[Guest]

This weekend was the last straw, I finally took my Sti on a semi long road trip (300 miles).

The seats are awful awful awful. They aren't comfortable for long distance driving, and they sure as hell aren't any good for use in the twisties.

I can't understand how we got degraded seats from a stock wrx?!

I really like my matching interior and ultrasuede, but I think I have to get real seats for this car to truly enjoy it.

No, there isn't a point to this post, I'm just venting on the 1 thing about the car that I don't absolutely love.

mist

 

[MKIVSupra]

If I am not mistaking, we have the same seats as the WRX with just a different cover. I have taken a few 300 mile raod trips and have not really had any complaints. I think they are a good compromise between support and comfort. Not the most supportive like Recaros but also not the most uncomfortable. I think the more supportive the less comfortable they will be.

 

[Guest]

Crossroad End of Summer Cruise 2003 Invite!

Yeah, that was my point, I thought the compromise in the seat bolstering was to make it more comfortable for longer distance driving. But after driving it on a semi-long distance, it wasn't comfortable at all, so I was just venting.

But, it's ok, I'm over it now, and back to my previous love affair with the STi.

mist

 

[ldivinag]

try the seats after a 10 hour drive...

actually, i just moved around alot and did a few rest stops.

what killed me was the first leg (both legs of the trip were 10 hours each), that after 3-4 hours, my left hand started to numb up...

it got weird, and scary... been driving with just the left hand rested on the wheel...

learned to reposition and switch hands after that...

 

[CloNeGTS]

I've done a 6 hour trip and several 3 hour trips....no big deal. No different than driving in my Celica. It's not the comfort of my wife's Maxima, but this isn't a Maxima.

The seats were 'compromised' to allow the wider Americans to be comfortable. I don't think anything in this car should lead you to believe something was done for long distance driving pleasure.

 

[Xman]

I agree that the WRX seats are more comfortable and supportive. I love driving my old '02 WRX ont he longer trips that my girlfriend and I take.

I've been waiting for some kind of pics of the bolster mod in the sticky on this forum, but no one seems to be able to clarify any of the details being requested.

I am very tempted to get some WRX seats and see if the STi covers will fit over them (maybe some minor mods will be needed but I'm sure an upholstery shop could od that for me.

 

[WRX_Mundi]

Wow, I guess I need to try some other seats. The STi seats are so much better than my stock 1996 Miata seats. Those things got really uncomfortable after less than 2 hours. Around town they were OK, but on the highway they were horrible. No bolstering either. After a 6 hour drive in the STi, they were still just fine.

Regarding bolstering, with the stock seats belts, I do move around more than I'd like. It's OK for autocross, but not the best. Once the 6-point harnesses are on, I don't move at all and the bolstering works fine. But I would hate to wear the harnesses for a long trip!

 

[sakura-iro]

i also think it's a matter of personal preference/body shape. the seats in my wrx used to really hurt me is i sat in them for more than 12 hours. the STi seats seem much better for long trips, more lumbar support. i do agree that the bolstering could use a little beefing up though. i really need to sit in a sparco or something else nice someday, is it possible that a seat can be comfortable and supportive at the same time?

 

[CloNeGTS]

Ohhhh...comfortable and supportive at the same time.....find someone with a set of Torinos. I fell asleep in the passenger side of a buddy's car at HIN Chicago a few years back while taking a break.....while the show was going on!

 

[ingraham]

The question is were you drunk.

 

[hughbob]

I bought a set of Corbeau TRS seats, and some mounting brackets. After about 2 hours I figured out that the '03 WRX mounting brackets don't fit the STi. Oops. I called up Corbeau and have agreed to become their ginuea pig for their new STi brackets. Hopefully they'll be shipped back soon. I've asked them if they could raise the bracket a little because the seats were lower than the stock seats and I already have trouble looking over that gimungus hood scoop. We'll see once they ship the brackets back to me.

 

[gforced]

hughbob,
Have you tried using the little lever on the left of the seat?

Actually, I am hoping someone would come out with a bracket that would lower the drivers seat about an inch. I think this would make it perfect. Let us know how those seats work out.

 

[hughbob]

hughbob,
Have you tried using the little lever on the left of the seat?

Actually, I did try the height lever, but I felt strange sitting so upright in the car :wink: . So I dropped it back down to the lowest setting again. But those Corbeau brackets lower the seat about 3 inches lower than the lowest setting on the stock seats. My head was barely over the steering wheel. That's a low rider, literally 8) .

 

[gforced]

Man, 3 inches lower would be great. That would put me in the center of the windshield. I might have to look into those brackets. What seats are you getting?

 

[hughbob]

I got the TRS seats. My friend as a pair in his civic and they fit pretty snug. They're real good fit around my shoulders but I'm not a big guy. 5'7" Asian . So if you're real tall or have huge shoulders you might consider something else. The place I bought my seats from:

www.soloracer.com

Brett the sales guy is real helpful, he's the one who put me in contact with Corbeau about the brackets. And he even answers his email!

 

[ValvetrainEngineer]

for my 2-cents worth, I think the STI seats are just fine. I'm 6', 180, and have no numbness / bruises after multi-hour trips. Plus don't forget the side impact air bags. No they don't help 0-60 or autoX, but I'll gladly keep them for safety...

 

[hughbob]

I agree, the seats aren't bad for stock car seats and I am giving up both side and head airbags. It's just that when I'm driving hard, I find that I'm bracing myself on the door with my left leg and I need that leg for the clutch. Plus my shoulders slide around and there's about 2 inches of space on either side of my kidneys, so no support there at all.

I've taken a couple of 400 mile trips from Austin to Houston and back again and the seats were just fine for long distance driving. I'm really getting the Corbeau seats for the high speed driver's ed that I'll be attending this fall and winter and next spring .

I think I'm going to keep the stock seats around for long distance trips. After taking them out and putting the back in a few times, I think I can replace the seats in less than 30 minutes now.