poor seating position

[kingyrules]

Hi guys I've had the disco for about 4 months, but I'm not happy with the seating position being about 6 foot tall i find that looking out the windscreen i find myself having to crouch down to get a clear line of sight, and if you have the tint on the top of the window like mine does then you really know what i mean.

so I've been thinking about installing another seat like an ISRI seat probably air type so i can have the best of both worlds low for the highway and high for the off road.

has any one else encountered this problem and if so has anyone got an alternative fix, or at least got any idea on the legality about changing the seat to a non original seat as these seats are made for trucks, but i reckon they would do the trick if you can get over the price.:o

[PeterM]

Removal of the C4 and C5 vertebrae ought to do the trick!

[kingyrules]

Removal of the C4 and C5 vertebrae ought to do the trick!

:Rolling: but i like being this tall. and i think fitting the new seat my be easyer and cheaper in the long run:cool:

[Basil135]

Easy one this - make like you are driving one of those cheap Jap imports, wind your front seat right back until it touches the back seat.

There you go. Perfect vision, and everyone else will get a real surprise about how tall you really are when you untangle yourself from the car.:o

Oh - word of caution first. If you dont already have a good chiro, get one...:cool:

[p38arover]

Hi guys I've had the disco for about 4 months, but I'm not happy with the seating position being about 6 foot tall i find that looking out the windscreen i find myself having to crouch down to get a clear line of sight,

How much about? I'm about 6 ft and I don't have a problem. :p

[2_door]

I am 6 foot 6 too and I dont have any problems, but I dont have the tinted section across the top of the windscreen.

I reckon get a new windscreen without the tinted strip if its not a removable strip.

It will be easier than the spine-ectomy and easier than fitting a new seat :D

[Xavie]

I also dislike the seating position. I find I get very saw achilies (spelling) after a longish drive too. I find the angle strange.

Xav

[Xavie]

Oh, re-read your post.

To change a seat and make the vehicle legal you need to get the seat changed and then take it to an engineer and get it certified. My knowledge is only for NSW though not sure on other states. There should be no drama but I'd go to a good store where you can organise returning the seat if the engineer disagrees.

Certification costs about 100 bucks maybe slightly over.

Xav

[4bee]

I'm also 6' & don't find I have a problem, plus have got the extra bit of thickness of lambswool covers. Is your neck 2' long perchance?:D

[kingyrules]

lol no I'm not a giraffe and I'm 6 foot even but i to have the lambs wool seat covers (mmm furry), when i bought the beast the dealer had to fit a new windscreen as part of the sale/rwc, i took delivery and about a month later they fitted the new windscreen with the tint in it GRRRRR! although i never noticed it before but at $200 a pop i would hate to replace the new windscreen for another new one with out tint and find it didn't fix the prob.

as for the jap car approach this is the current method of operation, but i am planing a big trip north next year eg kakadu and Darwin and slouching back in the seat for that long will kill the old back.

[Diego Luego]

Your'e not saying you are 6 foot six are you Xavie? You must have a custom made tape measure.

[MacMan]

I reckon get a new windscreen without the tinted strip if its not a removable strip.

Can't be had as far as I know. I went through the same thing with mine at 6'6". Best I could do was to have a replacement with a shorter tint than was in the car. Nobody I could find anywhere (including O'Brien) could make or supply a non tinted glass to suit a 93 Disco. Les Richmond organised fitting of the current screen, and to complicate things they said that not all screens fit all Discos.

At any height the tinting is about as useful as clothes pegs up your nose. Completely stupid, useless and unsafe in a Disco.

[dullbird]

Can't be had as far as I know. I went through the same thing with mine at 6'6". Best I could do was to have a replacement with a shorter tint than was in the car. Nobody I could find anywhere (including O'Brien) could make or supply a non tinted glass to suit a 93 Disco. Les Richmond organised fitting of the current screen, and to complicate things they said that not all screens fit all Discos.

