My car has evolved considerably since it went through SVA, and sometimes I didn't notice the side effects of some of the changes...
Originally I had some cheap seats, a small steering wheel and very direct steering. After a while I found that steering the car was very wearing on
my wrists, so I got a slightly bigger wheel - problem solved. A while later I decided that I needed more comfortable seats so I got some fibreglass
shells that needed upholstering - far more comfortable.
Much, much later I was aware that I couldn't really see the warning lights that are on the dash, just above the steering shaft boss, as the rim
of the wheel just obscured them... well, I could see them, but I had to adjust my head position to do so. I was beginning to wonder if I needed to
get yet another steering wheel, a few inches larger diameter.
Now, reading this as an external observer, you've probably worked out the problem - the combination of a larger wheel with a fatter rim, combined
with a higher seat cushion, has meant that my eye line has changed. Tonight I took the padded cushion out of my driving seat and... no surprise
really... I can now clearly see all of the warning lights again!
So my next step is to strip most of the padding off the seat's fibreglass base insert, from about 4" (or more) of very firm foam to just
1", but the problem is that I'm already feeling the bumps on the road through the thick padding. I'm a bit nervous about making it
much thinner, unless I can replace it with something more shock absorbant.
Now I'm open to suggestions for an effective material to shield my backside (and my spine) from bumps, without being more than 1" thick.
Can anyone suggest something commercially available? I don't mind paying a bit if it will work well.
Cheers,
David
A dozen pork pies?
Seriously what about getting a properly modded seat that fits you perfectly?
quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
A dozen pork pies?
Seriously what about getting a properly modded seat that fits you perfectly?
I use fibreglass seat shells with just 1cm or thereabouts of padding (I use camping bedroll) & find it perfectly comfortable, perhaps if you're really feeling the bumps you have the car set up too stiff? The only time I really feel anything is if I catch a sizeable pot hole & nothing really protects you from that sort of thing.
There seem to be a couple of roads near me that have a severe bump - they look like places where 2 'plates of road' are pushing together and
raising a bump - imagine a sleeping policemen that's about 3 or 4 inches high, 6 inches across. They're not pleasant in my Yaris! I was
going to make a joke about Essex roads, then I remembered where Russbot lives! 
I don't want to go down the route of buying new seats - in the true Locost tradition I want to do this on the cheap, but in a way that works. A
couple of layers of bedroll might work. I was also wondering about a few layers of wet-suit neoprene (if I can find somewhere local that sells it).
Yeah our roads down here are absolutely great! NOT! 
EVA foam is used in shoes to soften impact, might work in a seat?
My wife's just announced that we have a tatty old foam bed-roll in the attic - my son parked it there before he moved out about 8 years ago... I
guess I'll give that a try to start with. 
Russ - I used to be able to tell when I drove over the border from Suffolk to Essex in the tin-top, purely from the bangs, thumps and rattles that
suddenly made themselves felt. Nowadays, the difference isn't so obvious... although Essex is still worse.
Solved!
It seems that 2 layers of bedroll and a covering of vinyl leatherette have done the trick - still comfy enough and now I can see the dash lights
again! 
Interesting, I might just have to try this camping bedroll approach as my seats are literally removing all felling from my backside!
I was going to say you can buy closed cell neoprene fairly cheaply in 5mm thicknesses.
just got closed cell neopren for ebay 1m by 1.5m by 12mm £13 works great
Something like the Airhawk seat covers used to improve long distance comfort on sports bikes might be useful for this problem.