Tall guys - how do you get comfortable?

[burtonsbs5114]

Im 6 foot and I can't seem to get the back comfortable. I'm not sure what it is, but I just cant seem to get it right. My S5 seat fit me like a glove so its kind of annoying I cant get this seat perfect.

[Yvette]

I wish new m3/4 seats fit in our car

[z3papa]

I'm 6'6" and 275. I fit fine in the M3 which is much more spacious than the Z3 I own and have raced for years, albeit with Recaro race seats on mounts/sliders nearly on the floor. I think fit and comfortable is a matter of perception in conjunction to motivation. If you want to own/drive car bad enough, you can motivate yourself into some tight spaces.

[modkrazy]

Wheel definitely doesn't telescope out enough until I changed my seating posture from lounging to more upright.

[STooK]

I have an e93 and I prefer the e90/92 seat bottoms more. The vert has the euro seat bottom but it's not as cushy as the us version. Besides that I have no complaints since I'm 5'7 and have plenty of room everywhere.

However these seats are worlds better than my non sport e92 seats which were literally 2 flat surfaces put together.

[STooK]

Oh and the f8x seats make the e9x seats feel like a wooden chair. One of the few things I like over the e9x..

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by djaft3rb3ats

hrmm, ill chime in on this.


i cam from a recaro pole position in my previous car so im used to sitting in track form-ish, but with a DECENT fitting in this car, my hair tends to occasionally touch the roof near the door.
and no, i not rocking a mohawk or something ridiculous, but there is definitely some volume in my hair.

i have an e92 coupe, 2013
im about 6'1
200 lbs
CF roof
heated seat combo, or, whatever the non m-sport manual seats are
short femur/legs, arms arent terribly long either

granted, its been about a week of owenership, but i still cant QUITE get it

Tilt the seat all the way back if you haven't already.

[1MOREMOD]

Like this?

[STooK]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Like this?

Lol, that's not even a BMW in the picture though…I think it's a ~2000 sentra.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Like this?

So in other words, you lean back to get comfortable?

[V8FunNaturally]

6'3" 210 lbs

I agree with people who say something is wrong with the upper part of the back rest, it's curved inwards (concave) forcing people with long torso to crook their back. The effect can be reduced by reclining angle further back but there will always be part of your back somewhere down the spine that's not getting support if you torso is anything but average length and not an inch more.
In my case i avoid the concave effect by increasing reclining angle and getting most of my support from lower back and nothing from mid back to shoulder blades, it's like seating on a comfortable stool with no back rest. Despite all the controls that concave cannot be changed. It's still confortable enough thanks to all other parts of the seat are ajustable but never perfect.

As for people with the inverse body type, short torso long legs (like a frog or often people of african decent) they'll want longer steering rack which could also have been done. What's annoying is that those two issues are not a cabin space limitation problem, it's a less than a perfect designer choice. That inward curve makes average people slightly closer to perfect support but for a bit longer torso people it's more than a slight degradation in comfort they have to compensate for.

[z3papa]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Like this?

LOL, definitely want to recline a little more

[Slammo]

I'm 6'2", 205 lbs. with a 33" inseam and a somewhat long torso. I initially had a very hard time getting comfortable with the M3 seats...the concave upper seat back being the biggest issue! I currently have the seat as low as it can go and in more of an upright position. Being able to adjust the lumbar and side bolster is a big help. After almost 6 months of ownership, I'm still trying to fine tune it to my liking. I wonder if the BMW Performance seats have similar issues with the concave upper seat back?
I previously had a C5 Z06 and found the seats unbearable, I ended up switching them out with Sparco Evo II US seats. They were not perfect, but considerably better than the stock seats.

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by sunsweet

6'3" 210 lbs

I agree with people who say something is wrong with the upper part of the back rest, it's curved inwards (concave) forcing people with long torso to crook their back. The effect can be reduced by reclining angle further back but there will always be part of your back somewhere down the spine that's not getting support if you torso is anything but average length and not an inch more.
In my case i avoid the concave effect by increasing reclining angle and getting most of my support from lower back and nothing from mid back to shoulder blades, it's like seating on a comfortable stool with no back rest. Despite all the controls that concave cannot be changed. It's still confortable enough thanks to all other parts of the seat are ajustable but never perfect.

As for people with the inverse body type, short torso long legs (like a frog or often people of african decent) they'll want longer steering rack which could also have been done. What's annoying is that those two issues are not a cabin space limitation problem, it's a less than a perfect designer choice. That inward curve makes average people slightly closer to perfect support but for a bit longer torso people it's more than a slight degradation in comfort they have to compensate for.

