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      05-17-2021, 10:51 AM   #1
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i8 Lumbar support fixed and uncomfortable!!

I went to buy an i8 today but after 15 minutes on my test drive my back was hurting and it was due to the fixed lumbar support.

I have a bit of a bad back and find most cars comfortable by dialing out the lumbar but the i8's pre LCI model is fixed as you know and it felt like it was too much padding for me and it was uncomfortable.

Its a deal breaker so I was disappointed. I know you can tilt the seat but it's an expensive car to buy if I cant make it work.

Has anyone had the same issue and had the lumbar support removed. I am talking to a trimming company tomorrow here in the UK who think they can unstitch the seat and remove it in which case it would work.

Just curious if anyone has done this?



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      06-20-2021, 06:20 PM   #2
mws
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hmmm. yeah. I have a 2014 with the minimal adjustments and no seat memory. To answer your question, no I have not considered surgery on the seat. My problem was slipping forward and having no leg support... but.. bear with me here. I did find I could vastly dial in a more comfortable ride for me (6'4") by taking the time to figure out how to tilt the front of the seat up (we own 4 BMWs now--all slightly different, and my wife had to show it to me on the i8) and make it more of a bucket--which supports my long legs better, and makes me not slip forward--and drives me and my butt back on the seat and upwards on the back of the seat. The lumbar would hit you in a different place in that case. I wonder if you could start by adjusting the seat perfectly flat and then play with tilt to see if you can get the lumbar to hit you in a less painful spot?
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      06-21-2021, 02:06 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mws View Post
hmmm. yeah. I have a 2014 with the minimal adjustments and no seat memory. To answer your question, no I have not considered surgery on the seat. My problem was slipping forward and having no leg support... but.. bear with me here. I did find I could vastly dial in a more comfortable ride for me (6'4") by taking the time to figure out how to tilt the front of the seat up (we own 4 BMWs now--all slightly different, and my wife had to show it to me on the i8) and make it more of a bucket--which supports my long legs better, and makes me not slip forward--and drives me and my butt back on the seat and upwards on the back of the seat. The lumbar would hit you in a different place in that case. I wonder if you could start by adjusting the seat perfectly flat and then play with tilt to see if you can get the lumbar to hit you in a less painful spot?
Thanks mws. its a tricky one but I discounted the i8 in the end due to the seat. I just couldn't justify spending that much on a car where I wasn't comfortable. In the end my plan to have an i8 and an old X5 for the weekends changed and I now have a Cayenne S instead which does everything I need.
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      10-11-2021, 08:59 AM   #4
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I had the slipping forward on seat issue with my M roadster. I just put spacer washers under the front seat at the front to tilt the seat back.

I might do the same again with the i8 as it seems to have the same issue - I prefer to to sat 'in' the seat rather than on it.

check the bolt size on the seats, then get a couple of aluminium spacer of the desired size - probably around 10-15mm. easy to take out when you sell, and no need to remove seat, just loosen off bolts front and back, then pull up front, pop spacers in and push bolts back through.

stu
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      03-11-2023, 01:32 AM   #5
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I have the same issue as the original poster, after a few days of owning the i8, I am struggling to get comfortable because of the lumber area protruding too much. My back likes zero support on other cars and clearly you cannot dial the support back with these seats. Anyone ever taken the back of these seats off, considering trying to remove some support myself..?
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      03-17-2023, 11:47 AM   #6
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Struggling to get the back of the seats off although I am thinking of taking the seats to a coach trimmer to see if they can trim down the lumber support.

Alternative would be replacement seats, anyone know of this being done on an i8. Thinking M4 competition seats would fit but will have to do some measurements.

Views and assistance appreciated!
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