mah@fauxfinish.

Hi Gang,
You have all been so helpful.
MY 1994 SL600 is giving me lower back problems. I know there was an air-filled option available with roll switches for several of the 129 models. I have power seats, but would love to add on the lumbar orthopedic option. Is this possible? Any aftermarket companies that sell a kit? Can this be done to standard mercedes Power seats?
Thanks again for the help!
Martin

SL BRABUS

None what so ever.........unless you get a pair of new SL seats, which cost a lot....... Hope this help good luck........

miroj

Yes it can be done but there is a number of details that must be satisfied if you want to do it from new parts.

- new leather covers
- you can also opt for heated + vented + multi-contour (orthopaedic)
- the relevant parts to drive the air pressure
- the valves.

In general the best advice is to find a seat such as the one you want and add the air pump.

blueSL

The 129 seat was not a masterpiece of design, especially the pre 96 facelift ones. I lused to get lower back pain from it and even now, I find the car uncomfortable after 3 hours. When the 129 came out, Mercedes used to say that the two seats cost more to make than a small car. At the time mine was made, there was no orthopaedic option, maybe it came later.

ChrisB

A few weeks ago we drove 2,500 km (1,500 miles) over 5 days within a week long vacation.

About half way through after logging a couple of 4 to 6 hours a day driving ... and a few nights sleeping on bad beds ... I had developed a soreness in my lower back region.

I blamed it more on the beds and stress of the trip. I had never felt this before on say 3 hour car trips.

It is interesting to hear BlueSL say the seats have a tendancy to be uncomfortable.

Thinking to the future, are the R230 seats better?

Are there advantages to certain options like orthopeadic seats on the R230?

miroj

The bottom line is that if you have an option in a seat then you may not actually use it. There is no imperative to inflate all the bladders. Ergonomics and setting realistic comfort settings plays a greater role in adjustable seats. I would start with a "0" setting for everything and then make small adjustments.

My father can't tolerate excessive lower back support as it causes a lot of pain for him - so he seems to enjoy driving more without it.

A 6 hour drive is impressive but with the right settings then you can probably stretch that to 18 hours without too much bother. I tried it a few times .... but that is another story.

blueSL

The lower back is where the R129 seats get you, though in my experience it depends on the rake of the backrest, worse if you have it too far back.

The R230 seats are much better and although mine have both the comfort and ventilated options, miroj is correct that I don't often use them. However, I do find changing the lumbar support in a long journey helps alot. The massage and ventilated options are just more gizmos to go wrong in the future.