Adding lumbar support

[kerc]

Has anyone here removed the seat covers? Is it easy? I've thought about sneaking a precision-cut piece of foam to add a bit of lumbar support to the seats (which are surprisingly comfortable, but at 43, you need all the help you can get)...

[Ares]

I was noticing what little support the stock seats have, and figured it was enough for daily driving. The sides/edges of the seatback curve enough to hug my wide back.

Surprisingly, the escape rental I drove had so much support that it felt a little cramped in there. I mean, it's an escape for crying out loud. How much lateral g forces could people be having in that thing. I did later find out that a well equipped escape can carve some corners, but that's for another topic.

[MetroMPG]

I've done this with my cars - my Firefly/Metro has additional padding (just a bit of material folded to the right thickness -- not shaped foam).

I thought the Mirage needed more thigh support than lumbar, though. Everyone's different.

[R01k]

I'm missing this too. Sometimes it's hard to get a completely comfortable position.

[kerc]

I just need a nice little bump in my lower back. Everything else about the seats is really good.

[foama]

To modify lumbar support

The passenger seat goes essentially the same as the driver's seat.
Proceed like this at your own risk if you want to:

First remove the headrest and then slide the driver or passenger seat all the way forward. Adjust the seat-back to come all the way forward. Then enter the car by a rear door and get behind the seat, so you have the seat back in front of you. That way you have optimal access.
On the side towards the door, reach down to the bottom of the back of the seat, where the cover wraps around a steel tube.
Reach into that hole between cover and tube and locate the end of the zipper that was stuck in there during assembly. Pull the zipper out into the open, with absolutely no force needed. Uzip it all the way up. See photo.



Looking at the bottom of the seat back, undo the horizontal plastic strip that holds the cover together, and most important, remember how it was put together.
You may want to use a few clothes-pegs to hold the now loose fabric up, for keeping it out of the way.
Now you can access the insides of the seat back.

If you simply want more lumbar support, and at the same height as it is now, look at the zig-zag shaped steel spring accross the back in lumbar area. You could carefully compress it a little to increase tension. A large pair of plumbers pliars may help. The increased tension gives you more support.

Carefully extending that spring will reduce support. Simply pull it a bit and you will extend it.

If the lumbar support problem is that the support is too high for your back, you could try putting some more stuffing under the seat where your buttocks are. That raises your seating position, and by doing so, the height of the lumbar support is thus lowered accordingly, relative to your back.


If the support is way away from where it should be, you have to modify the seat. This was my problem, so I added a wooden lathe where I needed support. The lathe ends under the frame, a hole drilled through frame and lathe on either side, and cable-ties through the holes to keep it all in place. See the photo for details.



Btw, if you want to remove the seat cover of the lower part of the seat, the cushion you actually sit on, never forget to first disconnect the battery (!) because of the electrical connections under the seat for the airbags, etc. Then the entire seat will have to come out for better access. After finishing your job, reconnect all the connectors before reconnecting the battery.

My old Suzuki Swift (Metro), had the most comfortable drivers seat I ever came across.
I really think Mitsubishi could learn a lot about making seats comfortable by looking at products from Suzuki or FIAT...

[El Kapitan]

i don't like the lack of lumbar in these seats and will probably have someone fix it for me. just remember , for my fellow lates 30's comrades, doing exercises that strengthen your core are important for your overall posture and give a little "natural" lumbar support through stronger support muscles. most of us could stand to have a much stronger core.

[uheym]

Found a guy on a german forum ho added some foam in the seat, there are a few pictures..

http://www.mitsu-talk.de/index.php?p...52891&49ff9fb5

[Eggman]

That looks very easy. Thanks for sharing.

[uheym]

No problemo