hate the seats
 

Hi,
I just got my 2006 A3 2.0 DSG w/ premium package in March of this year. I love the car, but think the seat bottoms are absurdly small and uncomfortable. To make matters worse, the seats are mounted slightly off center compared to the steering wheel (away from the doors) so that essentially I'm sitting with half of my left buttock and thigh on the left bolster when I'm driving. Now I'm not a big guy with a large bottom, I can't imagine how any bigger person can fit on those seats. It's getting to be actually painful if I drive more than 15 minutes.
Am I the only person who thinks this?
Could I have a lemon? I noticed the manufactured date was Aug of 05, so the car was on the dealer lot for a long time.
Finally, can anyone suggest an appropriate after market seat to replace my oem?

Thanks

RE: hate the seats
 

Maybe one side of your bum is bigger than the other. Heh heh, sorry, couldn't resist.

The seats are fine. The problem is that the dead pedal is closer to the seat than on many other cars. You can try taking it off to get that extra 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch of leg room, but it will look weird. Or you will just get used to bending your left knee a little bit more, as I did, in just over a month.

If you have DSG, you can also place just the toes and ball of your left foot on the dead pedal, with your left heel off and touching the carpet, especially if you are wearing any shoe with a heel.

If you think you have it bad, at least be glad you did not get the Sport Package, the front seats have even deeper bolsters.

RE: hate the seats
 

i have the same problem!!!! i just got the car and my ass hurts from driving it! i weigh 170 lbs so i am by no means over sized. wtf!

RE: hate the seats
 

I have an 08 with the S-line seats. I noticed myself sitting on the left bolster a lot. I agree that the seat is offset a little more than I would like. An inch closer to the door would be perfect. Though it's not that bad. Wonder if the offset is same on the S-line and Premium.

RE: hate the seats
 

I haven't noticed any offset in my '06 Sport.

I do wish that the dead pedal was farther away and that there was a touch more lumbar support (I may add after-market lumbar adjusters), but I was quite comfortable driving 2000 miles in ten days when we recently vacationed in the Canadian Rockies.

RE: hate the seats
 

I would agree, my 08 does not seam offset to me. The S-Line seats are wonderful and I feel have great lumbar support once adjusted. The dead pedal does stink though [:@]

RE: hate the seats
 

WOW! I never noticed a problem and I have an 06 Sport(s-line) and the only thing I wish I had was the adjustable lumbar that the later models got. And just so you all know I'm 6'2" and 200lbs. It puts me in a great driving position. I do know that mentaly people feal they need to have the left foot stationed on the dead pedal but that just slides you to the right. Its position is actually desind for the manual people to keep there foot from resting past the clutch making for easier heal toe style driving.
My fix for you all would be sit in the seat properly and find out its actually comfortable that way.

RE: hate the seats
 

RE: the seats. The alignment to pedals and steering wheel, dead pedal are fine for me.

Specific to the seats I wish two things; that the bottom cushion's rear tilt could be adjustable for recline. I like the rearmost of the bottom cushion to be low with my knees up. Which leads me to suggest that the bottomcushion have an extenablelower thigh/knee support which would stick out from the bottom cushion to support the back of my knees.

Other wise I love the sport seats for how they envelope and provide upper back support. I like the slight curve forward of the upper back and the forward tilt of the headrest.

RE: hate the seats
 

twiceaudi;
You'll get used to it. You may also want to adjust your seating position as someone else has pointed out. It took me about a week to get used to the center console rubbing against my right knee - now I don't even notice it. And when I end up in a rental - it feels weird.
Then of course, I do have a clutch - which kind of forces me away from the dead pedal.
Welcome aboard.

RE: hate the seats
 

I'm 6' 225Lbs and Have a 2006 A3DSG 2/Sport seats. In a perfect world they would be 1/2" wider and 1" deeper, and have more tilt on the bottom. I sat in a premium package car and the first thing I noticed is that the seats were way too soft, especially at the front. Even though they were larger and electric, I couldn't get as comfortable as in the sport seats, even with their higher and narrower bolster.

That said, Recaro makes a "RECARO Ergomed ES" that is not part of their racing series. It's electric, adjustable every way, and does not have super-high cushion bolsters. Speedware Motorsports in Redmond, WA makes A3 mounting brackets for Recaros (they used my car as a fit model and told me, "Well, you won't be buying any seats from us anytime soon" as a compliment for how good they thought the OEM Sport seats are.) So you may want check that out, or try an '06 Sport or S-Line car and see if those seats fit you better and look for a set used.

RE: hate the seats
 

My BMW Sport seats hadan extendablesupport for the lower thighs/knees - loved it with my very long legs. I'm only 6'1" but my legs are about the length of someone 6'4".

I improved the under-thigh support of the A3 Sport seats by adding 3/4" spacers under the front seat rail bolts.

RE: hate the seats
 

^dfrost that is a great idea ^
Thats deffinatly a way to get that little extra under knee lift. going to have to try it.

RE: hate the seats
 

Since this tread started I've been extra sensitive to determine if there's any offset to my seat. AndI continue to say that there is none. I feel totally centered between the bolsters, the elbow room feels identical on each side, my sight line to the instruments is absolutely symmetrical, and the reach to the steering wheel feels the same for both arms.

