Optimum seat position in V12 Vantage S (Sports Seats)

[Skrambles]

Is there a magic to getting the right adjustment on the sports seats in the V12VS? Despite playing with the bewildering array of potential adjustments, I'm getting a pain in my lower back after driving for 45 mins or so. I've never had this issue with a car before and can't believe that, with seats that seem to adjust in virtually every direction, it's not possible to stay comfortable.

[Simpo Two]

Skrambles said:

Is there a magic to getting the right adjustment on the sports seats in the V12VS? Despite playing with the bewildering array of potential adjustments, I'm getting a pain in my lower back after driving for 45 mins or so. I've never had this issue with a car before and can't believe that, with seats that seem to adjust in virtually every direction, it's not possible to stay comfortable.

It's easy to think 'my lower back hurts, I need more lumbar support'. But for me it's the opposite - I keep the lumbar support as far in to the seat as possible, and then all is good. (07 DB9).

[Skrambles]

Simpo Two said:

It's easy to think 'my lower back hurts, I need more lumbar support'. But for me it's the opposite - I keep the lumbar support as far in to the seat as possible, and then all is good. (07 DB9).

Thanks; yes, adding lumbar support was my first thought/reaction, but didn't work. Do you have a particular 'tilt' set up? eg elevated towards front of seat, upright back?

[Graze01]

Scrambles

I have tried every position I could think of - I can last about 1 hour before my lower back begins to ache

solution for me is a small soft pillow about 350mm wide x 150mm high

no pain

Graze

[AdamV12V]

I could never get comfy in the sports seats either, always suffered from lower back pain, despite the fact it is not something I ever suffer from daily, or in any other car!

I couldnt ever really work out why they caused pain. its not as if there is anything obviously wrong, or they obviously dont support your back, but as above adding in more lumbar only seemed to make it worse.

The only solution I ever found was to switch the lightweight buckets which are far more comfortable. Not an easy answer though, I appreciate...

[LTP]

Skrambles said:

Is there a magic to getting the right adjustment on the sports seats in the V12VS? Despite playing with the bewildering array of potential adjustments, I'm getting a pain in my lower back after driving for 45 mins or so. I've never had this issue with a car before and can't believe that, with seats that seem to adjust in virtually every direction, it's not possible to stay comfortable.

The issue with trying to answer you is it all depends on your particular physiology. I have Sports seats in my V8V and I find them quite comfortable - not up there with the seats in my daily Volvo, but fine for a few hours, with no aches. I'm also broad in the pelvis, so the Lightweight seats are, for me, a no-no. I also like the seat heating. And the extra airbag - just in case.

I'm 6' 3" (1.9 m) with a 35" (89 cm) inside leg, so I'm not designed to fit most cars, never mind a VH Aston. If you have memory seats like I do then the anti-clash will stop you driving the backrest onto the wheelarch trim, but you can fool it if you sort of sneak up on it (but if you do make contact it will probably creak when driving, so I leave a little clearance). Ideally I'd like to sit lower and further back, but that's not going to happen.

The Aston 8-way seat adjuster works in an non-intuitive way in that if you tilt the cushion then it alters the backrest angle, whereas in most cars you can tilt the cushion and the backrest angle remains the same. For me the rear of the cushion is always fully down. I found that if I have the cushion fully up at the front then the seat puts too much pressure on the outside of my thighs. I have the backrest a little more upright than I'd like, because I found if I recline the backrest to get my eyeline lower to where I'd ideally want it, then I get back ache. The backrest being more upright (but still pretty reclined by most people's standard) also allows me to get the seat a little further back - if I move the seat even further back then the backrest moves to too upright, as the anti-clash kicks in.

I found my position by using the seat memory. Set the seat in a position and store it in #1. Drive for a bit. Then tweak one or two of the adjustments slightly; store that in #2. Drive for a bit. Swap between #1 and #2 on the fly. Maybe do a further tweak and store in #3. Mix in the upper and lower lumbar (remember that the Aston does not store these). When you find the best store in #1. Rinse and repeat with slight (or large, if you want) adjustments and store in #2 and #3. I now have my main in #1; a sort of standby I haven't used in years in #2, and my wife's position in #3.

Remember that unlike the Sports seat, the Lightweight seat has no separate adjustment for cushion and back angles - it's fixed. If you recline the seat the cushion tilts up; if you make the backrest more upright the front of the cushion goes down.

If you don't have memory seats then I'm sorry I wasted the 10 minutes of your life reading this that you'll never get back.

