Anyone have a good way to improve the comfort of the OEM seat? Options

[JmuRiz]

...Maybe it does have something to do with the fact that the PO put new, non-OEM foam in at some point.

It has everything to do with this!
My stock seats were just fine on a 10 hour trip from Atlanta to the DC area when I bought my car. I'm tall and skinny and my dad is tall and not-as-skinny and we were both comfy the whole way.

Get some new foam from 914rubber and you should be good.

[malcolm2]

http://www.usafoam.com/seat&cushion/se...mp;cushion.html

These guys have some specs on foam....

LUX HQ sounds good to me..

Lux Foam - High Quality
Firm foam for regular or heavy use. Lux Foam - HQ is a high quality foam suggested for seats, chairs, cushions, benches, and mattresses. Foam has a typical life of 16 years. (Lux-HQ foam is a 2.8 lb/ft3 density with a 50lb ILD)

vs

Lux Foam - Regular
Firm foam for regular use. Lux Foam - R is suggested for seats, chairs, cushions, benches, and mattresses. Foam has a typical life of 7 years. (Lux-R foam is a 1.8 lb/ft3 density with a 50lb ILD)

They have another similar to LUX that is call HD-36 with the only diff being it has 35LB ILD.... need to find out what ILD is. I am gonna assume I should just max out all the specs, years of life, density and ILD. Might be like sitting on a brick tho.

I assume 2 seat btms would be 6" thick, maybe 24" x 60" for less than $70!

[Frankvw]

They have another similar to LUX that is call HD-36 with the only diff being it has 35LB ILD.... need to find out what ILD is.

I just checked online how to explain what ild is: (not my wisdom)

What does the ILD rating of a memory foam mattress mean?

ILD stands for Indentation Load Deflection. In simple terms it is a measurement of how hard or soft a foam is. In more accurate terms it's the number of pounds of pressure required to indent 4" of foam by 25% using a 50 square inch indentation. You may also see it referred to as the 25% ILD rating.

For example, this means that a 15lb ILD rating would mean that the foam needed 15lbs of pressure to indent it by 25%, and a 25lb ILD rating would mean it needs 25lbs to indent by 25%, so basically this means that the higher the ILD, the firmer the foam.

You can use the ILD rating together with the foam's density to gain a good idea of the overall make up and quality of the foam.

It is worth noting that due to the batch production process of memory foam, the measured ILD and density ratings can change from batch to batch. It is not unusual for a foam that rates at 10lb ILD to vary between 8lb and 12lb.

This can also vary depending on the temperature and environment the foam has been conditioned in prior to testing.

[malcolm2]

OK, that is a measurement for sure. Shouldn't they measure how much a 200LB butt will depress?

I am going with "bigger is better".

[PanelBilly]

Your upholstery shop should know how to build a layered seat cushion using a harder foam as a base with memory foam on top. This is how beds are engineered. The memory foam conforms to your butt and the harder foam keeps you from feeling the plywood base.

Now if you really want to have a nice seat the top layer can be made out of cushion filled with processed corn husks. It will hold its shape when your not sitting on it and it feels great to sit on. The stuff is $$$ and not many upholstery shops know how to work with it.

[malcolm2]

Are the husks dried and cut into small pieces? I remember some physical therapy on my hand where i put my hand in corn husks warmed with hot air. Man that was the ticket.

[Elliot Cannon]

I found the biggest problem for me was not having enough support under my thighs. Slide the seat forward, tilt it back as far as it will go, then slide it back to were it is comfortable. My seat is tilted back all the way and in my case it is also slid all the way back. Tilting the seat back can be the easiest, simplest and cheapest way to improve seat comfort.

[bbrock]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_bump.gif)
Bumping this thread to see if anyone has additional wisdom to add. My big Black Friday purchase was a pair of seat kits and new seat bottom foam from 914rubber, so one of my winter projects will be recovering the seats. I never had any complaints with 914 seats but it has been 30+ years since my ass spent any serious time in one. I'm wondering what I might do "while I'm in there" to improve comfort. Three items in particular I'm thinking about.

1. Replace the seat back foam just because it is old.
2. Add inflatable lumbar cushions under the fabric.
3. Add a 1/2" of memory foam.

All of these have been discussed in this thread so just looking for an update on current thinking. I'm especially interested in hearing experiences from people who have done any of these. Any mods will have to be stealth and not alter the stock appearance.

Oh, and even though I live in the frigid north, I'm not a fan of heated seats. We have a car with them that I never use. I can just pee my pants if I want my butt to feel like that. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif)

[914forme]

Anyone ever try anything like wrestling mat shaped to fit for all of the best support areas? I remember that being VERY supportive when my face was ground into it in high school... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Yes, but I started using it for my cut-x runs, I used to just sit on the fiberglass shell, needed the room for my helmet. It works well to take the edge off. But I never ran it under the stock cushion. I pull the mat, and then drop in the stock cushion for the road trip.

Never had an issue with the 914 seats on trips, I even put a set in a CJ-5, made that Jeep much better than the stock seats.

[bmtrnavsky]

How hard would it be to make the bolsters a little bigger so you had more support?

[dr914@autoatlanta.com]

read the seat cushion, over the years the padding collapses

Things to do before the 2017 Okteenerfest.

I want OEM seats, but the foam just ain't cuttin' it. 6 hours to and from Banner Elk was not comfortable at all. Even with a food break at 3 hours.

IIRC the foam I currently have had 1985 stamped on it when I re-did the hardy board under the seat, so it is not original. But it is still old.

Ideas?