Or maybe I havethe perfect asymmetry in my body to fit an A3?

RE: hate the seats
 

Our E46 isn't a sport pkg, so it has the plain jane seats. Don't get me wrong, they are very comfortable. It's just that the sport seats in the Bimmer are very nice.

I really like the spacer idea for the Audi!

RE: hate the seats
 

m 6'3" and sometimes i have very little head room in the A3. i have the premium seats and sometimes it's only about 1-2 fingers from my head to the roof (i have OpenSky). my seat is all the way at the lowest position allowed by the electric control, but is there a way to even get them lower?

RE: hate the seats
 

dforst

I had never noticed it before this thread, now every time I sit in my car I'm doing exactly what you are doing to! Trying to figure out if there is an offset! I agree, there isn't one. But I do remember the first few weeks I had my car I have my left butt cheek on the bolster a lot too. I think it is the dead pedal and the adjustment to that driving position, because it never happens any more and I haven't gotten skinnier!

RE: hate the seats
 

The first couple of weeks with my 07 premium, my mid back would be tight or uncomfy after driving after 45 minutes or so. But after fiddling with the power lumbar- basically set back to its most recessed state, i havent had any problems or uncomfortable back aches. I wish that the power seats had memory or two, eh cant have it all!.
Im 5 10 170lbs, 41chest, 32w frame, and i now find this premium seats comfy and the right snug (but couldve used more lateral support)

e

RE: hate the seats
 

Im interested in these- so where do you exactly put the spacers?
And what do they look like? thanks!!!

RE: hate the seats
 

Thats why I went for the sport(s-line) Package. The premium seats didn't drop down far enough for me to have the type of sit I like to have. Plus the sport seats have great lumbar support. This is coming from a guy that's a 46 Shoulder and 32 waist. So being 6'2" the sport seats put me down low enough I don't feel like my heads going to hit the roof.

As for the spacers I'm think dfrost used washer from your local hardware store. Just have to find the bolt diameter first.

RE: hate the seats
 

CAUTION: I take no responsibility for your modifications to your car and it's safety features.

The spacers go between the rail and floor under the front rail bolt - visible and easily accessible when the seat is all the way back. I used some large platednuts rather then a pile of washers (but washers would work OK), and also made small aluminum plates that sit under the nut/spacer to cover up some painted metal that was exposed when the rail was raised.

The original front rail bolts were replaced with longer allen-head bolts. Don't remember the size right now, but I'll check tonight and take a picture, too. Allen head bolts are typically high strength bolts, which are definitely what should be used here. The rear rail bolts, accessible when the seat is fully forward, need to be temporarily loosened to install the spacers.

The seat rail bolts require a 10mm "triple-square" bit. Of course, a set of those are needed if you're going to do almost any work on your A3.

I only raised the rails 3/4" to maintain engagement betweena bent metal tab on the inner rail and a mating hole in the floor panunder the rail.

RE: hate the seats
 

re: "I improved the under-thigh support of the A3 Sport seats by adding 3/4" spacers under the front seat rail bolts."

I used that trick for the 1-piece racing seats in my e36. You can get nylon spacers at Lowes or HoDepo that work really well.

BTW, how do you like your Koni FSDs?

Photos of seat rail spacers
 

Here are photos of the seat rail spacersI described earlier:

http://www.pbase.com/dmfrost/image/95385538(side view)
http://www.pbase.com/dmfrost/image/95385522(end view)

I forgot to check the longer replacement bolt size, but pretty sure they are 10mm x 50mm (=2" long). I know that the ones I used take an 8mm allen head bit. Do NOT attempt to add these risers with the original bolt. It will have insufficient thread engagement with the nut under the floor, and be much weaker as a result.

The aluminum plates are 1.5" wide x 2" long x 1/8" thick, made from aluminum strip stock purchased at Home Depot. There's a hole in the middle for the bolt, and the plate for right side (inner) rail needed a notch filed on one end to clear the bent metal tab I mentioned in an earlier post to this thread.

RE: hate the seats
 

panzrwagn,

What has been the attitude of tech inspectors regarding the seat rail spacers? I'm interested to know what others think about the safety implications.

Re FSDs: I'm very happy with the improvements from the FSDs. I'm using them with OEM Sport springs since I wasn't interested in lowering the car. The ride is noticeably better, especially over sharp bumps - not as "jiggly", but still a sport-orientedride. On 'rolling bumps' (not sharp impacts) the fronts occasionally feel a little under-damped in rebound, but it's a pretty rare occurrence.

As far as stiffening under cornering and braking loads, they seem excellent (as good if not better then the OEM Sport shocks), butI honestlyhaven't pushed too hard, at least not while the winter tires are still mounted.I don't sense any abrupt transition point between the high frequency soft ride and the low frequency stiffening. So I'd say that these shocks are just as advertised IMHO - a no compromise shock. The whole car certainly left my wife and me feeling quite confident and comfortable when driving 2000 miles with lots of twisties across the Canadian Rockies last month.

You mentioned an outfit in Redmond, WA elsewhere in this thread. If you are in the Seattle area, send me a PM to consider getting together so you can judge the FSDs for yourself.