backache

[dangermouse17]

Hi i have been trawling the internet looking for examples of suspension seating to fit a defender............as my backache is spoiling my joy of defender ownership..........i am looking for advice especially about fitting.

Has as anybody tried this with stock seat or other www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200487876_200487876 i wonder how tall the ride is.

Has anybody imported these from australia(and are they legal) www.stratos.com.au/Page/stratos-3000-ltss These do look good and have a defender fitting kit but i dont want to import from australia to find i cannot use them because of headroom problems......and if they work why are they not in use in europe is it ce regs?

These appear to work by suspending the seat base with bunji cord fitted to frame!
so as anybody fitted these www.corbeau-seats.com/Corbeau%20Offroad/Baja%20Ultra or these:
prpseats.com/product-category/seats/daily-driver-series/

The corbeau are available in the uk but are the PRP and one of the reasons im asking on here is that another site suggested that someone on here had fitted the prp to a pickup defender :

www.pirate4x4.com/forum/land-rover/13263...ck-cab-defender.html

Any sage advice will be well recieved!

[Nigelw]

Having had a blast in a couple of brand new Defs I can say that, as much as you might think suspension is the way to go, it could be cheaper and easier to buy one of the packages from Exmoore Trim and renovating your existing seats, you will be amazed how much spring new foam has against your old ones.

And if you still find the persistent back ache then looking at the Nothern Tool seat suspension seems a reasonable way to go, might be worth clearing such a component with your insurance co. first, you never know how they will react to a non std fitting like that.

[Tetsu0san]

I have to agree that although suspension will make it smoother it won't fix your bad back issue when in the cab. I suffer from bad backs having had a discectomy a few years ago and I find that the cramped seating position with high bent knees in relation to my bum doesn't do me any favours. When I have a bad back episode (about once every year it seems) I find the 110 far too painful to drive.

When I had a 90 a few years back I fitted a piece of 1" baton under the seat to raise the seat up and this did make it a lot more comfortable to drive, however I found it harder to get into the cab. The shocks were +2" though, which also didn't help. I am standard ride height now.

[Steve King]

A Defender is not an ideal vehicle to drive if you suffer with your back! I've suffered back pain on and off since my mid teens and to make things worse I have also had sciatica a few times too.

In 2010 I was crippled with sciatica and could barely hobble down the road with a stick! Driving my Defender was just about possible on a short journey, but getting in and out was a nightmare.

When it came to changing my truck in 2011, I decided to stick with a Defender. I decided to address the driving position though. Removing the rear bulkhead and fitting a strengthening bar to replace it allowed the seats to be adjusted a lot further back and raising the seat on Mudrails helped the driving position too. If you too are of a large, tall build this may help.

[discomikey]

i find that spending time to properly adjust the standard seat made a vast improvement on my back (i too have a bad back, but do regular long journeys (2-5hr+ depending on traffic) and find where it is "comfier" to slide the base forward a couple of inches and recline the back, it soon affects my back, whereas if i set the seatback to where it should be to give proper lumbar support, and then slide as far back as possible, it maximises leg room (what little there is of course) and i find im not anywhere near as fatigued at the other end.

its just the choppyness and brutality of a SWB leafer that i find the suspension seat would be beneficial towards.

some of the fancy seats exmoor trim makes seem to be rather comfortable and supporting too, maybe you should pop into their stand at the next show and play musical chairs till you find one you like the most

[daveturnbull]

I also struggle with back pain on longer journeys in standard defender seats.

My solution is to replace them with some nice comfy leather Alfa Romeo seats with the luxury of adjustable lumbar support. It's talking a bit of 'adjustment' of the seat frames to get them as low as possible to suit the defender seatbox, but they're not far off now.

[SOA 93]

I've had problems with my back for 25+ years, ended up in hospital this summer, and currently having regular physio and awaiting results for EMG treatment, etc..

My problem is around L3/L4, and after my episode in the summer I made up my mind I was going to get another Discovery, I'd been driving my wife's old mk1 Focus for a couple of years, in the hope that it would pack up, unfortunately it refuses to die and has been passed on to friends of ours. After a 20 minute drive in the Focus I'd get out and look like the picture of how man evolved from apes to homo sapiens, gradually straightening up over about twenty paces. It was such a relief when I drove the Disco home after collecting it, about 90 mins, to just get out and feel nothing.

When I was looking around at Disco's I did try a 110, but it just reaffirmed what I already new, Defenders are not for me. I just couldn't put up with one for everyday use.

As has already been said its far more likely that your seating position is aggravating your back, especially if it is a lower back issue, three things to remember with seating position for lower back issues:-

Lordosis, Lordosis and Lordosis, basically, maintaining the natural curve of the spine, when most of us sit, we slouch and the spine gets curved the opposite way, as someone has already said 'adjustable lumbar support, or try it with a rolled up towel stuck behind your lower back, a chiropractor told me that one.

Before the Focus I had a Peugeot Bipper from new, better than the focus but not great, the wifes current Cmax is ok for medium journeys, but my Disco is just perfect.

The height of your knees in relation to your hips when seated is also important when seated in a car.

I had a Disco before, and before I broke it for my 'vapour build' I cut a piece of plywood and cut it to the profile of the seat,steering wheel and pedals so it gave me a sort of silhouette of my seating position, as whatever I built I was adamant that I was going to retain that seating position.

My recommendation for you is to find a car, truck or whatever that agrees with your back and then try to replicate that seating position in your defender. Are you overweight? Do you have HD springs on your Defender, they will compound your problem.

I wish you a speedy recovery because a bad back drains the life out of you.

[Lewis]

Wildly OT: SOA 93, you're still on lr4x4! How is the vapour build?

[SOA 93]

Usual story, life is what happens while your making plans. Work, offspring, credit crunch, recession etc.

Currently have a 300tdi Disco sitting on 37" PBR's (Pirate speak!) , it's been off the road for a couple of weeks while I do lots of welding to it. I plan on getting a build log up soon, I promise. Enjoyed reading your build log.