[Roadsters] Miata vs stock seats (was "Re: X-Country")

[peter harrison]

Hi all
My hotmail is acting a tad strange but

I seem to have stirred up somehwat of a hornet's nest with my comments about
the Roadster seats. I too have done significant miles on the stock seats (1200
in 3 days in April) and in the past even more (but then my butt was more
muscled) and for the driver, they aren't bad, the PO had extra padding
installed in both seats, so sitting they are muy comfy, but when driving
somewhat spiritedly, they offer little or no sideways support for the
passenger - the driver at least has the wheel, the pedals to brace him/her
self- plus he/she knows what direction is going to be taken.

And yes, Mazda and everyone else has 20+ years to look at seat ergonomics -
Toyota even employed a back specialist ( A Kiwi called McKenzie ) to redesign
their seats.

One could drive across country sitting on a piece of plywood and survive, but
I have found that as a simple conversion the Miata seats offer a low cost,
high result level of comfort - especially since they can be fully adjusted for
rake while driving, offer inbuilt lumbar support,  an enhanced level of 'grip'
for sideways motion (espoecially for the passenger) and having inbuilt
speakers is for me a plus.

Remembering that I chose to drive roadsters when they were used (and unknown)
cars, and that I have come back to them after a 20 year hiatus, they are
remarkable, mechanically sturdy, structurally sturdy as Richard Brown will
attest, fast-ish (1600) and very fast (2000 flavors) - there's just some stuff
that time shows up and improvements can be made. Go to Solvang and try to find
an 'original' roadster - we have all (mostly) made changes, paint, interior,
engines, volvo brakes etc. and that is all contributing to one thing - keep
the little buggers on the road for the future -

So, my comments, perhaps taken as a criticism, were just what made sense for
me. I would have happily maee the same trip in the stock seats, but the Miata
ones made more sense (to me) and of course the 'nappability'

Peter