Edited by LTP on Sunday 13th October 13:49

[Skrambles]

Graze01 said:

Scrambles

I have tried every position I could think of - I can last about 1 hour before my lower back begins to ache

solution for me is a small soft pillow about 350mm wide x 150mm high

no pain

Graze

Thanks, Graze, the pillow seems like a good idea!

[Skrambles]

AdamV12V said:

I could never get comfy in the sports seats either, always suffered from lower back pain, despite the fact it is not something I ever suffer from daily, or in any other car!

I couldnt ever really work out why they caused pain. its not as if there is anything obviously wrong, or they obviously dont support your back, but as above adding in more lumbar only seemed to make it worse.

The only solution I ever found was to switch the lightweight buckets which are far more comfortable. Not an easy answer though, I appreciate...

I fear this might be where I end up, though I'll play around with adjustments and invest in a pillow just in case. The Porsche bucket seats are also exceptionally good, so I can see why this sorted it for you, as (assuming the Aston ones are similar) they are just so supportive. I'm guessing that swapping out the Sports Seats in the Vantage for lightweights would be £000s though.

[Skrambles]

LTP said:

The issue with trying to answer you is it all depends on your particular physiology. I have Sports seats in my V8V and I find them quite comfortable - not up there with the seats in my daily Volvo, but fine for a few hours, with no aches. I'm also broad in the pelvis, so the Lightweight seats are, for me, a no-no. I also like the seat heating. And the extra airbag - just in case.

I'm 6' 3" (1.9 m) with a 35" (89 cm) inside leg, so I'm not designed to fit most cars, never mind a VH Aston. If you have memory seats like I do then the anti-clash will stop you driving the backrest onto the wheelarch trim, but you can fool it if you sort of sneak up on it (but if you do make contact it will probably creak when driving, so I leave a little clearance). Ideally I'd like to sit lower and further back, but that's not going to happen.

The Aston 8-way seat adjuster works in an non-intuitive way in that if you tilt the cushion then it alters the backrest angle, whereas in most cars you can tilt the cushion and the backrest angle remains the same. For me the rear of the cushion is always fully down. I found that if I have the cushion fully up at the front then the seat puts too much pressure on the outside of my thighs. I have the backrest a little more upright than I'd like, because I found if I recline the backrest to get my eyeline lower to where I'd ideally want it, then I get back ache. The backrest being more upright (but still pretty reclined by most people's standard) also allows me to get the seat a little further back - if I move the seat even further back then the backrest moves to too upright, as the anti-clash kicks in.

I found my position by using the seat memory. Set the seat in a position and store it in #1. Drive for a bit. Then tweak one or two of the adjustments slightly; store that in #2. Drive for a bit. Swap between #1 and #2 on the fly. Maybe do a further tweak and store in #3. Mix in the upper and lower lumbar (remember that the Aston does not store these). When you find the best store in #1. Rinse and repeat with slight (or large, if you want) adjustments and store in #2 and #3. I now have my main in #1; a sort of standby I haven't used in years in #2, and my wife's position in #3.

Remember that unlike the Sports seat, the Lightweight seat has no separate adjustment for cushion and back angles - it's fixed. If you recline the seat the cushion tilts up; if you make the backrest more upright the front of the cushion goes down.

If you don't have memory seats then I'm sorry I wasted the 10 minutes of your life reading this that you'll never get back.

Edited by LTP on Sunday 13th October 13:49

This is incredibly helpful, thanks. I do have memory seats (3 settings) and will try what you suggest. I'm a fair bit shorter than you (5' 10"), but fairly broad, so maybe this is a problem for getting support (without lots of adjustment) from the sports seats. It's a real issue though because my back is still hurting a bit, 15 hours later!

[AMV8Stuart]

I suffer from lower back pain some cars are better than others, it may just be me not getting the adjustment right. I did read that usually it's not the lumber support though and can actually be pressure on the base of the spine/coccyx so I bought one of those seat pads with a cut out where the coccyx goes. It means that you have to set the seat lower than you normally have it to account for the thickness of the pad (make sure you get a thin one) but having just done a weeks tour of the Alps with 8 hour driving days I can say it has made a world of difference, I didn't get out of the car with any pain at all.

[Simpo Two]

Skrambles said:

Simpo Two said:

It's easy to think 'my lower back hurts, I need more lumbar support'. But for me it's the opposite - I keep the lumbar support as far in to the seat as possible, and then all is good. (07 DB9).

Thanks; yes, adding lumbar support was my first thought/reaction, but didn't work. Do you have a particular 'tilt' set up? eg elevated towards front of seat, upright back?

I have the base angled up towards the front for a bit of thigh support, and the back leaning back more than most. That's why I'd like an adjustable headrest because it's nowhere near my head.

