Aftermarket lumbar support for SLK R171
Discussion
I bought a 2010 SLK-350 (R171) a few months ago, and just completed my first two long journeys of 200+ miles each way. The car performs as I wanted and expected in every way but one - after an hour my lower back began to ache, and after 90 minutes it was so bad I had to stop and walk around for a while.
I never had back pain in 26 years of driving my old TVR, or from sitting in my home office chair for hours at a time, so logically I must blame the SLK seat. Unfortunately, the lumbar adjuster illustrated in the owner's manual has a little asterisk and footnote saying *optional, and a quick search with a torch after the 1st leg of my journey showed that the original buyer did not specify that option.
There are many dozens of aftermarket lumbar pillows & supports on Amazon & elsewhere. Has anyone found one which does the job? Ths one perfectly matches my interior, and £35 is reasonable ; anyone tried it?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Koyoso-Lumbar-Support-Cus...
Thanks for any help.
I never had back pain in 26 years of driving my old TVR, or from sitting in my home office chair for hours at a time, so logically I must blame the SLK seat. Unfortunately, the lumbar adjuster illustrated in the owner's manual has a little asterisk and footnote saying *optional, and a quick search with a torch after the 1st leg of my journey showed that the original buyer did not specify that option.
There are many dozens of aftermarket lumbar pillows & supports on Amazon & elsewhere. Has anyone found one which does the job? Ths one perfectly matches my interior, and £35 is reasonable ; anyone tried it?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Koyoso-Lumbar-Support-Cus...
Thanks for any help.
Edited by frontfloater on Tuesday 19th September 16:38
Edited by frontfloater on Tuesday 12th December 12:03
In the absence of any suggestions from others, I have gone ahead & ordered one of the "Koyoso" units to try. Like you, I have the sport package with black leather interior & red stitching, so with a bit of luck it may look like a M-B accessory. I thought the red stitching looked a bit chavvy when I first viewed car adverts online, but in the flesh it doesn't bother me too much now. Thankfully the original owner deleted the bright scarlet seat belts when placing the order.
I suspect that the backrest will prove to be made of vinyl, despite the seller claiming twice in the listing that it is leather (even "full-grain, breathable leather"). It seems unlikely at this price-point. Most of the Chinese-based office chairs with banner titles saying they are leather have small print saying it is "PU leather" or "faux leather", and one of the reviewers for the backrest refers to it being that. So if it turns out to be useless, I may be able to get a refund based on misdescription.
I suspect that the backrest will prove to be made of vinyl, despite the seller claiming twice in the listing that it is leather (even "full-grain, breathable leather"). It seems unlikely at this price-point. Most of the Chinese-based office chairs with banner titles saying they are leather have small print saying it is "PU leather" or "faux leather", and one of the reviewers for the backrest refers to it being that. So if it turns out to be useless, I may be able to get a refund based on misdescription.
Yes, my seats also have multiple electric switches on the side - every adjustment except the one I really need.
When I was looking for online advice, I found a message on another forum suggesting that if you ordered Airscarf, the "plumbing" for that system left insufficient room inside the seat-back to fit the powered lumbar mechanism.
When I was looking for online advice, I found a message on another forum suggesting that if you ordered Airscarf, the "plumbing" for that system left insufficient room inside the seat-back to fit the powered lumbar mechanism.
Unfortunately this item proved to be disappointing. As I had suspected, it was obviously a vinyl facing over a man-made base, and not leather as advertised. More importantly, due to its wedge shape, almost all the support is at the base of your spine (sacrum) rather then where I need it in the lumbar area (small of the back).
Also, the whole of the inner pad is made of soft squashy memory foam, so as other reviewers have said, body weight flattens the upper part of the wedge to almost no thickness, so it provides almost no lumbar support.
For someone who has figured out that they need extra seat thickness right down at the base of their spine, it may be suitable - and it fits the SLK seat perfectly, both physically and in appearance :
It arrived within a couple of days, vacuum-packed to only about 2 inches thick - which made returning it in the same packaging quite tricky, Amazon supplied a free return postage label, so you can try it without incurring any cost.
