Seats?

[LuckysDad]

Anyone else find the seats too hard, too flat and completely unsupportive?
After a recent three hour drive my sciatic was so painful I had to go get one of those old man pillows to sit on.
I feel like I sit on top of the seat rather than in it.

 

[Porter]

I assume you're taking your wallet out?

I agree with you on the "on it" rather than "in it" though, the seat needs to be at least 1, maybe 2 inches lower for me to feel right about it.

And before people say it, no it's not the beltline of the Emira being lower making me feel odd. Even with the seat reclined further than my normal preference, I have barely 1 inch of room between my head and the roof, so there's not enough space for a helmet. Plus I can't see out the rearview mirror well, because the roofline of the Emira in the rearview cuts off cars behind me below their side mirrors. That's simply me sitting too high in the car for the length of my torso. It needs a lower seat.

I'm going to wait and see whether Lotus releases a bucket seat of some kind for the Emira S or Emira R, and will get that if they make it in the tan leather. If not, it will be Tillett B10 XL all the way.

 

[LuckysDad]

I assume you're taking your wallet out?

I agree with you on the "on it" rather than "in it" though, the seat needs to be at least 1, maybe 2 inches lower for me to feel right about it.

And before people say it, no it's not the beltline of the Emira being lower making me feel odd. Even with the seat reclined further than my normal preference, I have barely 1 inch of room between my head and the roof, so there's not enough space for a helmet. Plus I can't see out the rearview mirror well, because the roofline of the Emira in the rearview cuts off cars behind me below their side mirrors. That's simply me sitting too high in the car for the length of my torso. It needs a lower seat.

Yeah. Nothing in my back pockets.

My wife said the same as you. She feels like she's sitting too high in the car. And she's not tall at all.

 

[freefall_junkie]

For me the seats are easily the Emira's worst feature. I actually find them pretty comfortable, but they are mounted too high and lack side support. It is frustrating because Lotus were given tons of feedback about the seat height from just about everyone who sat in or drove the pre-prod cars. Lotus seemed convinced that the market wanted electrically adjustable over-stuffed sofas, when in fact most of us on here just want a simple set of lightweight, supportive, low set sports seats.

 

[Porter]

Lotus seemed convinced that the market wanted electrically adjustable over-stuffed sofas, when in fact most of us on here just want a simple set of lightweight, supportive, low set sports seats.

 

[KCDarkV]

The seats are definitely the biggest flaw. I feel like I am sitting on an overstuffed couch. They also feel too narrow for my hips, and I’m not a big guy. I would love to have another seat option in the future. Something light and manual.

 

[Eagle7]

I wish they'd stitched the center cushion as a separate piece from the side bolsters instead of stitching it all together. That way you could change out the center cushion foam for something a little thinner and maybe softer and it wouldn't pull on the side bolsters and back.

For those of you having this issue, it might be worth looking into having an upholstery shop undo the stitching of the seat bottom from the sides and back, and restitch it separately. That way you could probably drop a good inch out of the seat bottom with a thinner cushion in it. I guarantee that would be cheaper than getting new seats, and it would retain the factory seat materials.

 

[leofin]

Hello everyone. I recently did a long road trip, after which I decided to do something about the seats as my lower back started to hurt. They have an unnecessary gap which we managed to reduce at a local car upholstery shop by adding some extra padding.

 

[Porter]

Hello everyone. I did a 3,000 road trip, after which I decided to do something about the seats! They have an unnecessary gap, which we managed to reduce, at a local car upholstery shop.

Tell us more please!

 

[leofin]

I asked them to add about 1 inch of automotive foam, on the part marked with red. Didn't have to modify the leather. The pressure on the lower back became less.

 

[LuckysDad]

That's exactly what it needs. Plus some more bolster on the sides.
I'm going to have my local upholstery shop do the same.
Plus fix the stupid twisted seat belts....they drive my OCD crazy!

 

[FlyNavy01]

I've never found the seats to be too high, but I do find them too hard and too wide. They clearly tried to cater them to a larger demographic in the Emira (pun intended). I would only switch to aftermarket if the tan leather can be matched, otherwise my interior would look like a mis-matched mess.

Probably unpopular opinion but I've come to prefer the twisted belts. It keeps the edge from digging into your neck and lifts it up as it passes over your shoulder for comfort which is quite nice.

 

[leofin]

Did a new roadtrip and the modifications did helpNo lower back pain after 6h of driving!

The seats still need one modification, to be perfect, but planning to do that after the summer.

 

[LuckysDad]

Did a new roadtrip and the modifications did helpNo lower back pain after 6h of driving!

The seats still need one modification, to be perfect, but planning to do that after the summer.

What's the other mod?

 

[cdn_alien]

I asked them to add about 1 inch of automotive foam, on the part marked with red. Didn't have to modify the leather. The pressure on the lower back became less.

That actually makes a lot of sense. By raising the seat bottom, it effectively lowers the placement of the lumbar support, because I always thought it was too high and jabbing into my back. I've never considered the seating position to be too high as some people have mentioned, so raising the seat bottom an inch or so would not be a problem for me. I'll have to keep this in mind, after I have a chance to do a road trip.

 

[LuckysDad]

So after a few test fittings I think my trimmer and I have come up with what is going to work for me. I've attached an annotated doc of what we did.
If anyone local wants to have this done give Brandon Constantine at
Rinnovare Automotive in Phoenixville, PA a call.
He's done lots of work for me and I've always been pleased with the results. https://rinnovareautoworks.com/

Lotus Seat Updates

Shaved “hump” in center of seat back ½” soft foam 1” medium density foam

docs.google.com

 

[seriously]

Anybody get to a comfortable position using settings only? I have the same jab you in the middle of the back issue. Right now I have the seat reclined more than I would typically to get to a more straight fit. Perhaps raising the bottom cushion up would also improve. Any other tips?

 

[cdn_alien]

So far, I’ve moved the seat closer to the pedals, and pushed my butt further into the seat. By doing that, I’m sitting up higher, allowing the lumbar to hit at the proper spot. It seems to help. I’ll know for sure once I do a road trip that’s several hours long and see if anything hurts.

 

[Shadoken]

So after a few test fittings I think my trimmer and I have come up with what is going to work for me. I've attached an annotated doc of what we did.
If anyone local wants to have this done give Brandon Constantine at
Rinnovare Automotive in Phoenixville, PA a call.
He's done lots of work for me and I've always been pleased with the results. https://rinnovareautoworks.com/

Lotus Seat Updates

Shaved “hump” in center of seat back ½” soft foam 1” medium density foam

docs.google.com

How much does doing something like this cost ? The seats are easily the worst part of the car for me. It feels like theres 0 support in the lower back area.

 

[seriously]

How much does doing something like this cost ? The seats are easily the worst part of the car for me. It feels like theres 0 support in the lower back area.

Did you play around with the bolster support? I feel like there is too much! You can push the bolster out and lower it to support your back.