Creating a more comfortable driver's seat: my finds

[pounamu]

Guys, IMHO the seats on the Sonic are pretty comfy to begin with, BUT for those of us with back issues, we need help. Also, the weird headrests (seriously, GM?? Those things need to GO) screw things up significantly, comfort-wise. I've been looking for additions to make things better and testing them out. This is what I found out so far.

For the headrest, to fill that weirdo angled gap and to add some support, I'm using this:

Amazon.com - Car Neck Pillow (Soft Version)- Neck Pillow; Car Pillow; Memory Foam Neck Pillow; Neck Rest Pillow; Car Neck Pillow (Color: Black)

It fits pretty well in there and cushions the neck well. You're going to have to play around with it since I think your individual body / height will play a difference, but it might help, and for the price, it's worth a try.

I've also been trying out some back supports. First I tried this one:

Trillium MFB-8039 Memory Foam Lumbar Support : Amazon.com : Automotive

While pretty great overall, it pushed me way too far forward in my seat, to the point where the arm rest on the right was completely useless, and my butt was almost hanging off the seat (I'm 5'7"). It's basically way too thick for the Sonic seats, which already have a pretty decent amount of cushioning in the lower back area. Gave it to my mom who drives a Scion XD (seats super flat in that one).

Next, I tried this one and I have to say, it's AMAZING:
Amazon.com: Bodyline Back-Huggar - Thin- Bucket Seat Style - The Original Lumbar Cushion - Black: Health & Personal Care

Make sure to get the thin bucket seat style. Thin enough to NOT push me forward at all, yet provides fantastic back support both directly behind, and on the sides. The only downside to this one is that it has no straps, so when I leave the seat, it flops down and I have to get it back up when I'm sitting down again. Still, for the ride comfort, not a big deal. Another wonderful thing is that the upper edge sort of tapers down, so it's easy to lean into the rest of the seat between the lower back and neck area.

I also bought this one:
Amazon.com: Lumbar Support Ergonomic Style Back Cushion - Grey: Automotive

Mostly got seduced by those massagey bumps, but it feels like it's too thick, too. I haven't tried it other than just sit down with it, so I'll test it on my way home tonight (40 minute drive) and will let you know. My guess is, it's going to be too thick. Also has that thicker edge on the top, making it a bit harder for the upper back to be flush with the seat.

 

[laborsmith]

Blaming GM for the Sonic headrests is like blaming the rising sun for casting light over the world.

New car headrest design has been subject to question for years before the first Sonic rolled off the line at the Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan.


Laborsmith

 

[pounamu]

Well, I've been in plenty of cars that have much more comfortable headrests. Who is responsible for them, if not the manufacturer?

By the way, the Sonic / Aveo in Europe has much, much better headrests, at least in the rear seats.

 

[pighair47]

headrests aren't for comfort there designed for safety. they are there to prevent whiplash and other neck injuries.

 

[sx sonic]

Blaming GM for the Sonic headrests is like blaming the rising sun for casting light over the world.

New car headrest design has been subject to question for years before the first Sonic rolled off the line at the Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan.


Laborsmith

This is what Laborsmith was inferring

headrests aren't for comfort there designed for safety. they are there to prevent whiplash and other neck injuries.

Modern, American headrest have to conform to safety standards (many general safety standards are different between continents/counties). The manufacturers have 2 basic options with headrest, inactive and active head restraint.

Active head restraints have some form of actuation that will essentially move the headrest forward in the event of an accident to prevent whiplash. Obviously they can be made to be way more comfortable for normal driving, the tradeoff is higher costs.

Inactive headrest such as our Sonics are fixed and have to prevent whiplash by holding the head forward in an accident without any means of actuation. Which means, depending on how you sit it may always force your head forward.

The OEM's are can tweak the headrest a bit to satisfy normal driving comfort BUT they're pretty fixed in the design.



Good write up BTW

 

[pounamu]

SX Sonic, thanks for that information - very illuminating!

I happen to think that overall, the interior of the Sonic is super comfy, for what it costs. If the people at Chevy are listening, making better headrests and a longer, more prominent driver's right side arm rest would make things much better. But like you said, certain things need to be sacrificed in order to keep costs down. This is where all these aftermarket toys can help (I hope!)

By the way, I tested that last back rest and it's actually pretty decent. Still a bit thicker than I'd like, but pretty good, and worth a try.

I'm also waiting for the seat heating covers (supposed to arrive tomorrow). I'll try them out and report. One thing I'm wondering about: if using a lower back support like described above, can you put the seat heating pad on top of it? Since the heating pad usually goes on top of cloth seats anyway, I'm assuming it's safe?

 

[radsonic08]

im 6'2 @ 240 and these seats ****ing suck. i the seats are too flat to lumbar support. too skinny of a seat. worthless design. does anyone know of any seats that will bolt up. i had a chevy colorado and the h3 seats bolted right in.

MODERATOR NOTE: DON'T TRY TO SNEAK AROUND THE PROFANITY FILTER. THANKS. -ERIC

 

[bvz]

Not loving the seats (I knew I didn't like them going in, but the rest of the package won me over).

I'm 6'3", and for me the issue is that both the headrest and the recessed seat force my shoulders forward leading me to have a hunched posture when driving. The Honda Fit that I test drove was better in this regard. I think the headrests are of the active variety and the "flat" part of the seats up near the shoulder area is less recessed. I'm going to see if I can do two things:

1: Purchase some foam which I will then sculpt to fill in the recess near the top of the seat (so my shoulders can be pulled back a bit). If that works I'll try to cover it in a material that is close to what the (LTZ) seat inserts look like to make it not look all janky.

