Sawborg

For those with carbon buckets in their Spyders/Cayman Rs, what was the longest day/multi-day drive/trip you’ve done? How was the drive and comfort in the carbon buckets? Any issues?

I’m thinking of doing a 4-5K mile road trip next Spring in my 987.2 Spyder from SoCal to AZ, NM, TX and Louisiana and back in 2 weeks.

john weires

I find my CF buckets comfortable enough for an hour or so. Their fixed back and the lack of any reclining adjustment makes them too upright for long periods of time.
However at 68 I have some back and leg circulation issues you may not. I also supplemented the seat cushion padding with an additional underneath layer of foam which I cut to fit the shape of the bucket.
Width is fine for me. I'm 5'7" and 155-160 lbs if this helps at all.

ToasterThief

I did a 9 hour drive when I first bought the car. Absolutely zero issues with them as seats once you're in (165, 5'10). Getting in/out is unfortunately what ultimately made me sell the car. I'm in my 30s, but the buckets were just enough of a PITA to make me not drive the car as much as I should have.

Sawborg

I'm the same build but in my late 30s. I find the carbon buckets' upright position perfect for my street cars (I also set up my Cayenne's seat similar to my Spyder, with arms at about 100 degrees), but then again, I'm used to racing a Spec Miata. On spirited canyon/desert drives, the longest drive I've done non-stop is about 2 hours. For this upcoming road trip, I imagine I may end up doing 2-3 times that. What kind of foam did you end up using?

I agree with you. Even though I'm a bit shorter, it's the ingress/egress that makes the carbon buckets a slight PITA to use regularly. Was that 9 hour drive straight or did you take regular breaks and how often? Since I plan on taking my dog with me, I'll probably end up taking breaks every 3-5 hours.

ToasterThief

It was pretty much straight, with stops only for gas/food. Not sure what kind of dog you have, but he might hate the buckets even more than my wife did.

Sawborg

I have a medium sized dog that weighs about 25-30 lbs. Similar build like a corgi but with slightly longer legs. I took her in my R8 several years ago when we drove from SoCal to WA and back. She did well, though she probably didn't like having to wear booties (to protect my interior) while she was in the car for the drive. She's wearing them again for this trip.

MattUF

Drove ~1.4K miles in total when I first bought the car, longest day being Tucson to Ft. Stockton, TX roughly 8 hours, 600 miles. Neither myself (mid-30s, 5'9", 160lbs) nor my father (70, 6'2") had any issues with comfort while driving.

alemaniac

San Antonio to Michigan in two days in our Spyder with buckets. That's about 1,400 miles. Honestly the most fatiguing thing about the car is driving with the top on, because it always seems to have some kind of excessive wind noise. Especially, when both pieces are installed. Top off is always preferable and much quieter.

ilko

I've done week-long drives with 10,12,14+ hour days sitting in my 997-2 RS with the buckets. No issues whatsoever. The seats are super comfortable. Wind noise can be an issue in the Spyder, but I generally wear noise-canceling headphones if I'm cruising on the highway.

john weires

Since the existing cushion is already a soft foam, I used some denser carpet pad I had lying around instead. The seat cushion pulls up and out so whatever padding you put in the very bottom of the bucket is not visible. The goal was to raise the seating position and get rid of some of the bucket effect. Being shorter I wanted to be up in the air higher as well as having less of a bend at the knee.

andy7777

Longest trip about 4 hours. 5'10 175, no problems getting in and out. Probably because I had a Lotus Elise and mastered the hand-on-sill exit strategy. Seats took some getting used to, I admit, because they are more upright than my preferred seating position. The Elise's fixed back shells were much more comfortable initially than the LWBs. But once you get used to sitting as upright as the buckets place you, they are very supportive, and I think you can use them all day. What I end up doing is stopping more frequently than usual to stretch a little. Still, I much prefer the mostly manual sports seats on my Carrera T 911.

Boiler Inspector

When I bought mine from a forum member, I drove from Portland back to Denver over two days, about 1300 miles. Was very comfortable, wind noise is definitely higher than your normal car.

aeromax

I did sleep in them, so my drive was from 4pm till 5pm next day with a few hours sleep in the bucket seats
(no joke)

Zach L

My wife and I find the LWBs extremely comfortable. Plenty of driving stints in the 3-4 hour range without any issues. I feel like 8+ hours would go just fine.

There's inserts with memory foam available if you want to try a different feel.

KriskoBG

I bought my car in Florida and drove it home to MD in 2 days. Not one issue with my back, the seats are amazing. Butt got a bit sore but that happens in any seat when I am driving for so long