Also, the whole of the inner pad is made of soft squashy memory foam, so as other reviewers have said, body weight flattens the upper part of the wedge to almost no thickness, so it provides almost no lumbar support.
For someone who has figured out that they need extra seat thickness right down at the base of their spine, it may be suitable - and it fits the SLK seat perfectly, both physically and in appearance :
It arrived within a couple of days, vacuum-packed to only about 2 inches thick - which made returning it in the same packaging quite tricky, Amazon supplied a free return postage label, so you can try it without incurring any cost.
Edited by frontfloater on Monday 25th September 11:39
Also watching with interest. According to my physio you want the support the lower down than you think. I'm currently using a rolled up T-shirt as my car's getting on a bit at the seats don't have as much support as they used to. Currently looking a new cars and decent lumbar support is a priority but with long delivery times something like this i my current car might be a good idea.
I've got a similar issue on my R170. Initally I made do with a towel, but wanted something a bit more suitable.
Bought the following item, made by a UK company (in China) that specialises in this sort of stuff. Its made of synthetic fabric but for me that's not an issue. It matches the black leather relatively well. I cut the diagonal straps as found them ugly and a faff to install.
For £18 you may want to have a go?
https://www.posturecushion.co.uk/collections/lumba...
Bought the following item, made by a UK company (in China) that specialises in this sort of stuff. Its made of synthetic fabric but for me that's not an issue. It matches the black leather relatively well. I cut the diagonal straps as found them ugly and a faff to install.
For £18 you may want to have a go?
https://www.posturecushion.co.uk/collections/lumba...
There's clearly a lot of similar thinking going on here - I just bought exactly the same item on Amazon a few days ago.
Unfortunately, for me it seems to go too far the other way - it's quite a big lump of hard foam, and feels too intrusive. I don't think I could drive long distances with such a prominent lump, so unfortunately it seems that the search goes on ... Also, the sloping design of the upper part of the R171 seat makes the vertical straps almost impossible to fit.
Visually, not a bad match, but the side bolsters mean that the horizontal strap can't snuggle the pad against the seat-back so it kinda "hovers" and rotates in mid-air, not in contact with the seat. If it had been comfortable, I could have lived with that.
Unfortunately, for me it seems to go too far the other way - it's quite a big lump of hard foam, and feels too intrusive. I don't think I could drive long distances with such a prominent lump, so unfortunately it seems that the search goes on ... Also, the sloping design of the upper part of the R171 seat makes the vertical straps almost impossible to fit.
Visually, not a bad match, but the side bolsters mean that the horizontal strap can't snuggle the pad against the seat-back so it kinda "hovers" and rotates in mid-air, not in contact with the seat. If it had been comfortable, I could have lived with that.
The big problem with backs is they don't like being immobile.
Hence this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Beaded-Massage-com...
Hence this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Beaded-Massage-com...
Agreed. The musculo-skeletal system is designed for being upright and mobile, not seated and static. I was an ergonomics adviser for over 10 years, specialising in the assessment and avoidance of VDU & computer workstation related pain & injuries, so I understand the principles.
Those bead mats are basically aimed at allowing air to circulate and moisture to evaporate ; they don't involve any alteration of the basic back position.
The main problem here is that you can't just go along to a shop and try a dozen different models for size and comfort, as you would when buying a chair in a furniture shop ; that applies both to the car seat and the lumbar supports. I feel a bit uneasy about continuing to buy supports "blind" on Amazon and sending them back if they don't fit ; hence my original posting here, to see if anyone had a recommendation. But in the absence of "Fred's lumbar support store" on the high street, there seems little other option.
Those bead mats are basically aimed at allowing air to circulate and moisture to evaporate ; they don't involve any alteration of the basic back position.