2: Try to find some better head rests from another model car (Fiesta has nice headrests) that will fit into our seat backs. I have no idea if this is even possible, but if it is then I'll see what I can do to mount our headrests on whatever internal armature they have for that headrest.

Of course, I have to find time to do all of this, but that, at least, is my plan.

 

[talldude67]

lt seats

i'm 6'7" and feel the driver seat is adequate cept for the arm rest...needs to be 4" wider and 5" longer + better padding. and make the new one fit the now seats [pull the old one off install the new one] simple huh! CHEVY!

note: maybe some add on armrests that are soft too...right CHEVY!

 

[Swordsmith]

My son is 6'4", and he and I (at 5'6") both find the seats comfortable, except that I have removed the headrest, because I don't actually drive while looking at my knees. I keep one headrest in the car, and he uses it in whichever seat he's in, otherwise it's just rattling around in the rear seatwell.

There's a thread elsewhere about replacing the seats with lighter racing seats, it seems the trick is to get a fourth party kit that allows you (the second party) to mount any seat you want (third party). Alternately I've seen "how to" instructions for DIY using something as simple as a piece of plywood, mount the plywood on the seat rail and the seat on the plywood. Don't see why this wouldn't let you mount comfy seats from whatever car you find in the local junk yard, instead of ultra lightweight racing seats.

 

[sonicite]

I found this elastic strap that is made for the bodyline back hugger. You may want to try it. I may want to try it. I find that the bottom of the back of the seat pushes in to much on my back. Maybe this back hugger would help.

http://www.amazon.com/Bodyline-Back..._sim_sg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ACJ1F8FWBPZGX7PPPFF

Karen

 

[RMinNJ]

I use the following for my back.. It hangs from the headrest..can move it from car to car. This gives me the lumbar support I need in any car. I even take it into the movies. Worth every penny.

http://www.amazon.com/Original-McKenzie-Super-Roll-Lumbar/dp/B000GPS7NG/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1406727012&sr=1-2&keywords=mckenzie+lumbar+roll&dpPl=1

 

[shorebreeze]

Anyone tried transferring over a head restraint from another vehicle, such as the Cruze? I had a Cruze loaner during a service call for my Sonic and the head restraint angle is at least 20 degrees less sharp than on the Sonic; if anything I'd say there's got to be a happy medium between the Sonic, which almost imprisons your head, and the Cruze, which I think might not prevent a whiplash injury.

 

[RMinNJ]

cruze headrest

I sat in a Cruze in the dealer.. the headrest seemed the same angle to me...but the seat itself was thicker offsetting the headrest more.. Another thread has the equinox headrest being better.

 

[shorebreeze]

I sat in a Cruze in the dealer.. the headrest seemed the same angle to me...but the seat itself was thicker offsetting the headrest more.. Another thread has the equinox headrest being better.

It's possible the trim might differ. My loaner was a 2LT RS, which has full leather interior, very firm seats (a good thing in my view) and the head restraint angled almost straight up. Like I say, the head restraint angle probably wasn't aggressive enough, but there has to be a happy medium between this and the Sonic.

 

[shorebreeze]

While we're on the subject of seats, is there any way of getting the Sonic driver's seat to move another inch farther back? It would make a big difference for me. And, is there such a thing as a seat base cushion that's firmer than stock? I love the seat back, probably the best designed seat back for me I've ever tried, but the cushion is squidgy.

 

[Swordsmith]

While we're on the subject of seats, is there any way of getting the Sonic driver's seat to move another inch farther back? It would make a big difference for me.

The same system I mentioned above, for mounting non-OEM seats, should work for moving the OEM seats back another inch. Mount the OEM seat on a plate, mount the plate on the OEM seat rails... but when you mount the seat, mount it back an inch. This will also mean the furthest forward position will be an inch further back than stock, but that only matters if you are in one of those Giant/Midget relationships.

 

[SuperSonicRS]

but that only matters if you are in one of those Giant/Midget relationships.

Sounds like my situation, I'm 6'4" and the wife is 5'0".

Anyway, do you think it would be possible to use an aftermarket seat bracket to lower the seating position of the factory seat, or would I need to go with an aftermarket seat? It just feels like I'm just sitting up too high with the seat lowered all the way.

 

[SuperFudd]

I don't "get" any of this. I have no such issues and have never given a thought to the front heat rests.
I guess I am the guy the Sonic was designed to fit.

 

[shorebreeze]

The same system I mentioned above, for mounting non-OEM seats, should work for moving the OEM seats back another inch. Mount the OEM seat on a plate, mount the plate on the OEM seat rails... but when you mount the seat, mount it back an inch. This will also mean the furthest forward position will be an inch further back than stock, but that only matters if you are in one of those Giant/Midget relationships.

So, something like this?

How to make a custom seat bracket for your car

Actually, this idea give me another idea; if I was simply able to raise the seat by an inch, in its current location, it would likely solve the problem. That's because I like a high driving position, but the Sonic's height adjustment also moves the seat forward as you raise it. Simply raising the seat on some kind of metal spacers keeps it in line with the current bolt holes, with no leg-room-robbing height adjustment necessary. Does this sound workable or would it create a safety issue?