nofreeride

Been driving my new 01 Boxster for a week now, and am not getting used to the side bolsters on the lower seat and seat back. It is so uncomfortable to the point that I almost don't feel like driving it.

I am 6' 1", 220. Yes, I searched for awhile on this topic and found several ideas:

1. Adding foam behind the center of the seat back. This worked but took out too much legroom. Adding foam to the bottom would add height, which won't work either.

2. Aftermarket seats. Problem here is I would like to retain the leather and heated seats capability. Plus, $$$. And, which seats would work? Seems that most of the seats people are switching to add more bolstering.

3. Modify the seats. Has anyone done this or had this done? Specifically, to take out some of the side and back bolster. Could I take the seats apart, remove foam, modify the frame, etc?

Is this something I will eventually get used to? Would it be easier to just lose some weight? I love the car otherwise.

Axeman

I hated the 986/996 seats in my wife's Boxster when we first picked it up. My back was killing me after any long drives (I have major spine issues to begin with). We ended up swapping them for 997 seats and it is a huge improvement in my opinion.

Renn 951

It sounds like you have sport seats. If so, you could replace them with OEM non-sport seats. Then you can keep the leather and seat heaters. It won't be cheap, but I'm sure you can resell the sport seats to recover a good bit of the cost.

nofreeride

Is there a way to tell if I have the sport seats? Do the sport seats have the additional shoulder bolsters? If so, I don't have the sport seats. What I have are heated, partial leather, manual slider with power recline and height adjustment.

Thanks.

nosnow

I'm 6'4" ~260 and I found doing the GT3 upgrade to the upper center console made a world of difference but I will say that when I was thinner the seats fit me much better.

nofreeride

Performed a foamectomy on the driver's seat last night. It took a couple of hours, but didn't require anything special. I used an angle grinder to shape the foam.

The results are good. Both the upper and lower bolsters are wider and flatter. The leather is a little loose but not really noticeable. In a couple years I will probably have the seats re-wrapped and I will do some more sculpting on them.

Much easier than losing weight, plus I may have lost a little in the process.

cretinx

If you have sport seats I'm sure someone (maybe myself, at 5'6" 150 lbs ) would be willing to swap their regular seats for your sport seats.

ChrisJP

I used to feel uncomfortable with the upper bolster till I realized that my seating position/seat adjustment was not proper.
Basically, I was not seating completely at the back of the seat, so my shoulder were lower than supposed to be.
So here is how I have since adjusted my seat (1.71m, 75 kg):
1. move the seat as low as possible,
2. sit as far back as possible in the seat (very important)
3. on a manual, move the seat forward/backward, so that the legs is almost fully straight when the clutch pedal is fully pressed. (On my tip, I use the accel)
4. then tilt the back seat so that your wrist are on top of the wheel with the arms straight

I'll be glad to know other drivers receipes for seat adjustment.

Byprodriver

I am what was once considered average height & weight (5'10" & 175lbs.) and my 986 base seats fit me very snugly & comfortably. The seat covers often come loose from the bottom rear of the seat which loosens the bolsters. I find the seats firm but very comfortable allowing me to drive from Dallas TX to LA CA in 1 day. Once I drove a 2003 996 with the gathered leather seat option for 7 hours & switched into a standard full leather 996 for the return trip without a break and noticed the gathered leather seats are softer & more comfortable.

smshirk

I had sport seats in my Boxster for awhile and put the comfort seats back in for the same reason. They killed my back on more than short trips.

nofreeride

Thanks. I have done the foamectomy and played with various seat adjustments and have gotten used to the tight seats, and am glad to report that all is well. Of course, the seats are no good for anything but driving, but that's ok. I don't think I have the sport seats, anyway.

Phi1720

Fixed it for you.

Renn 951

Go here: http://www.autoatlanta.com/life/vin/vin.php and plug in your VIN. That will tell you all the options on your car, including whether you have sport seats. I can see the sport seats being tight; I can't imagine the stock seats causing the discomfort you have experienced.

smshirk

The seats in ChrisJPs post above are sport seats. If yours don't look like that then you don't have them. I would be surprised if you have problems with the comfort seats as they are great on long trips, even for me and I have degenerative disk disease with multiple surgeries past and likely future. I am not a large thouth at about 175.

Dale_K

Are these the "regular" seats?