I’ve had my g35 for about a year now and I’ve never been able to get comfortable in the drivers seat. At first it wasn’t causing me any pain but over time I’ve developed so much back pain that even a 20 minute drive is unbearable. I’ve tried moving the seats every which way, watched videos on people explaining the best position to sit and nothing has worked. It’s like once I get into a comfortable position with my back straight I just slip forward right out of that position and it feels like I’m gonna fall out of my seat. I’m 5’8 150lbs so I’m a pretty small guy which I thought would make it easier to get comfortable and I’m 19 so definitely shouldn’t have any back pain at this age. Seems like this car is made for people that like to recline the seat all the way back and ride like a gangster lol. Any suggestions on this? Honestly thinking about selling the car and switching to another brand because of this issue but don’t want to as I’ve already put in so much work on this car.

 

I think you’re broken.

 

Just grow longer legs OP

 

I had experienced the same issues with my ‘05. I have owned many cars in the past and had never had a seat so hard to get comfortable in. I asked the same question and got a bunch of people telling me there was something wrong with me, not the car. Not much help.
I have spent some time modifying the seat and it is much better, but still not as good as I would like. It is good enough for longer drives, 2-3 hours. Longer then that it starts to bother me. I will eventually replace the seats because I still like the car, but I’m not ready to spend the money yet. Here is a list of what I have done.
First mod was to the seat motor that lowers the base of the seat. (there’s a thread somewhere on here) basically you move the stop so the motor can lower the seat a little more. Allowed me to lower the seat an additional inch or so.
Second mod was to disable the active headrest. This made a huge difference. Now some may **** and moan that this is a safety issue, but thousands of vehicles don’t have active headrests. Also it’s my car so deal with it. All you need to do is open the back leather cover and unhook the springs that pull on the headrest frame. This made an immediate improvement. The headrest frame no longer pushed against the middle of the seat which I could feel every time I sat in it before.
The third mod was to bend the frame at the bolsters either side of my shoulder blades. You open the back of the seat and gently slide a long pry bar in and hook the frame at the bolster and pry so the frame bends outward away from the middle of the seat.
There is a fourth mod I will probably do soon, but haven’t got around to. The M45 has adjustable headrests that will swap right in. They can be set to tilt forward and support your head. I will probably pick up a set of these to try out soon.
Maybe some of this information will help you out.

 

First set your seat distance so your legs rest naturally on the pedals, then set the seat front/rear height so there isn't too much pressure on your knees or lower back. Next back off the lumbar adjuster to it's minimum setting, then set the seat recline angle so your arms rest naturally on the steering wheel without having to actually REACH for it. Lastly adjust the lumbar adjuster to your preference.

Then go through each of those steps in order a second time to make any final adjustments.

Lastly, lock the seat position memory to either the 1 or 2 setting on the seat memory controller in case someone else screws with your seat.

 

Do different years have different seats?? Mine is an 05 coupe and I think the seat is actually very comfortable. I cant see anyone actually complaining about it.

 

Link to thread for modification to gain additional lowering.

https://g35driver.com/forums/v36-diy...at-height.html

 

Nice! I never knew about this mod.

 

What we really need is a mod to lower the steering wheel

 

That would be really easy to do, just use longer bolts and stack washers as spacers between the steering column and where it mates to the dash bracket.

 

I really need to lower it an inch or so. Has anyone done this before / pics ?

 

Funny this thread comes up. I'm an older buyer who got into a nice one owner 6mt G35 coupe this year. I think I adjust the seats every time I'm in the car. I don't know of it's the leather or the angle or what, but I seem to be craning my neck all the damn time. Tjhis never happened in my 350Z or my 4Runner and I swear I can't figure it out. Like the OP, it's almost enough to make me sell the car, it's crazy uncomfortable..

 

If you're constantly adjusting it means you're sliding out of position... could be from the leather .

Try using a cleaner to remove the shine for more grip .

 

I have to constantly adjust my seat as well. I don't think that it is from the leather being too slippery. I think that the ergonomics of the seat just aren't well designed. Fine for many, but not for all. My spine just never feels supported in the correct way, and then I develop strains and pressure points, and have to adjust the seat. Like I said in my previous post I have modified the seat considerably, and it is much better, but it is still an issue for me. For the record, I am 5'11" 165 lbs, so I would think I am a pretty average and not outside the spectrum of body shape a cars seat should be designed for. I have never had this issue in any of my other past vehicles before. One observation I had is that the main section of the back of the G35 coupe seat is very flat, with no contour at all. Most seats seem to have some form of an "S" curve shape to the main section, where the upper part curves forward to follow the natural curve of the spine at the shoulders. This is a picture of a human spine on a car seat. (That was kinda weird to type?)

You can see the "S" curve quite clearly. Most sports seats have this type of shape to the middle section of the backrest of the seat.
Here is a picture of the most comfortable sport seats I've ever sat in. They are from a Porsche 944. I have highlighted the shape of the back of the seat to show the "S" shape.


Here is a pic of the G35 Coupe seat. You can see how flat the middle section is and the top near the shoulders does not curve back towards the front at all.


I can't say that this is the sole source of the problem. Just an observation I though I would share. I have noticed that the 350Z seats seem to have a little more contour in the backrest then the G35 seats do. I have only ever sat in a 350Z once and it was all of 30 sec. Possibly there is a member on here that has both, and can chime in? I was thinking it may be a viable option to swap for the 350z if they offer some improvements in ergonomics over the G35.

 

So much this .. thank you. Even when I am sitting almost straight up to keep from craning I have this problem. Ironically, a good friend who was a instructor for Porsche told me to get a 350. And 6 years ago I did, But i was moving and had to sell it when I moved, long story.... Problem with that car is it's RIDICULOUSLY noisy.. Like, beyond belief. But at least you were comfortably going deaf :-)