back pain from my seats?

[afterbang]

hey everyone. i have a 98 legacy outback that i have been driving for the past 7 years. ive been driving up to 80 miles a day lately and have been having some serious lower back pain while driving. funny thing is, when i drive my wife's 93 legacy the discomfort isn't anywhere close in severity. anyone on here with my generation outback have the same problem?

 

ive been thinking about trying to put some money aside to buy some front seats out of a newer model subaru but wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions about the problem. i know it's a weird question but i figured i'd throw it out there before i potentially waste money on seats that offer no help.

 

thanks guys.

[GeneralDisorder]

I also prefer the first-gen seats - 90 to 94 were all about quality. After that things started to suffer from the cost cutting ax. Seat foam and fabric was definitely one of them. I know a good upholstery shop that could make them better but a nice first-gen set would bolt in also..... steal the wifes seats. LOL.

 

GD

[86subaru]

my wife said the same thing, she put a pillow on the lower part , may help you

[mdjdc]

Do you have the lumbar support on the drivers seat adjusted all the way out? The may give you alot more support in the long run. It sounds like you have some pain in either car and that tells me that you probably have a problem that could use some professional attention. See a Chiropractor and have him/her look at your lower back. Fix the problem before it becomes necessary for more drastic treatments.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[Rooster2]

Yea, same problem with my 99 OBW. The seats are not very good......just too hard with poor back support. They are okay for short trips around town, but close to lousy on a road trip. Now my wife drives a 98 OBW Limited with the leather seats. Those seats are great.

 

Does anyone know if seats from years 2000 to present are better seats, and will just bolt in?? If so, maybe find a decent seat for the front from a wrecking yard. Also, do Impreza seats or WRX seats just bolt in? Are they any good??

[edrach]

I recently bought some lower back supports at the Dollar Store. They give me all the lumber support I need and are an open webbing so I don't sweat as much on long trips.

 

Edited December 24, 2010 by edrach

[987687]

The seat in my 96 legacy is pretty comfortable. I drove it 7 hour straight once without stopping... It's in really good shape, so not blown out or anything. Just go walk around a junk yard and sit in some subaru seats and see what you like best!! haha.

I also have a set of 2000 OBS seats I welded in my GL, and those are pretty good! The old blown out GL seats gave me pretty bad back pain within an hour of driving.

In one day I drove that 100 miles to a rally, 250 miles in the rally, and 100 miles back home again. No back pain whatsoever.

[MilesFox]

I have a 94 legacy with the better cloth bolstered seats (GT wagon). I have seen the 1995 legacy (gen 2 ) with the same seats, but the 96 legacies had the cheaper gm type seats where the cloth is glued to the foam like some dodge neon. So far as i can tell, a 1st gen seat will fit in a 2nd gen car, etc.

 

I wish mine had about 3 more clicks on the lumbar. I am 6' 2" and sit a little closer to the wheel with the seat more upright, as i don't like to have to lean forward to reach the radio/shifter/controls, and if i sit with too much gangster lean, i can't see around the a-pillar.

 

I like ed's idea of the mesh seat cushion, as i have one at my computer, just haven't tried it in my car.

 

I can usuallt ride comfortably 5-6 hours in my car, if i shift my butt-cheeks now and again and take my wallet out of my back pocket. it's not as bad as some other cars, andit takes me a good 2 hours to get uncomfortable. But even stopping for gas, pee, or whatever, walking a lap or 2 around the car helps to avoid sitting discomfort.

 

The best seats i have had were a 96 volvo 960 wagon, leather seats that cradled like a hand. Best form fitting seat i have experienced, but fatigwue would set in sooner than my soob seats. I used the wooden bead seat covers and that made it much better for me. Most of my discomfort with that car was the lack of headroom for me to stretch out fully upright without having to crick my neck thru the sunroof, and this must have let to my seat fatigue sooner than in my subaru.

 

My favorite for the novelty seating arrangement was an 88 lincoln town car droving from new orleans to milwaukee, with the seat all the way back and my leg up on my knee as if i was in a lay-z-boy maintaining my speed with the (working) cruise control. Wasnt too bad, since i could operate the car with the coast/resume/accel functions to meter my speed

Edited December 24, 2010 by MilesFox

[Durania]

I am not a fan of the seats in my 95 Outback. I would love to throw a bugeye WRX seat in there. I had a set in my RS and loved them every single minute. I still prefer them over the seats in my 05 STi. My grandmother has a 91 Legacy with blue interior that I have considered snagging the seats out of it. Not sure how well it would work since it has automatic seat belts and my 95 does not.

 

[Ionlyhave3suubs]

I have a 97 Outback wagon and a 96 Legacy LSi. The Outback has standard cloth seats and the LSi has the leather seats. The LSi seats are much more comfortable. I find that the Outback seats, no matter the lumbar adjustment, don't support my lower back very well. The part that adjusts out with the lumbar adjustment is too high. Or maybe I am just too short for the seat at 5'8".

[bheinen74]

I actually find the 91-94 seats more comfy for long haul drives than when i sit in my brothers 99 outback. The 98 forester seats are good too. Seems like they took some of the padding away in the outback seats. I also dont like the wierd agle of headrests in the 06 series legacy/outback. The 03 Baja seemed pretty good, my 04 outback leather seats in my BRAT are harder than the comfy cloth Baja seats.

 

i prefer my 91CRX Si seats over them all big time. 2nd place is the 94SS

[Suba9792]

yeah the seats in my 97 lego are painful as well.

[1-3-2-4]

I wanna put wrx seats in my 95 because I have the same issue with my legacy after 4+ hours my lower back starts to hurt bad.

[dhise]

The leather seats that were in my '00 Legacy were pretty hard on the back. I've been very happy with the '07 wrx seats I put in the old GL though. Sounds like subaru seats have been hit or miss through the years.

[Fairtax4me]

I recently bought some lower back supports at the Dollar Store. They give me all the lumber support I need and are an open webbing so I don't sweat as much on long trips.

 

 

My mother and sister both bought one of those. They both love them. I, on the other hand, can't stand them. Not sure what it is, they just don't fit me.

 

 

Chances are the seat is just worn out from age. One of those lumbar do-hickies might help, or find seats with adjustable lumbar support that aren't worn.

[bheinen74]

My mother and sister both bought one of those. They both love them. I, on the other hand, can't stand them. Not sure what it is, they just don't fit me.

 

 

Chances are the seat is just worn out from age. One of those lumbar do-hickies might help, or find seats with adjustable lumbar support that aren't worn.

 

worn out from age? well i drove a crx si til 237k miles never had the seats got worn out lol subaru is cheap in seating quality at least compared to mid 1990 honda....

[Fairtax4me]

The drives seat in my car was completely shot when I got it. I could feel the bars in the support structure through the seat cover. The foam was completely collapsed after 14 years and 165k miles. I found a decent seat in the junkyard and swapped covers. Much better, but the "new" seat is beginning to suffer the same fate after about a year. I'll have to find another one before long. Hopefully out of a much newer vehicle.

[AWDfreak]

I feel that the seats on my 1999 Outback Limited feel comfortable enough (but then, I can feel comfortable in almost any seat).

 

However, I hate the leather (slippery and just makes it more uncomfortable on extreme hot/cold days), and although there is a bit of lateral support, it's nowhere near as good as the seats on my brother's 2000 Forester L. The side-bolstering on the Forester is damned great! I'm wiling to sacrifice my seat warmers for those seats