Favorite driving position?

[Laconian]

Just want to know how you guys like to adjust your seats and steering wheel.

Since my Miata had nonadjustible steering, I got used to having the wheel right in my lap. Since my new car makes little tweaks easier, I've been messing with other settings as I go along. I've found that having the wheel canted slightly upward makes the mechanics of turning the wheel much easier - if it's too low, the large muscles around the backs of shoulderblades are overused and the muscles in the arms are excluded. Now that it's tilted higher, I found that it's significantly easier to steer with my whole arms, and it's easier to maintain an open chest posture (good ergonomics). I'm still undecided about how to best configure the seat itself. There are definitely a lot more bad ways to position it, than good.

[2o6]

Yaris wheel doesn't have much in the way of adjustment.

[Raza]

Slight bend in the knee with the clutch in, slight bend in the elbow with your hands at 9 and 3.  Adjust recline to your preference. 

With automatics, you can push the seat a little further back. 


I'm a little more upright now.  I used to lean back quite a bit, but now I'm much more upright. 

[Laconian]

What angle is your seat bottom set to?

Do you have the crazy BMW sport seats with inflatable side bolsters?

[Raza]

What angle is your seat bottom set to?

Do you have the crazy BMW sport seats with inflatable side bolsters?

Nah, I've got the sport package on my car, but not much else.  My seats are manual.  I lowered it all the way and angle the front of the seat slightly up.  I do that in all my seats that I can angle.  I like to drop into the bucket and have my knees elevated.

[sportyaccordy]

I generally adjust the seat as low as it will go, and move it forward so I can comfortably operate all the foot controls. I sit kind of grandma close to the wheel actually, I guess cause my legs are kind of short? But I have a 31" inseam.

Steering wheel angle, if/when its available, I just adjust to comfort. Generally though I don't have that luxury

[MexicoCityM3]

Your knees should be bent slightly even when fully depressing any pedal or your left foot is resting against the dead pedal. Your wrist should comfortably rest on the top of your steering wheel while your back is pressing fully against the seatback. You should try to leave some space between the top of your head and the roof, if possible a fist-width.

Hands at 9 & 3 while driving and you're set.

Before I took driving lessons I had a terrible driving position, like Wimmer does  (that's why no one fits in the back of his 1er).

[Rupert]

Since I'm taller than most of you midgets, I set the seat back as far as possible, the wheel high enough to clear my legs, the seat-back upright, and then the rest to comfort. Of course, most cars I've had don't have a wheel adjustment, so my legs end up squished on either side of the wheel. Only a few full-size trucks have seats that I don't need to set all the way back.

[Cookie Monster]

Great thread, Laconian. I've found myself playing with the seat position in my car a lot.

My seat only has forward/back and seat angle adjustments. My wheel only has tilt, no telescope.

I'm fairly tall (6'2") but I sit with the seat super far forward. My 5'8" dad likes the seat only slightly more forward than my position.

The problem is, the Miata has a terrible seating position for me. With the seat all the way back and the wheel all the way up, I can't get my knee under the wheel for heel-toeing, and the clutch is painfully far away. I also like the wheel to be very close to me and the clutch pedal to be close as well so I don't have to extend my leg very far. This makes the gas and brake pedal kind of awkward to use.

My friend's BMW fits me like a glove, though. With the wheel telescoped fully out my knee fits under the column for heel-toeing and I'm not so crammed in either. I'm jealous of all of his adjustments.

Also, the angle of the bottom of the seat is very flat. I'm thinking about making new brackets for the seats to lower them in the back to raise the seat bottom angle to support my thighs better and to get a little bit more headroom.

[93JC]

Doggystyle or reverse cowgirl.




I sit upright (any more than a slight recline in the seat back causes me to feel like I'm sitting on my tailbone and my lower back gets extremely sore), close enough to the wheel and pedals such that my elbows and knees are slightly bent, the seat itself as low as possible with a slight incline toward the front of the seat. Legs should be supported all along the length of the seat cushion.

My own car isn't perfectly comfortable, it's really built for shorter people (I'm somewhere between 5'-11" and 6'-0"). My legs bend up a little and my thighs don't contact the seat over the last few inches of the seat bottom, but I can't move my seat further back (the wheel doesn't telescope back far enough) nor can I raise it (otherwise I lose a lot of visibility; there are already intersections where I have to lean forward and down to see the traffic lights so raising the seat would exasperate this).

[SVT666]

Seat cushion as low as it will go with the front raised a little. Seat back relatively upright with my arms bent with my hands at 9 and 3.  I watched videos of different race car drivers driving street cars and they all pretty much have the same seating position as each other, so I did my best to emulate that, and now if the seating position is different from that it's not comfortable for me.

[AutobahnSHO]

I HATE the "recline all the way" drivers. They can't see out the window, and I'm sure in a wreck they would slide right under the seatbelt. Plus don't they get neck pain from having to tip so far forward???

Anyway, I too keep the seat quite upright. In all my cars, the "regular" position it goes to when you push back after tilting forward is a little too upright though. I lean back a click or two. Subaru and Miata are as far back as they can go. Van the wifey likes it too far forward, I slide all the way back then one notch forward.

Most cars I tilt the wheel all the way down, as long as I can still see the gauges. I dunno if that's bad airbaggery- slamming the chest rather than the head, but I don't like it tilted up/forward- feels too much like a big truck or schoolbus.

[Speed_Racer]

So the Trooper doesn't have much in the way of customizable seating positions.

