Lumbar support for stock seat
 

Have the stock non-powered seats in my 04. While they provide great lateral support after 45 minutes or so without lumbar support my back would start to get sore. If I tilted the back far enough to provide lower back support then my shoulders had no support as well as it put me in poor driving position.

It was to the point I began looking to replace the seats. $3k Recaro seats seemed to be the best solution when my better half suggested I try some type of pillow or cushion first.

So a couple cushions later I have found one that works fantastic for me. It is a manual air bladder type that is 6"x11". Fits great in the seat and straps in the back to hold in place.

I have no affiliation with this other than it has made it a joy to drive my car and may help if someone else has similar issues with the stock seats. BTW it cost $25 so my wallet is happy too.

Lumbar Air Plus Pad
http://www.businesscopiers.com/backstore/air-back-support.htm


If someone can figure how to get the seat covers off I would be interested. Would put this under the skins if I could figure out how to do this.

DIY adjustable lumbar support
 

Or you can do what I did on my 986 2001 .....

I bought a $12 manual inflation blood pressure cuff. I took apart the back cushion and inserted the cuff bladder. I routed the tubing out the back of the seat and brought the inflation bulb around to the inside of the seat by the center console leaving it tucked between the seat and the console. Reinstalled the back cushion. It's all hidden and I just use my finger tips to pump up lumbar support when needed. reinflation is very infrequent. This is even less expensive and it looks stock.

Removing the back cushion is simple. just put the seatback forward. detach the bottom of the seat back by sliding the bottom anchor bar out. It just pulls straight toward the back of the car. Pull the bottom to the front and lift up on the cushion from the top. It just pops off.

Turn the cushion over and remove the material holding the leather cover. Pull back the sides. This will expose the cross chambers with foam cushioning. Now pull the arm cuff through at the lumbar level leaving the tubing hanging out toward the center console. Reinstall. Your back is good to go.

There is an aftermarket kit available for Recaro seats (which the Porsche basic seats are). AutoSport Engineering in Stow, MA showed me this when I was there for a service visit and they were going to check to see whether the solution would work for stock Boxster seats... I got distracted and never called them later to find out whether they were able to make the fitment work. It was supposed to be well under $100 (per seat, installed).

The blood pressure cuff idea is interesting. How well does the cuff fit, how did you fold or otherwise prepare it? How far does it come up the back of the seat? Did you keep the pressure indicator for the "tech look"? ;)

That's the kind of info I was looking for. Thanks

Hi,

NPC, but the proper name for a Blood Pressure Cuff is one of my Favorite words - Sphygmomanometer...FYI... Not very useful day-to-day, but I think it just sounds cool! :eek:

BTW, sincporsche, very innovative idea... I like it!!

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

The cuff fits nicely in the lumbar cross chamber which is about 5 inches tall. It pretty much pulls through. I did remove some side bolster foam to even out the support all the way across. I also cut new slits in the back attachment material to allow for a slight bit of added bulk and expansion. The gage and tubing are under the seat. The inflation bulb fits between the seat and center console next to the seat belt attachment. It slides down and is hidden from view. Nothing is visible. You wouldn't know it was there except for the comfort.