BillK

I went to the local Jeep dealer to figure out exactly why I could drive 8+ hours in a Wrangler with no discomfort (I've also driven 12+ hours in my wife's A4 1.8TQ with no apparent ill effect), and it's this:

My legs are long enough that they have a slight knee bend when my foot is on the gas. The seat in the TT needs to be in its lowest position for me to not have my head in the headliner, and in that position the knee bend causes the butt cheek in question to lift slightly and not get any real support from the seat (sit on your hand and you can feel the area in question - it's actually where your leg meets your hip).

In the Wrangler, it's a completely different seating position that firmly supports the area in question. The A4 has a little bolster in <b>just</b> the right place, and in the S4 I can tilt the power seats up just a bit in front to support the area as well. (This research is MUCH easier when the affected area is still sore and you can feel when the seat does or doesn't firmly support the area in question...)

Alas, aside from buying really expen$$ive aftermarket seats, I believe the fact that the seat needs to be all the way down and all the way back dooms me to a lesser vehicle.

(Really, this <b>is</b> depressing, the TT is the car of my dreams in soooo many ways, though I could do without the CD changer beeping... ;-))

Lone Starr (Ivan)

"Reasonable" being relative. And you might lose the side airbag.

I just had another thought. Are the seats in the TT's that do not have heated seats different? Maybe they are not as thick? This is sometimes the case in other cars. My wife had a loaner RX300 when her RX300 was in the shop and hers has heated seats and the loaner did not. It was a different seat bottom. We both could feel the difference. It was thinner.

I see what you mean about the TT seat, I think. When it is all the way down, the front of the seat is higher than the rear and it causes you to put your leg in a position where you are lifting your glutes, therefore exhausting them after a short time.

I understand about you not wanting to modify your TT. You could even have the rear seat bottoms removed and possibly put a shelf there that is still attractive. This might give you more rearward flexibility. I do not know how do do this, but maybe you are one of those guys that can do just about anything handy.

You will enjoy the new car, and you are (goes without saying) always welcome here to share in "The Unbearable TTness of Being."

- Ivan

Larrytt

The heated and non-heated seats are the same. I don't have heated seats.

Rave'nGTi

starting around 300 and going on up to 1400 (full carbon fiber shell with leather)

Where do you live? You could possibly find a dealer in your area that carries several brands of seating (recaro, sparco, momo, cobra, corbeau)

I'm personally considering either the Recaro SRD for 550, or the new Sparco for 1200-1400 (thats the CF shell, reclining, in leather =) )

Its also possible to have custom brackets made for your seat, that angle it so you dont have a 'cheeky' problem

Lone Starr (Ivan)

Oh well, it was worth a shot.

Larrytt

I agree. Just figured I might as well save someone from looking for them

BillK

I literally still am not sure whether I'm going to go for the S4 or not; the latter solves my pain problem but there is the little problem that the steering wheel in the S4 in proper driving position obscures the turn signals, water temp and fuel gauges and speedo over 60 MPH or so...

(As my salesman said, that's why there are low fuel and over temp warnings from the trip computer and radar detectors. ;-))

BTW, my seats <b>are</b> the heated ones, and I'd hate to lose that as the heat is somewhat soothing to the pain. ;-)