Back ache from porsche seats
Discussion
Hi there, not sure if this has been asked before but has anyone suffered back ache from either the 996 Carrera 4S or 996 Turbo seats (same i think) as i am trying to see if it's a coincidence that i seem to get back trouble when using the car a lot...i now have the turbo but it seemed similar in my 4S....Cheers Andy
i have the comfort!!.......i've had many cars and never had a problem before but been in Porsche ownership now for just over 2 years and coincidentally had a back problem. i do cover a lot of miles (4-500 per week)but would not have seen this as a problem...maybe a sport seat would be better as i may prefer the firmer/hold/support that that sort of seat might give.....Cheers
Had very similar issues with my last 997’2 ( manual ) ended up having to sell it due to lower back problems had comfort seats, never had an issue with my 993 cab with sports seats . Had my 355 at the same time and didn’t have the same issues but also didn’t drive it as much.
Always did about 30-40k per year in the various 911's I owned over a 10 year period
Then bought a 730d sport with sports seats and auto obviously very different car and auto but no issues.
Recently been thinking about buying another 997 but a turbo tip this time, drove a gen 2 turbo with comfort seats and had the same back issues again.
So in my case its either the fact that 911’s just don’t suit me anymore which would be depressing after 9 of them !!! or the fact that I need a sports seat to hold me in place whilst driving and stop the movement which puts pressure on my lower back.
Not sure any of that helps really !!!
Phib
Always did about 30-40k per year in the various 911's I owned over a 10 year period
Then bought a 730d sport with sports seats and auto obviously very different car and auto but no issues.
Recently been thinking about buying another 997 but a turbo tip this time, drove a gen 2 turbo with comfort seats and had the same back issues again.
So in my case its either the fact that 911’s just don’t suit me anymore which would be depressing after 9 of them !!! or the fact that I need a sports seat to hold me in place whilst driving and stop the movement which puts pressure on my lower back.
Not sure any of that helps really !!!
Phib
I would get the hip pain due to my right leg not being able to stretch fully and I do have long legs. But my passenger would occasinally get the lower back pain. In my view Porsche has one of the least comfortable seats nowadays, perhaps no wonder as they haven't changed much for 40 or 60 years ?
Ahh back pain...pull up a sandbag and I'll get started. I'd like to think I'm well qualified to respond here, having broken my back in two places (compression fracture of L2 and L3 for those who know what that means) plus having buggered up the upper part of my spine/neck when some muppet hit me head-on at high speed. I've had a 944 Turbo, 4x986 Boxsters (the third one was a casualty of the aforementioned head-on) and now a Cayman.
The first thing I'll say is that everyone's back pain is different for many reasons which is probably a combination of the injury and your body shape (ie head length, body length etc). What I can do though is provide a few suggestions based on the above cars that might help some of you alleviate your problems.
- My 944 Turbo was more comfortable than any of the 986's because I could independently tilt the front and rear of the seat base.
- The Comfort seats in the 986 were better for upper back pain than the sports seats although I still preferred the sports seats as they stopped you feeling like you would fall out of the top of the seat in corners
- Heated seats make a phenomenal difference to lower back pain. Sunny day, sweltering in an M25 traffic jam in mid summer, roof down with aircon on full blast. Heated seats still set to max.
- Some lower back/hip pain can be solved by changing the seat position. Sometimes just an inch closer/further away from the pedals is all it takes.
- My Cayman has the fully electrically adjustable adaptive sports seats that have lumbar support and the ability to independently tilt the front/rear. It also has PASM to smooth out the ride a little. It is the most comfortable car I've had in respect of back pain over long distance journeys; beats my Audi A6 by some way. If you have adjustable lumbar support, make use of it and use it to target the area you have pain in - don't just leave it where you think it is optimally comfortable in general.
Beyond changing your car for something more comfortable, you can make life easier by keeping your back in good shape. Again this will be down to the type of pain you get as to the best way to deal with it but I won't go that far off topic with another long list of suggestions.
The first thing I'll say is that everyone's back pain is different for many reasons which is probably a combination of the injury and your body shape (ie head length, body length etc). What I can do though is provide a few suggestions based on the above cars that might help some of you alleviate your problems.
- My 944 Turbo was more comfortable than any of the 986's because I could independently tilt the front and rear of the seat base.
- The Comfort seats in the 986 were better for upper back pain than the sports seats although I still preferred the sports seats as they stopped you feeling like you would fall out of the top of the seat in corners
- Heated seats make a phenomenal difference to lower back pain. Sunny day, sweltering in an M25 traffic jam in mid summer, roof down with aircon on full blast. Heated seats still set to max.
- Some lower back/hip pain can be solved by changing the seat position. Sometimes just an inch closer/further away from the pedals is all it takes.
- My Cayman has the fully electrically adjustable adaptive sports seats that have lumbar support and the ability to independently tilt the front/rear. It also has PASM to smooth out the ride a little. It is the most comfortable car I've had in respect of back pain over long distance journeys; beats my Audi A6 by some way. If you have adjustable lumbar support, make use of it and use it to target the area you have pain in - don't just leave it where you think it is optimally comfortable in general.
Beyond changing your car for something more comfortable, you can make life easier by keeping your back in good shape. Again this will be down to the type of pain you get as to the best way to deal with it but I won't go that far off topic with another long list of suggestions.
