New thoughts on the seats

Hey everyone. Since discussion of the seats seems to still rage on ... I'll add some fuel to the fire.

Last week I was fortunate enough to make it to a meet with several Denver area members. I had long suspected that the seats in Limited and non-Limited vehicles were pretty much identical except for the physical surface and power.

Well, after a side by side comparison, it was incredibly hard to tell if the non-limited had any less side bolstering than the limited (from here forward "cloth" and "leather"). We couldn't be certain if the cloth created an illusion of lower side bolstering in the thighs or if it actually was different, but it was very close. The seats were unquestionably identical on the seat back in terms of design and bolstering.

Now, to speak toward the rake of the seat, or the amount of support under the front of legs as many of the longer legged (taller) members have commented on being the major difference between the cloth and leather ... I think the rake or angle of the two seats is identical. The difference, I believe, is just the height of the seat. I think because the cloth seat sits so much lower, our legs are higher in respect to the seat cushion, but if it were sitting much higher like the leather seats, your legs have to bend more for the feet to get to the ground. I think it's more of a seating geometry thing than it is the actual angle of the seat.

That said, I'd still like to try to increase the front seat angle in my cloth seats with the spacer mod.

Just my latest observation and opinion.

Do you know if the wiring for teh power seats is already there and just teh leather/power seats is all that is needed if a swap is wanted. I currently have a non limited LGT and would really like the leather/power. I know on my older car (95 Z28) the seat motor was on the bottom of teh seat (as are most cars) and the wiring was under the seat. It was simply a plug and play type swap.

Kyle

Hey everyone. Since discussion of the seats seems to still rage on ... I'll add some fuel to the fire.

 

Last week I was fortunate enough to make it to a meet with several Denver area members. I had long suspected that the seats in Limited and non-Limited vehicles were pretty much identical except for the physical surface and power.

 

Well, after a side by side comparison, it was incredibly hard to tell if the non-limited had any less side bolstering than the limited (from here forward "cloth" and "leather"). We couldn't be certain if the cloth created an illusion of lower side bolstering in the thighs or if it actually was different, but it was very close. The seats were unquestionably identical on the seat back in terms of design and bolstering.

 

Now, to speak toward the rake of the seat, or the amount of support under the front of legs as many of the longer legged (taller) members have commented on being the major difference between the cloth and leather ... I think the rake or angle of the two seats is identical. The difference, I believe, is just the height of the seat. I think because the cloth seat sits so much lower, our legs are higher in respect to the seat cushion, but if it were sitting much higher like the leather seats, your legs have to bend more for the feet to get to the ground. I think it's more of a seating geometry thing than it is the actual angle of the seat.

 

That said, I'd still like to try to increase the front seat angle in my cloth seats with the spacer mod.

 

Just my latest observation and opinion.

What's the "spacer mod"?

What I'd like is more leg room..

My sister & husband happened to get a 2.5i non-limited Outback as a rental. He's quite tall (6'4") - he could BARELY even squeeze into the car. They absolutely hated it.

Then they drove ours - the difference in seating was trememdous (our seats went much LOWER) - we have an LGT.

Your post seems to indicate the opposite. I'm quite confused.

HV

hadvw - I don't know about the Outback ... it could be a different seat, I can only attest to the Legacy GT between the cloth and the leather. The higher seat with Leather actually makes it feel like a tighter fit to me as my knees are closer to the dash, don't fit as easily under the wheel, an my legs don't bend as much. With the lower seat, my legs have more room to bend "up" from my waist and "down" at my knees, actually feeling like I have more leg room.

What I'm referring to with the difference in leg support, is with a lower seat, the thighs point upward moreso than on a taller seat. Think of it like the difference between sitting on a kiddie chair versus a tall stool. On the kiddie chair, if your feet are only a foot in front of you, your knees are closer to your chest and your thighs point up ward. There is nothing underneath your thighs, or you have no leg support. On a stool, your feet are only a foot in front of you, but now your legs are much more straight, and therefore because of the much lower angle, the underside of your thighs get more support. Hell, maybe your feet aren't even on the ground.

In both cases, your seat bottom is totally flat, but in one case, no part of your thigh touches the bottom of the seat, and in the other case the bottom of the seat may be "cutting into" your leg.

What I would like to do in my car is raise just the front portion of the seat (increase the seating angle to make a more dramatic bucket) to give my legs a little more support.

This is the spacer mod: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18323

hadvw - I don't know about the Outback ... it could be a different seat, I can only attest to the Legacy GT between the cloth and the leather. The higher seat with Leather actually makes it feel like a tighter fit to me as my knees are closer to the dash, don't fit as easily under the wheel, an my legs don't bend as much. With the lower seat, my legs have more room to bend "up" from my waist and "down" at my knees, actually feeling like I have more leg room.

 

What I'm referring to with the difference in leg support, is with a lower seat, the thighs point upward moreso than on a taller seat. Think of it like the difference between sitting on a kiddie chair versus a tall stool. On the kiddie chair, if your feet are only a foot in front of you, your knees are closer to your chest and your thighs point up ward. There is nothing underneath your thighs, or you have no leg support. On a stool, your feet are only a foot in front of you, but now your legs are much more straight, and therefore because of the much lower angle, the underside of your thighs get more support. Hell, maybe your feet aren't even on the ground.

 

In both cases, your seat bottom is totally flat, but in one case, no part of your thigh touches the bottom of the seat, and in the other case the bottom of the seat may be "cutting into" your leg.

 

What I would like to do in my car is raise just the front portion of the seat (increase the seating angle to make a more dramatic bucket) to give my legs a little more support.

 

This is the spacer mod: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18323

Yeah, I also like the "significant bucket" effect. I WOULD like the front to raise more..

I currently am ok with the back part of the seat on LOW and the front on HIGH.

Best seats I ever had - '90 GTi 16v w/ factory power Recaros. Drove 14 hours straight one day, no back pain at all..

That's one thing I liked about VWs - they DEFINITELY had good seats..

HV

i really miss the seats in my SVX, and i REALLY miss the seats in my 928.

my seat quality has been going downhill with each car i get.

i can overlook it, though - i don't have a long daily commute.