The seat height is adjusted all the way up for the best view of the road (dang good, btw since the windows are all so tall and large). The seatback in a full upright position. The seat is adjusted back far enough to have comfortable flex in the knees whether the clutch is engaged or disengaged. Then I rock my left hand at the 12 or 9 position, left elbow resting on the left door rest, right arm resting on the armrest with the hand on the shifter. The steering wheel is non-adjustable.

It has very light steering so I never drive with both hands on the wheel.

All in all, it's not a racing position because it's not a racecar. But I have it set up for max comfort and great visibility for tackling the urban wilderness.

[Raza]

Seat cushion as low as it will go with the front raised a little. Seat back relatively upright with my arms bent with my hands at 9 and 3.  I watched videos of different race car drivers driving street cars and they all pretty much have the same seating position as each other, so I did my best to emulate that, and now if the seating position is different from that it's not comfortable for me.

Sounds basically the same way I keep my seat. 

[Rupert]

So the Trooper doesn't have much in the way of customizable seating positions.

The seat height is adjusted all the way up for the best view of the road (dang good, btw since the windows are all so tall and large). The seatback in a full upright position. The seat is adjusted back far enough to have comfortable flex in the knees whether the clutch is engaged or disengaged. Then I rock my left hand at the 12 or 9 position, left elbow resting on the left door rest, right arm resting on the armrest with the hand on the shifter. The steering wheel is non-adjustable.

It has very light steering so I never drive with both hands on the wheel.

All in all, it's not a racing position because it's not a racecar. But I have it set up for max comfort and great visibility for tackling the urban wilderness.

The visibility in the Trooper is so good, you can drive with your eyes closed.

[cawimmer430]

Missionary. 

[Onslaught]

Missionary. 

Boring.

[J86]

Interesting thread.

I'm short, so if I'm in a seat that has elevation options, I usually keep it just about in the middle of its range.  For whatever reason, I always tend to adjust the wheel low; much tilt makes me feel like I'm driving a bus.  Seatback goes so that when I mash a pedal to the floor I've still got a leeeetle bend in the leg, and the seatback goes such that when i stick an arm straight out at 12 my wrist drops over the top rim of the wheel.

No idea if that's considered "proper" or not, but it's comfy for me!

[J86]

Doggystyle or reverse cowgirl.




I sit upright (any more than a slight recline in the seat back causes me to feel like I'm sitting on my tailbone and my lower back gets extremely sore), close enough to the wheel and pedals such that my elbows and knees are slightly bent, the seat itself as low as possible with a slight incline toward the front of the seat. Legs should be supported all along the length of the seat cushion.

My own car isn't perfectly comfortable, it's really built for shorter people (I'm somewhere between 5'-11" and 6'-0"). My legs bend up a little and my thighs don't contact the seat over the last few inches of the seat bottom, but I can't move my seat further back (the wheel doesn't telescope back far enough) nor can I raise it (otherwise I lose a lot of visibility; there are already intersections where I have to lean forward and down to see the traffic lights so raising the seat would exasperate this).

And I gotta say, never been the biggest fan of the reverse cowgirl.  Butt's more in my face, can't watch the boobies bounce...

[Eye of the Tiger]

And I gotta say, never been the biggest fan of the reverse cowgirl.  Butt's more in my face, can't watch the boobies bounce...

A back can be sexy

[93JC]

And I gotta say, never been the biggest fan of the reverse cowgirl.  Butt's more in my face, can't watch the boobies bounce...

I was being facetious...

[dazzleman]

I keep my steering wheel as low as it allows, but that's still well above my knees.

I like to keep the seat a bit back, so I have plenty of room for my (medium-sized) legs.

I usually keep both hands on the steering wheel, though sometimes on a long straightaway, I rest my right elbow on the center console.

[J86]

I was being facetious...

I wasn't...

[Onslaught]

And I gotta say, never been the biggest fan of the reverse cowgirl.  Butt's more in my face, can't watch the boobies bounce...

I'm not a big fan of the girl being on top. I like being in control and going to pound town.

[J86]

I'm not a big fan of the girl being on top. I like being in control and going to pound town.

Sometimes I'm lazy...

[Rupert]

[giant_mtb]

My position will depend on the driving I'm doing.

Long Drives/Everyday Driving: I like my seat higher than most, relatively upright.  I love having a tilting and telescoping steering wheel.  My arm is at about a 120-130 degree angle.  Relaxed.

Driving Hard: Closer to the pedals so I can clutch better.  Seatback vertical or almost even slightly forward-leaning.  Front edge of bottom cushion up a bit.  Side bolsters aired up more.  Closer steering wheel; arms at about a 90-degree angle.

[Soup DeVille]

I drive with my left hand draped over the top of the wheel, the driver's seat reclined as far as physically possible, and I lean over towards the middle of the car.

[giant_mtb]

I drive with my left hand draped over the top of the wheel, the driver's seat reclined as far as physically possible, and I lean over towards the middle of the car.

[Rupert]

My position will depend on the driving I'm doing.

Long Drives/Everyday Driving: I like my seat higher than most, relatively upright.  I love having a tilting and telescoping steering wheel.  My arm is at about a 120-130 degree angle.  Relaxed.

Driving Hard: Closer to the pedals so I can clutch better.  Seatback vertical or almost even slightly forward-leaning.  Front edge of bottom cushion up a bit.  Side bolsters aired up more.  Closer steering wheel; arms at about a 90-degree angle.

Second position doesn't sound very comfortable...