don't they all?

 

I get the exact same thing. After 1.5 - 2 hours, my right hip is killing me. The only relief is to get out and walk around, or move the seat way back so my leg's not bent, or make really sure that my heel is against the center console, so there's no twist of my leg. It's a real pain, and is much worse than other cars for me.

 

I had the same problem. My wallet was pressing on my hip so that I could not sit square in the seat. I remedied it by taking my wallet out before I get in the car. I put the wallet in between the parking brake and the console. Comfort is much better. I have the lumbar support so that helps. With adjustment I like the sport seats a lot.

 

Do you have one of those George Costanza wallets? If I recall, that hurt his back too.

 

I had this problem in my older car which was a manual shifter. My left thigh would ache after long drives but it was because the seat was not adjustable in that it wouldn't allow for tilting.
Now, I drive an e60 manual but I tilt the front of the seat downward so that it is closer to being horizontal. This distributes my body weight over more surface area of my thighs and I'm able to step on the clutch pedal without problems for hours on end.
I would like to be able to do this too, but my wallet always falls through.

 

I've started having upper back problems only since getting my e60. I bought a "lower" seat support and that has seemed to work - at least so far. Wasn't sure if it was the lack of the lumbar support or not. I'm 6' and 2...much!

 

I have to say that I found the sports seats in my E60 to be superb. If you have a reasonably long leg I found that the most comfortable position was to tilt the base of the seat so that the front section is raised and the rear section lowered. I then pulled out the under thigh support. In this position your thighs are properly supported by being raised higher than your hips and this gives much better comfort. If you have the base set too flat or the seat tilted in the reverse way you will put unecessary strain on your thighs which will transmit to your back as your body automatically compensates for the pressure on your legs to support themselves.

The backrest angle is a matter of preference but I found that tilting it back just around 5 to 10 degrees from the vertical gave good support.

 

the sport seats are the worst.... it's not you.... my back was also hurting after 2 weeks in the 545i sport..... too MUCH lumbar, in at it's lowest setting...

 

I've got my sport seats set up nicely - no pain and I like the support and fit. There's an article in the new BMW Magazine. The article quotes doctors and the head instructor at BMW Driver Training. Among other things, they discuss seating position:


"The correct sitting position, which includes having the seat height as high as possible, also includes sitting at a distance from the steering wheel so that your outstretched arms meet the sides of the wheel with your wrists, and the distance to the pedals should be such that when the clutch pedal is fully depressed, the knee is still bent. Also, remember to take your wallet out of your back pocket; there are still plenty of drivers who sit uncomfortably on their small change and then wonder why they have back pains."


I'm of only average height, yet I have the front bolster extended a bit, so it meets me at the knee joint. I find that extending it actually lowers the pad a little so that it isn't pressing up into the back of my left leg when the clutch is depressed.

It's funny, I was at the orthopaedic surgeon a couple of weeks ago (unrelated knee thing) and I asked him if there was any rule or trick to getting the seat in your car set up correctly, and he said not really. Then this article came out...

 

Comfort greatly improved for me. Since buying the e60 I find that the wallet hardly presses at all on my hip.