At any height the tinting
is about as useful as clothes pegs up your nose. Completely stupid, useless and unsafe in a Disco.

i think they could be very useful if you are using them to hold up stray nose hair:eek:

[p38arover]

I also dislike the seating position. I find I get very saw achilies (spelling) after a longish drive too. I find the angle strange.

Xav

Both: sore Achilles :angel: (named after the mythological Greek)

[p38arover]

Les Richmond organised fitting of the current screen, and to complicate things they said that not all screens fit all Discos

I think the D1 went to a bonded screen in about '95

[Xavie]

Your'e not saying you are 6 foot six are you Xavie? You must have a custom made tape measure.

hahahaha. :p

Now, if your going on a trip soon and your planning on new seats I'd get in quickly with your order because my stratos seats took ages.

Xav

[Vern]

I used to have the same problem, so i ripped out the lambswool seat cover and replaced the sagging front springs and now its fine except for lack of room as the D1 is so small inside.:(

[MacMan]

I was planning to get another seat base chopped down about 25mm. Even that little would make a huge difference.

(These clothes pegs start to hurt after a while...)

[kingyrules]

yeah thats plan B. chopping down the the base even 1 inch would help, but as for the windscreen option it seems it may be easier installing a new truck seat than trying to find a screen with out a huge tint on the top.

I'm glad to see its not just me with this problem. I've got a mate who's 6'6" who was in the army, he had never been in a disco and his remark to the seating position was the leopard tank was better and thats a "toaster oven with Armour and tracks":eek:, his words.

[2 rocks]

Now this is interesting...one of the things that used to drive me spare about my D1 was the driving position and the stupid cardboard bits above the pedals (I'm 6'4" BTW) and I went through the same thing. Maybe getting the seat moved etc, etc.
So I approached the purchase of the D2 with some trepidation over this...as in "god what if I hate it on a long run?" etc...but have found it the best seating position in almost anything I've owned...yet I don't actually know what's different between the two...any takers?
Mike

[BMKal]

Has your Disco got a sunroof ??? Put cushion on seat for extra height, open sunroof - problem solved. :angel:

[kingyrules]

No sun roof! but I've got a grinder and a garbage bag for the wet months :D.
could be a cheap solution?

[Utemad]

I'm 6 foot 2 and I love the seating position but do know what you're talking about.
When sitting at traffic lights I have to crouch right down so as I can see them change. I don't have a tint band at the top and certainly don't want one. That would make the situation that much worse.

[kingyrules]

Don't get me wrong, off road the seating position is excellent, i think thats what makes driving a disco off road great, due to the steep angle over the bonnet, having said that its not the best for driving in town or even on the highway, obviously every body is different and making a vehicle that could accommodate every ones preference would be and engineers nightmare:confused:.

I was curious to know if it was just me,and if any one had tried a fix, about 12 months ago i had the misfortune to ride in a pajero:o, and to my surprise they have floating seats in the front:eek:, well i think it was a pajero and the lady who owned it told me they were standard.

And as 2 rocks has pointed out it seems that the d2 had a rethink about the seating position, I'm guessing that the poms didn't think to highly either, no offence to the poms you guys are alright:wasntme::D:D

[Xavie]

Now this is interesting...one of the things that used to drive me spare about my D1 was the driving position and the stupid cardboard bits above the pedals (I'm 6'4" BTW) and I went through the same thing. Maybe getting the seat moved etc,
Mike

Those bloody cardboard bits... What the hell was anyone thinking? I had to rip mine out and just run the wires a bit differently.

xav

[Zute]

I'm 5'7" and I find that some times I have to crunch down to look under the roof edge. I also find the go pedal is poorly placed with no chance of toe healing. Not with my size 7's anyway. And the steering wheel is to close when I get my leg's right. A bit like Jeeps, but not nearly as bad. Oh and the seat cushion could be longer. And lets not even mention the head rest.:mad:
But I do like the Steering wheel. I love the placement of the gear lever, but not the transfer lever.
Enough whingeing, mostly happy with it.:)

[p38arover]

Those bloody cardboard bits... What the hell was anyone thinking? I had to rip mine out and just run the wires a bit differently.

xav

Bloody awful stuff, I agree.

