Leg room issues

[MR2Kyle]

Hey folks,
This is my second mk2 now and no matter how much I try and adjust the seat to get comfortable I can't do it....it's no problem for 30 mins or so but my back starts to ache any longer than that so has anyone any solution to this? Ideally I would like to keep the standard look of the car but if that can't be done I guess needs must. Please any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Martin F]

You may well have damaged your back in the past, not much but enough for it to get aggravated by your seating position.

The only solution would be to try different seats, evo seats sit higher and at better angles, recaros also have a different seating position, as do others.
The problem is these seats cost money, the sub frames even more, unless you can drive other cars to find a suitable seat it's not financially viable to buy and test several different set ups to see what works....

Maybe you have to either accept the pain or look at buying another more suitable car

Are you doing anything strenuous to your back at the moment ? Heavy lifting ? unless it's your living maybe changes could be made

[rev3gtturbo]

The rev3 turbo leather/alcantera driver seat has quite a lot of adjustment and I found it pretty comfortable (I once broke my back). Did a huge number of miles in that car as a daily driver.

My next rev3 turbo had the factory fit cloth recaro lx-c (known as fishnets headrest model). These have less adjustment and the cushioning is supportive but might not be as thick so feels firmer. The seat pan is lower down (helps me as I am tall), and the back of the seat arches the opposite way which my back prefers once I got used to it.
This recaro seems to have a broader back with less side bolsters so your side muscles get more of a workout keeping your body upright if you corner keenly. After a while you wont notice it until you have an unsuspecting passenger and they are up against the door on a roundabout while you are upright lol

There is another recaro option (think some call it the EVO seat?) which has quite big side bolsters so you can keep your body upright with no effort cornering. I have sat in a cloth one but not driven in one. My guess is that the side bolsters might be susceptible to more wear n tear getting in/out of the car if it was a daily driver. It is a bit of a squeeze to fit this seat between the tunnel and door. People with very broad backs might find it a bit of a squeeze to fit between the bolsters comfortably? (I mention this as there are a lot more large people these days compared to the 1990s).

[MR2Kyle]

Thanks lads I'll see if I can find a nice set of rev 3 seats around...guessing you can't put the last celica seats in? Are they comfortable? I think it's the legroom anyway that's the problem as headroom isn't an issue...

[MR2Kyle]

Or dare I say it I wouldn't mind a set of dc2 seats

[CalMac]

I run DC2 Recaros and they're great seats - very comfortable, especially on long journeys. You can also overcome the tallness problem when you have the rails/sliders made or adapted to fit. I made my own subframes to fit the MR2 floorpan and then bolted some universal sliders from Ebay onto a plate which matched the seat bolts - a bit of a heavy solution but better safe than sorry

I'm 6'3 btw. Only complaint is that they still sit a little too high for my liking but unless you do away with sliders and just run the seat in a fixed position it'll always be a squeeze for tall drivers!

[SonicSW20]

There is another recaro option (think some call it the EVO seat?) which has quite big side bolsters so you can keep your body upright with no effort cornering. I have sat in a cloth one but not driven in one. My guess is that the side bolsters might be susceptible to more wear n tear getting in/out of the car if it was a daily driver. It is a bit of a squeeze to fit this seat between the tunnel and door. People with very broad backs might find it a bit of a squeeze to fit between the bolsters comfortably? (I mention this as there are a lot more large people these days compared to the 1990s).

Recaro Speed SR2

[madbasshunter]

I prefer the recaro seats and have always fitted them to all my cars here are some of the ones from my mr2
Fishnets


Rev4 option


SR3s


SR5s

My latest set

[MR2Kyle]

And dare I ask how hard is it to aquire those recaro sr3's they look great! But as I say comfort is key really as that's the only thing that now bothers me about the car....I'm also 6'4 if anyone else is around that height with any other wisdom and thanks for all the replies!!