster...you just have to find the right balance for you.

911seeker

Owned a couple Volvos prior to my 911... so got plenty of "neck training"... not a problem now...

Valvefloat991

For me, it's the default postion on all vehicles. It's very rare that I find a vehicle that causes me to depart from this position. If you think about the kinematics of moving the wheel with your arms, an imaginary extension of the steering column should intersect your body on a horizontal line between your shoulder joints. That's what I get when the wheel is all the way down. With the steering wheel in its highest position, the steering column is pointed at my forehead.

Yes, this does cut off the tops of the gauges slightly, but I think it's more important to properly steer the car than to see the gauges. If the car were perfectly designed, I would still be able to see the gauges with the wheel in this position.

AnandN

That's the way I like my steering wheel as well. I have the 18-ways seats in my 911 and they are much more comfortable than the 14-ways I had in my 13 Boxster. This may seem silly, but you could try placing a thin, lumbar pillow so that your neck and shoulders are not resting with so much pressure on the backrest. That may relieve some of the discomfort. I found that the 14-ways in my Boxster were too narrow and dug into my shoulder blades. Used to get sore after an hour or so. I am of average build, about six feet and 170 lbs. Also, I have two Volvos so I am used to driving with my head resting on the headrest.