Struggling to find a comfortable seating position, any tips..?

[DaveA]

Coming from a number on non-VW cars, I am struggling to find a truly long-term comfortable seating position in my GTI.

I am finding the three-way adjustability of the VW seats somewhat of a compromise over seats in previous cars that have had more adaptability... Allied to the adjustment in the steering column, I am finding myself seated either too far away and upright for the steering wheel to feel comfortably close to me, or I am getting cramped up by being too close to the pedals...

Feels like I could do with the steering wheel coming out further on the adjustment...

Anybody fitted wheel spacers (or similar) into the steering column..? How does this affect warranty...?

I have another issue in that my right thigh presses against a metal bar in the thigh support area of the seat and this becomes painful after a while...

[Brenbo]

Comfortable seating position will be a personal preference in general.  It will also depend on you personal height and body shape.  The thing is I am 6'3" and have had cauda equine recently.  So a comfortable seating position which is ergonomically correct is really important to me.  I currently own a Golf R (which has the same seats as the GTI).  Even with my height I have found a comfortable seating position where the wheel is extended out a little and up fully, and the seat itself is lowered a fair bit and fully moved back as far as it will go.

How tall are you and what seating position do you prefer upright, or slung low like your in a sports car? 

Also could you provide more detail on the metal bar your right thigh is pressing in to, as I cannot see what the bar would be in my own car?

[DaveA]

Comfortable seating position will be a personal preference in general.  It will also depend on you personal height and body shape.  The thing is I am 6'3" and have had cauda equine recently.  So a comfortable seating position which is ergonomically correct is really important to me.  I currently own a Golf R (which has the same seats as the GTI).  Even with my height I have found a comfortable seating position where the wheel is extended out a little and up fully, and the seat itself is lowered a fair bit and fully moved back as far as it will go.

How tall are you and what seating position do you prefer upright, or slung low like your in a sports car? 

Also could you provide more detail on the metal bar your right thigh is pressing in to, as I cannot see what the bar would be in my own car?

I am 6'1", big build (longer trunk, shorter legs)... I prefer a more upright seating position, but low down in the car... If I move the seat backwards, to give my legs room, and not to feel cramped up towards the front, then I feel like I am reaching out too much for the steering wheel, even when it is fully extended outward towards me.... although, to be fair, I may not actually be, just feeling like I am in comparison to my last car (a BMW 3-er, where the wheel comes out a long way so you can set it close, even if you are a long way back)...

The metal bar is the frame to the shaped sides to the seat base that come up at the sides... in the point of the cushion/bolster/side... as your mid thigh presses outwards towards the door...

[Watts]

Google it, there are lots of guides to adjust your seat correctly.

[DaveA]

Google it, there are lots of guides to adjust your seat correctly.

Thanks, but I am OK with the principles of setting up a seating position, just I cannot seem to find a good one, hence my asking about steering wheel spacers etc...

[Brenbo]

With a longer torso and shorter legs/arms, are you a T Rex as this would explain why the steering feels as if it's harder to reach? 

I personally don't find any problems with the seats in the Golf.  But as I say it's a personal preference thing and everyone's shape is different.  The sides of the seats don't affect me in the slightest and I am not a skinny guy, built more like a rugby player.  However I fully understand the seats and position of seats in BMW 3 series might be different and more suited to your preference.

I would say from an ergonomic perspective, as long as you plant your backside right back in to the seat so your back naturally arches a little and don't recline the seat too much you should be fine.

Which golf do you have, and do you have the standard seats?

 

[mcmaddy]

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[Watts]

Google it, there are lots of guides to adjust your seat correctly.

Thanks, but I am OK with the principles of setting up a seating position, just I cannot seem to find a good one, hence my asking about steering wheel spacers etc...

Just because you are okay with the principles doesn't mean you can't learn something new. Trying to modify the steering column does sound a bit extreme.

[DaveA]

With a longer torso and shorter legs/arms, are you a T Rex as this would explain why the steering feels as if it's harder to reach? 

I personally don't find any problems with the seats in the Golf.  But as I say it's a personal preference thing and everyone's shape is different.  The sides of the seats don't affect me in the slightest and I am not a skinny guy, built more like a rugby player.  However I fully understand the seats and position of seats in BMW 3 series might be different and more suited to your preference.

I would say from an ergonomic perspective, as long as you plant your backside right back in to the seat so your back naturally arches a little and don't recline the seat too much you should be fine.

Which golf do you have, and do you have the standard seats?

Good point.. I have a 245 GTI with the standard sports seats...

I can find a comfortable seating position, where my legs are not cramped up and I have enough headroom, but, when I achive that, I am feeling like I am reaching too far for the steering wheel...

[DaveA]

Google it, there are lots of guides to adjust your seat correctly.

Thanks, but I am OK with the principles of setting up a seating position, just I cannot seem to find a good one, hence my asking about steering wheel spacers etc...

Just because you are okay with the principles doesn't mean you can't learn something new. Trying to modify the steering column does sound a bit extreme.

I am not meaning to sound funny, but I am already aware of much of the guidance on how to sit when controlling vehicles, and VW themselves have a lot of good stuff about seating position in the handbook...

My conundrum is simple... Whenever I find a good, ergonomic seating position where my legs are not cramped up into the footwell and I have reasonable headroom and a nice upright seating position, I am feeling like I am having to reach out too far to the steering wheel... By that, I mean reaching out farther than I feel comfortable doing... If I move closer, I get a better position to the steering wheel, but with a resulting feeling of being cramped up into the forward areas...

This is not something that shows up easily in a test drive or short term loan, as you tend to live with compromised set ups as a function of trying something "new"... It shows up after spending days in the car and realising that I am constantly adjusting to try different positions...

Yes, I understand that modifying a steering set up is an extreme action... and certainly not something to be done without appropriate consultation and consideration... But there are kits and I was wondering if anybody had experience of them...