I have had both a 996 & 986 with sports seats & at 6ft2" tall std seats were poor to say the least lacking upper support that showed as lower back pain for me. I ended up changing the seats in both cars for aftermarket ones & getting them trimmed to match the interior.I chose Cobra Seats as they were local to me in the Midlands & they offer both fixed & recliner options & can provide runners etc to allow a straight install - the seats are lighter, more comfortable & they will also fit htd elements & lumbar adjustment. When I sold my previous 996 & 986 I took the seats out & resold them as there is clearly a demand from fellow 'suffers' (I am BTW not affiliated to Cobra but they are petrol heads) 
WFES said:
Hi there, not sure if this has been asked before but has anyone suffered back ache from either the 996 Carrera 4S or 996 Turbo seats (same i think) as i am trying to see if it's a coincidence that i seem to get back trouble when using the car a lot...i now have the turbo but it seemed similar in my 4S....Cheers Andy
I had bad back issues when I had my 996 turbo,had no problem with any of the 997s I had though.I don't get back pain so much but an intense pain in my right buttock if I'm in the wrong car/seat position for too long, kind of like bad cramp.
Having driven long journeys in a variety of Porsches I have concluded that air cooled cars are the worst (despite having a better range of adjustment) but only in RHD (where 2 hours is the max I can do) - I drove a LHD 3.2 cab 6 hours from Paul Ricard to Geneva with no problems/pain at all, but 996/7s aren't great for me either unless they have fully electric seats (for the separate front/rear height adjustment). I've driven a 996 with these all the way to Thruxton (4 hours), round the track for an hour's instruction and back home again no problem, and a 997 with them up to Edinburgh (4 hours+) and that was fine too. 996 GT3 RS bucket seats on a 2 hour drive and 997 GT3 RS bucket seats on a 2/3 hour drive were both "OK" but not great (but long distance comfort is hardly the point of those cars). I'm under 5'10" but (a bit) longer in the leg than average.
Having driven long journeys in a variety of Porsches I have concluded that air cooled cars are the worst (despite having a better range of adjustment) but only in RHD (where 2 hours is the max I can do) - I drove a LHD 3.2 cab 6 hours from Paul Ricard to Geneva with no problems/pain at all, but 996/7s aren't great for me either unless they have fully electric seats (for the separate front/rear height adjustment). I've driven a 996 with these all the way to Thruxton (4 hours), round the track for an hour's instruction and back home again no problem, and a 997 with them up to Edinburgh (4 hours+) and that was fine too. 996 GT3 RS bucket seats on a 2 hour drive and 997 GT3 RS bucket seats on a 2/3 hour drive were both "OK" but not great (but long distance comfort is hardly the point of those cars). I'm under 5'10" but (a bit) longer in the leg than average.
I was thinking it was a coincidence but maybe not...i have not driven the car for nearly a week now(drive it most days and at least 350 miles plus per week)and my back feels easier....not right...but definitely different/better...i love the turbo and really hope this is not the reason but it does seem linked.....will see how the back goes for the rest of the week and if it gets worse when i get back in the Porsche then i will decide what to do next......thanks for all the replies - seems i might not be alone!!....Cheers Andy
Edited by WFES on Wednesday 1st February 14:41
When i sold my A4 I thought I should miss the multi adjustable and lumbar supported seats that kept back pain at bay on long journeys.
The 987 has sports seats and...............
I find them excellent. I think it all depends if you 'fit' their standard seat or not. Proper adjustment is vital.
The 987 has sports seats and...............
I find them excellent. I think it all depends if you 'fit' their standard seat or not. Proper adjustment is vital.
The seats are fully adjustable but no lumbar adjustment (as in a seperate button)...they tilt, go backwards/forwards, up/down, and i've driven for years in various sporty type cars but maybe after 2 years of Porsche ownership just cannot get them comfortable to prevent the back pain which is a real shame if that turns out to be the case as i love everything else about the turbo......oh i'm 5' 10 and weigh about 13 stone (sorry about the imperial measures)!! so don't think that should be a problem in getting a good driving position??....
WFES I had exactly the same problems, not caused by, but made worse by my Caymans standard seats. I changed my car to a 911.2 recently and only considered cars with "electrically adjustable" seats (with lumbar and seat base adjustments). I feel so much better now after a long drive. I am relatively short and always felt like I had to hold my legs up when driving to get the right distance from the pedals, the seat base didn't support my legs and was always too flat. The electrically adjustable seats allow you to change the angle of the seat base and now I can relax when driving as my knees are supported.
Consider changing your car, lower back pain is really debilitating.
Also, lifting suitcases into the front boot is a killer....
Consider changing your car, lower back pain is really debilitating.
Also, lifting suitcases into the front boot is a killer....
As a sciatica sufferer (lower left back/leg) I never had a problem with my 996 turbo with comfort seats.
My Spyder with sports seats however, gave me a fair bit of gip.
I realised my problem was the seats lack of lower lumbar support, so I bought one of those D shaped lumbar cushions - works a treat.
Ok, it doesn't look great but nothing a bit of black leather couldn't sort out.
My Spyder with sports seats however, gave me a fair bit of gip.
I realised my problem was the seats lack of lower lumbar support, so I bought one of those D shaped lumbar cushions - works a treat.
Ok, it doesn't look great but nothing a bit of black leather couldn't sort out.
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