[2 rocks]

Those bloody cardboard bits... What the hell was anyone thinking? I had to rip mine out and just run the wires a bit differently.

xav

I had to rip mine out to get my feet in! lol!

Kingy - yep import NA - NG Pajeros and the up-spec local ones had suspension seats for front passengers, with adjustable pre-load for the size of the bum on the squab. Could be locked off in 3 height positions which was actually quite useful, but to leave it operational off-road was inviting a head shaped impression in your roof!
I always had mine locked off - it just made me sea-sick... :)
Mike

[kingyrules]

I had to rip mine out to get my feet in! lol!

Kingy - yep import NA - NG Pajeros and the up-spec local ones had suspension seats for front passengers, with adjustable pre-load for the size of the bum on the squab. Could be locked off in 3 height positions which was actually quite useful, but to leave it operational off-road was inviting a head shaped impression in your roof!
I always had mine locked off - it just made me sea-sick... :)
Mike



Yeah i think this might be worth investigating.
as chasing down some second hand pajero seats and retro fitting them might be easier and cheaper than the first fix i was thinking. lol i only remembered the pajero when i made that post (took that long to recover from the trauma:)), I'm sure that there must be other import 4wd's that have a similar thing?

PS. thanks for the conformation Mike

[Discostewpot]

Don't get me wrong, off road the seating position is excellent, i think thats what makes driving a disco off road great, due to the steep angle over the bonnet, having said that its not the best for driving in town or even on the highway, obviously every body is different and making a vehicle that could accommodate every ones preference would be and engineers nightmare:confused:.

I was curious to know if it was just me,and if any one had tried a fix, about 12 months ago i had the misfortune to ride in a pajero:o, and to my surprise they have floating seats in the front:eek:, well i think it was a pajero and the lady who owned it told me they were standard.

And as 2 rocks has pointed out it seems that the d2 had a rethink about the seating position, I'm guessing that the poms didn't think to highly either, no offence to the poms you guys are alright:wasntme::D:D

I dont think it would be that much of a nightmare Kingy, let me see, I have had countless number of cars with seat height adjustment so I dont see why Land Rover couldn't have put that in (after all, it was a $50k car when new weren't they). I too think that the seat height position is awful and the cusion is too short in the squab. I'm thinking of putting in a couple of sports seats out a wrecked jap car.

[2 rocks]

Kingy, if you decide to go down that path, dpepnding on what colouer your Disco trim is, but the late models in that range NF-NG came in a gunmetal paint colour and the interior was a fairly similar grey to the Disco. Before that they mainly seemed to be tan or blue. And the come with side-bolster adjustment...not bad seats really.

My ex's Exceed had heated leather suspension seats that were very nice in winter...

Mike

[kingyrules]

yeah the right colour would be great, but if can't find that seat covers should solve that Delmar :), i will be looking into it over the next few weeks i shall let you guys know how i get on.

[Tyresqueal]

I too find the disco I seating a little bit unconfortable, being 6' 2" without a tinted windscreen, I find everything is fine except for some traffic lights. However, I have exceptionally freakily long legs 35" and on long journeys they can cramp up.

I haven't done this yet, but I am thinking about putting spacers in the front seat mounts to lift the leading edge of the seat up a bit. This should then support my upper thighs and also tilt me back a bit.

This probably isn't legal, but then I very much doubt that a rego inspector would notice this small modification - famous last words.

I'll keep you posted on how I achieve this and whether it makes any difference - picking up my new interior this weekend and all should be sorted by sunday night.