But I did once borrow an earlier DB9 for a while and it was just as you describe - lower back ache. There was a gap between base and back: I had to stuff a cushion into it! The most uncomfortable car I've ever driven.

Seems that anything with 'Sports' in the name is just bloody uncomfortable, eg Sportspack suspension. These are supposed to be GTs - ie you can drive to Cannes and get out feeling fresh, not crippled or deafened after an hour!

[Simpo Two]

Skrambles said:

I'm guessing that swapping out the Sports Seats in the Vantage for lightweights would be £000s though.

Can you get 'normal' seats for it?

[alscar]

Simpo Two said:

Skrambles said:

I'm guessing that swapping out the Sports Seats in the Vantage for lightweights would be £000s though.

Can you get 'normal' seats for it?

Probably “ cheaper “ to change the car to one with the lightweights already there - I vaguely recall a set a couple of years ago being advertised for around £14k !
The sports seats are the “ normal “ ones.

[LTP]

Simpo Two said:

But I did once borrow an earlier DB9 for a while and it was just as you describe - lower back ache. There was a gap between base and back: I had to stuff a cushion into it! The most uncomfortable car I've ever driven.

If there's a gap between the seat back and your lower back then that implies the seat back is too upright and the seat is just making contact at your shoulders. If you're positioning the seatback upright so you can use the top part of the seat to rest your head on then don't - it's an integral head restraint, not a headrest.

[CatalystV12V]

alscar said:

Simpo Two said:

Skrambles said:

I'm guessing that swapping out the Sports Seats in the Vantage for lightweights would be £000s though.

Can you get 'normal' seats for it?

Probably “ cheaper “ to change the car to one with the lightweights already there - I vaguely recall a set a couple of years ago being advertised for around £14k !
The sports seats are the “ normal “ ones.

I recently looked in to this.. lightweight seats from AML will probably set you back 20k.

Sometimes they come up on eBay , but do you really want a seat that most likely was in an accident.

These guys make replacement bucket seats… https://ecpsgroup.com/produkt/aston-martin-vantage...
I contacted them to find out more about their construction but didn’t hear back..
Eventually I found a car with lightweight seats, problem solved. They suit my body shape and I can sit in them for hours.

[BlackTails]

Fitting them (lightweight seats) isn’t a simple like for like swap either. The LW seat option means the car has a button on each side of the dash, visible when the door is opened, to bring the seats as far forward as they will go to maximise access to the rear shelf area. You’d have to get that installed too.

It’s almost certainly easier to find another car that had them in it from the factory.

[Simpo Two]

LTP said:

If there's a gap between the seat back and your lower back then that implies the seat back is too upright and the seat is just making contact at your shoulders. If you're positioning the seatback upright so you can use the top part of the seat to rest your head on then don't...

It wasn't. I like something to rest my head on if it's there, which it isn't. It has been in most of my other cars, because it rotated and went up and down - but not this one. So again, comfort sacrificed.

After a couple of years of DB9 production the seats were improved, fortunately, as I have the improved versions.

[CatalystV12V]

LTP said:

Remember that unlike the Sports seat, the Lightweight seat has no separate adjustment for cushion and back angles - it's fixed. If you recline the seat the cushion tilts up; if you make the backrest more upright the front of the cushion goes down.

Edited by LTP on Sunday 13th October 13:49

You can move the pads behind the lightweight seats. They’re attached by Velcro. Not great but does allow some adjustment.

[AdamV12V]

CatalystV12V said:

LTP said:

Remember that unlike the Sports seat, the Lightweight seat has no separate adjustment for cushion and back angles - it's fixed. If you recline the seat the cushion tilts up; if you make the backrest more upright the front of the cushion goes down.

Edited by LTP on Sunday 13th October 13:49

You can move the pads behind the lightweight seats. They’re attached by Velcro. Not great but does allow some adjustment.

And fundamentally they are very very comfortable to start with.... Sure they appear to have less functions on paper, but the simple fact is, as you, me and many others have found, they are just super comfy almost without doing anything at all. Unlike the sports seats, which as this thread demonstrates, require endless tinkering and the result is usually the same - back pain after an hour or so of driving!

I dont even miss the heated seats really, as mine like most have alcantara centres which feel warmer in winter than leather does.

Edited by AdamV12V on Sunday 13th October 18:38

[n12maser]

I suggest trying to get the seat as low as you can in the car, obvs without leaning it too far back. Then the lower-back bolster on max, and in your lower back not mid back.

Worked for me, I find the seat incredibly comfortable now, never get back pain and I am susceptible to it. Am 6 ft 2".

V12 Vantage S