bhmax

Do many of you guys regularly take long trips (2+ hours) in your max? I make a 3.5-4 hr trip about twice a week, and I seem to get sore after a while. I don't have any complaints when making short trips around town, but my back and occasionally my shoulders start to hurt on long trips. I've tried all kinds of different adjustments to help out, but none seems to help tremendously. I don't often have the option of driving a different car on a long trip, so I can't say for sure if it's just me or the max. Since I'm thinking about eventually getting a rear I30 bench and custom leather, I was wondering if someone has installed front seats from a different car easily that are more comfortable. Any thoughts?

sbslacker

iTrader: (1)

The stock seats suck as far as support and comfort go on long trips...heck, even on short trips I always feel like I'm about to slide right off of them since lateral support is minimal.

Try putting a small pillow behind your lower back so that it holds it's natural arch better.

kmoney56

what about I30 front seats? Possibility? Even if you can, do they suck too?

bhmax

The thought crossed my mind. Although I haven't really searched, nothing I've read or seen so far would lead me to think they're much different. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

BadKarma99-4spd

iTrader: (4)

do you have that lumbar support thingy lever thingy on the inside side of the seat turned so that it makes a bulg around your lower back? i got my car from a lincoln dealership with cloth and had them put in leather from their shop and it is awesome. i drive to st louis about every month from nashville 4.5+ hours (nonstop usually) each way and i always feel great.

ps make sure you take all the crap out of your back pockets or they will make your *** sore.

good luck

Bgohan

I took a 2500 mile trip a few weeks ago. My butt still hurts. My back usually starts to cramp up after about 4 hours. Stock seats suck on long drives. My S-10 has more comfortable seats for long drives.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

I prefer the sporty type seating the maxima has. I've never had a problem with it but I can understand what you mean. If you want a very comfortable seat, look into a 97+ Dakota/Durango seat. I doubt they will fit but if they are able to, I doubt you'll have any issues on those longer trips, aside from speeding tickets

MrGone

Socrates

I'll tell you what man, I drive from Michigan to DC, which is about 11 hours, every now and then and I know exactly what your talking about.. I have found a fairly decent solution. If you have the lumbar support you probably have it all the way out as I do for most of your normal short driving. I think it's great, but after a good few hours it's just plain painful. Turning it off helps a bit, but what I found is that if you actually start your trip without it on, and then after a while, increasing it, it's actually a bit of a relief. But overall it's still not that great. The best way is to just switch positions every now and then.. I go from the bucket-seat, laid back sort of thing to the jacked-up straight chair form.. If I keep switching every now and then I don't lose my mind..

99Maxima5sp

How about Prelude seats?! Or the new Accord Coupe seats?! those rock, i wonder how much you could pick those up at a junkyard for...



Eric

nupe500

iTrader: (13)

I did the exact thing on my last trip to GA from PA, and I'll be doing that again in 2 weeks...dunno if you can make those seats more comfortable without ripping them apart and rebuilding them..but I think I'll pass

bhmax

Glad to hear it's not just me. As far as the lumbar support, I've tried different adjustments with that too. I also basically just have to keep changing positions occasionally to keep the soreness to a minimum. I've found a few other threads mentioning Prelude seats. I'll definitely keep that in mind. I drove my sister's Maxda MX-6 the other day (which used to be mine), and I liked the seats. I rarely did long trips in it before, so I'm not sure how they'd be for long trips.

waveridr85

iTrader: (4)

try driving with the seat really reallly high up, worked fopr me

MaxedOutOfCash

I wonder if the new G35 coupe seats would fit...those seats are the bomb!!!!

bhmax

I'd be WAY too tempted to get the seats with the car still attached!

delerium75

Here's a thought...sheepskin seat cover. Back in the day, I used to have an '87 Ford Taura$$ and the seats would do a fine job of making my back hurt after 45 minutes of driving. Bought a sheepskin seat cover and had very few problems after that. 4th gen seats do suck...mine's got 91K now and I wish replacement foam for the butt cushion wasn't $160. If you're crafty enough, perhaps experimenting with different densities of foam might be something else too. IE, cut out a troublesome area and replace with new foam.

bhmax

Thanks for all the ideas, guys. I'm sure these ideas will help me or, from what it sounds like, plenty of other people.

multiplexor

wasn't there a thread a while back talking about this?

I think the thread might have mentionned possible seats that also fit in our maximas...

I'd like to replace mine. If anyone can recommend a seat from any car that could fit in the maxima easily. I'd check local junkyards for these seats

bhmax

Yeah, I did find at least a couple of other threads dealing with this. The only ones mentioned that actually did a swap that I found were the Prelude seats. I wonder how 240sx seats would do?

Moreau

I dont have a link for you, but the recaro SE seats are sweet, and hold oh so well but the hip bolsters are low enought to make it a cinch to get in and out, im gonna try to get a GD on these sstarted in the next week. but they are great seats

bhmax

So how do you like them on long trips?

multiplexor

question... the prelude seats you found... what year prelude were they from? andhow much did they cost? I would probably check out a junkyard to see if they have any first...

Moreau

I dont have mine yet. I sat in one for 15 minutes and i would love the seat on a long trip cuz its not too tight and it holds your back good and straight

bhmax

The threads I found were either by or about Dave B. I couldn't find how well he liked them or why he got rid of them; I've been meaning to ask him, but haven't gotten around to it.

Dave B

The 4th gen leather Prelude seats were pretty awesome in the Maxima and they looked factory. The Prelude seats look almost identical to the seats in a 911. They are extremely supportive and bolstered. My biggest compliant was that they were VERY firm. At the time, I was riding on the stiff Intrax springs and no subframe connectors. Now I've got the Stage I/II SFCs, H&R springs, and ME strut mounts and my ride has improved dramatically. I would have probably been pretty happy with those seats now. I sold the seats and bought a black/charcoal leatherseats.com kit and I'm very happy. The stock seats aren't terribly supportive, but they're not terrible. I'm debating on pulling my lower seat cushion (stripping the leather and foam) and bending the sides up a little to get some more leg side support. This would be easy for me since I've got all the stuff to reinstall the leather.

Mounting different seats in the Maxima isn't hard. Hondas and Nissans/Infinitis, in general have roughly the same seat track setup. To mount my Prelude seats all the interior fab shop had to do was weld on some 2" X 3" metal plates to the Prelude track rails and drill a couple holes to make them bolt up to factory locations. $75 and the seats fit like OEM. I just recommend getting seats that are roughly the same size and track pattern as the Maxima. I'd also shy away from anything power.

BTW, finding Prelude seats is damn near impossible from what I've heard. I got lucky and found a junkyard that didn't have a clue about the value of those leather Prelude seats. I bought them for $250, but on the internet they're going for around $500-600.


Dave