I had this issue on my first BMW as I didn't realize the lower part adjust has to be ordered separately, for a good handfull hundred dollars (!!). Once you have that part adjustable as well it is easy to get all the lower back support you need. Maybe your car doesn't have that option?

PS: First bloody car I saw without that part of the seat adjustable from start - cheap BMW!

[djaft3rb3ats]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Tilt the seat all the way back if you haven't already.

i would, and i totally can, but im more used to a Pole position seating on my s2k so im used to upright seating for the last 3 years. leaning back seems unsafe to me and i also dont feel that snug ahah.

is there anything else?

[V8FunNaturally]

Originally Posted by Helmsman

I had this issue on my first BMW as I didn't realize the lower part adjust has to be ordered separately, for a good handfull hundred dollars (!!). Once you have that part adjustable as well it is easy to get all the lower back support you need. Maybe your car doesn't have that option?

PS: First bloody car I saw without that part of the seat adjustable from start - cheap BMW!

i realize i wrote too much and it wasn't understood right. Lower back support is not the problem, it's fully adjustable (i assume you have electric seats, not talking about manual seats). What i meant is the higher back side is not adjustable and curved inward.

[modkrazy]

Originally Posted by sunsweet

i realize i wrote too much and it wasn't understood right. Lower back support is not the problem, it's fully adjustable (i assume you have electric seats, not talking about manual seats). What i meant is the higher back side is not adjustable and curved inward.

Yes, the top half of the seat just kind of goes away. You can deflate the lower back support so it's more in line with the upper back support, but this creates a huge cavity behind you that you can't help but slouch into, until you feel like you're sitting in an actual bucket. Or you can pump it up and put the seat upright, while pumping up the side supports, which goes a long way to mitigate the issue (so you go from comfortable bar stool that has no back, to the same barstool with a back that props you up under the shoulder blades, but while that posture is good for the track, it's a little too "perfect posture" to want to do a long road trip in. Damn Germans, even their car seats have an element of eugenics to them!

Good enough around town though.

[djaft3rb3ats]

Originally Posted by modkrazy

Yes, the top half of the seat just kind of goes away. You can deflate the lower back support so it's more in line with the upper back support, but this creates a huge cavity behind you that you can't help but slouch into, until you feel like you're sitting in an actual bucket. Or you can pump it up and put the seat upright, while pumping up the side supports, which goes a long way to mitigate the issue (so you go from comfortable bar stool that has no back, to the same barstool with a back that props you up under the shoulder blades, but while that posture is good for the track, it's a little too "perfect posture" to want to do a long road trip in. Damn Germans, even their car seats have an element of eugenics to them!

Good enough around town though.

yeah at the "Track" position the tip of my hair barely rubs the side of the top-side of the car, near the handrail thing. if i slouch down, i feel like im driving a low rider

[V8FunNaturally]

Originally Posted by modkrazy

Yes, the top half of the seat just kind of goes away. You can deflate the lower back support so it's more in line with the upper back support, but this creates a huge cavity behind you that you can't help but slouch into, until you feel like you're sitting in an actual bucket. Or you can pump it up and put the seat upright, while pumping up the side supports, which goes a long way to mitigate the issue (so you go from comfortable bar stool that has no back, to the same barstool with a back that props you up under the shoulder blades, but while that posture is good for the track, it's a little too "perfect posture" to want to do a long road trip in. Damn Germans, even their car seats have an element of eugenics to them!

Good enough around town though.

Exactly, ! You nailed it !

Originally Posted by djaft3rb3ats

yeah at the "Track" position the tip of my hair barely rubs the side of the top-side of the car, near the handrail thing. if i slouch down, i feel like im driving a low rider

Ditto
so it seems germans have a short upper body or a craned hunched back to fit comfortably in those seats ?!

[djaft3rb3ats]

Originally Posted by V8FunNaturally

Exactly, ! You nailed it !



Ditto
so it seems germans have a short upper body or a craned hunched back to fit comfortably in those seats ?!

honestly dont know. im looking for an aftermarket seat setup but i dont want to lose functionality.

i asked me dealer about switching seats and he wasnt sure if going to bucket seats would no longer allow me to use the power window options.

not sure if EPS has anything to do with it, but the cold weather package gives me heated seats (which i guess i can do without but would rather keep).

ideally if i could keep power seats with heated and seat about an inch lower that would work, but i need an inch even if i lose ONLY heated seats.

any suggestions?