The main problem here is that you can't just go along to a shop and try a dozen different models for size and comfort, as you would when buying a chair in a furniture shop ; that applies both to the car seat and the lumbar supports. I feel a bit uneasy about continuing to buy supports "blind" on Amazon and sending them back if they don't fit ; hence my original posting here, to see if anyone had a recommendation. But in the absence of "Fred's lumbar support store" on the high street, there seems little other option.
frontfloater said:
Agreed. The musculo-skeletal system is designed for being upright and mobile, not seated and static. I was an ergonomics adviser for over 10 years, specialising in the assessment and avoidance of VDU & computer workstation related pain & injuries, so I understand the principles.
Those bead mats are basically aimed at allowing air to circulate and moisture to evaporate ; they don't involve any alteration of the basic back position.
The main problem here is that you can't just go along to a shop and try a dozen different models for size and comfort, as you would when buying a chair in a furniture shop ; that applies both to the car seat and the lumbar supports. I feel a bit uneasy about continuing to buy supports "blind" on Amazon and sending them back if they don't fit ; hence my original posting here, to see if anyone had a recommendation. But in the absence of "Fred's lumbar support store" on the high street, there seems little other option.
Years ago I used to deal with a car trimmers in Coventry, show cars and one off prototypes that kind of thing. But they'd also rebuild a seat to suit an individual. Might be worth trying to find such a place. Those bead mats are basically aimed at allowing air to circulate and moisture to evaporate ; they don't involve any alteration of the basic back position.
The main problem here is that you can't just go along to a shop and try a dozen different models for size and comfort, as you would when buying a chair in a furniture shop ; that applies both to the car seat and the lumbar supports. I feel a bit uneasy about continuing to buy supports "blind" on Amazon and sending them back if they don't fit ; hence my original posting here, to see if anyone had a recommendation. But in the absence of "Fred's lumbar support store" on the high street, there seems little other option.
I'd start by asking at a mobility car adaption place. They're used to all sorts of oneoff requests and solutions.
For a more budget solution find a furniture upholsterer, you know the sort of place, leather offcuts, foam and an old sewing machine strewn in the window. Ask them to make you a bespoke cushion.
Edited by PositronicRay on Thursday 5th October 12:53
With Xmas long journeys looming, I have bought two more Amazon lumbar products to try on my outward and return journeys next week.
1. "ZPPLD Car Lumbar Support Cushion...", @ £18.50, which fits within the SLK seat quite well and is also a good visual match.
2. "Fifth Gear Memory Foam Lumbar Orthopedic Cushion... " , @ £16.95, which is larger and less of a neat fit, and also not a visual match, but may give more support .
Both have the thickest part of the cushion higher up than the black & red wedge-shaped item which I tried first, so I'm hoping that they get the support where it's needed. But both are mainly made of memory foam, so it remains to be seen whether they just flatten in use....
1. "ZPPLD Car Lumbar Support Cushion...", @ £18.50, which fits within the SLK seat quite well and is also a good visual match.
2. "Fifth Gear Memory Foam Lumbar Orthopedic Cushion... " , @ £16.95, which is larger and less of a neat fit, and also not a visual match, but may give more support .
Both have the thickest part of the cushion higher up than the black & red wedge-shaped item which I tried first, so I'm hoping that they get the support where it's needed. But both are mainly made of memory foam, so it remains to be seen whether they just flatten in use....
I'm pleased to report back that the ZPPLD cushion did help with my lumbar pain. I was able to do a 3.5 hour journey in one go, with only a little backache in the last hour - so it did improve the seat support considerably. And at a usefully low price. The only downside is that it has no straps to hold it in place, so it does tend to move around a bit and need repositioning when getting in & out of the car.
The other bigger pad wasn't right for me - I found it too bulky, and the width meant it did not fit well into the seat, so I had to move the seat backwards quite a way. But for others it might be an alternative option to try at such a low price.
The other bigger pad wasn't right for me - I found it too bulky, and the width meant it did not fit well into the seat, so I had to move the seat backwards quite a way. But for others it might be an alternative option to try at such a low price.
Edited by frontfloater on Saturday 30th December 09:52
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