Nutty. I think moving your seat back would totally change the effectiveness of the airbag system, but I am not sure.

What I really like about the '10 Forester is the height of the seating position, but then again, I am 5'11".

 

probably right about air bags

Thanks, you are probably right about the air bags effectiveness.

I am a little taller, about 6:1 and just need a couple more inches leg room. But, I think I can lower the seat all the way, which helps length - and then put in a couple of more inches foam into the bottom of the seat, which would raise me up.

thanks again.

 

Or you could of bought a car you were comfortable in. :crazy:

 

Yea..it doesn't get any more basic than that. :icon_frown:

 

At 6'1" I don't think it should be a problem. My buddy is 6'3" and he fits just fine but he is in the passenger seat, so I don't really know. Best of luck

 

Could be a difference of long legs and a short body vs. a long body with short legs. Not everybody is proportional.

 

Maybe swap in a set of 08+ WRX or STi seats. They sit a couple inches lower and would probably help.

 

I really need more leg room in my 2010 Forester... Is it possible to safely and legally move the seat back 2 inches?...

Are you sure you need to do this? Have you leaned the seat enough? Do you think you could comfortably reach the steering wheel if it was 2" further away?

I ask because I am 6'-2" tall and my 2008 powered seat goes back further than I need. I don't use it all the way back.

 

seats and steering wheel

I've read of other Forester owners swaping out the seats for for 08's. I think if I put more padding in the bottom of the seat I can raise it enough to keep the frame of the seat in the lowerst position. That gives the most leg room.

I wish the steering wheel could tilt. That adjustment would help a lot. However, I am going to try those knobs that some people put on their wheel. I could make the wheel itself a little larger with a wheel cover and a steering knob.

Yeah, I probably should not have bought the 2010 Forester. I am modifing the driver's area in 4 different ways to fit better. Arm rests would help a lot, so I am adding to the arm rests in the Subaru. Few of these crossovers come with arm rests. Honda does, but it's not nearly as good off road or in snow as Subaru.

If it weren't for the pressure to close a deal on the last weekend of the clunker sale, and the few remaining crossovers of any make I would have taken more time to test vehicles - or bought a used car, which can be returned within 4 days.

Thanks for you guy's help. I will post photos of how I wind up modifing the driver's area. I will work on it over the weekend.

 

... I think if I put more padding in the bottom of the seat I can raise it enough to keep the frame of the seat in the lowerst position. That gives the most leg room...

Easier than that, see if you can add washers under the front seat mounts to raise the front edge. On my Scion xB, I removed the front bolts, loosed the rear bolts, bought thick washers to make two stacks 1/2 inch high, bought longer bolts to accommodate the washers, and so rotated the front edge of the seat upward. It gave a little more legroom.

 

steering wheel knob= bad, in the trucking world they are know as suicide knobs being that things catch on them and send you into on coming traffic, also they may or may not be illegal in some places

 

Great simple idea Vintage! Extra washers and bolts

that is a good idea! Simply put more washers and bolts into the existing seat. It will add a bit of leg room. many thanks!

PS - I wondered if those steering wheel knobs were safe

 

Steve....I feel your pain. I just bought a '10 FXT with manual seat. I have a tilt/tele steering wheel so that's not an issue. But I have the seat all the way down and back and my right let leans on the console and it tends to hurt. That's because the motion of the foot on the gas petal tightens the muscles on the outside of the calf where it leans on the console.

I've made some pretty good mods on past cars, so I'll be looking under this seat soom to see how it works.

On one of my cars I moved the gas pedal surface away around 3/4" and that relaxed the muscles that I described which really helped.

I'm 6'3" and an tallest in the legs. There are only a few cars in the world that I consider well designed for tall preople. But it's really an individual thing.....for instance, my salesman was 6'7" and did not put his seat all the way back on his assigned personal Forester!!!!!

I don't see any suggestion made thus far as useful. The washer thing would work a bit if the seat mounted on a flat floor...but it doesn't. Keep me informed and I'll keep you in the loop as well. I have ideas but not chance to investigate them yet. One inch would make a real noticeable difference and at that distance I would not worry about the airbag.

Bob

 

Can't just put washers under the mounting bolts, they bolt into a near-vertical surface. You'd need to either fabricate a plate to act as a link, or drill out the rivets that retain the rails to the brackets. That's what I did, replacing them with bolts and adding a spacer.

Be warned tho, it's not a 5-min job as the rails have a couple of spotwelds too that need cut through.

 

Can't just put washers under the mounting bolts, they bolt into a near-vertical surface...

I put a stack of washers 1/2 inch high under the front bolts of my Scion seat. I temporarily loosened the rear bolts to allow front of the seat to be raised enough to get the washers under each side, and there was enough slop in the bolt holes for the new longer bolts to point straight down into their holes and screw in.
Are you saying this cannot be done with the Forester seat?

 

I think you should just drive it and get used to it. Most of the time such an extreme mod shouldn't be needed for someone of your height.

Your body will tell you that you have the desire to be in a different position, but it often stops after a while if you just get it as comfortable as you can within the adjustable range.

(By the way, I'm over 6'2" and drive a 2010. All of the thoughts I once had about adjustment have drifted away over the months of driving).

 

Hi Bob,

You said in an earlier post that: "On one of my cars I moved the gas pedal surface away around 3/4" and that relaxed the muscles that I described which really helped."

Do you mean that you moved the gas pedal surface away from the console? How did you do that? (I have the same problem, and the gas pedal position is causing cramping in my right leg).

Thanks for your help!

 

No...I was able to move the gas pedal closer to the floor ('01 Maxima), giving the right foot an opportunity to straighten more. That relaxes the calf muscles and prevents pain where the calf touches the console. However, that mod will not work on the Forester.
BUT, I have a plan to use angle iron and construct a replacement platform to mount the seat on, moving it back perhaps 1.5 in. A drawback will be having to raise the seat around 1/4". But I'll be able to consider giving it a little rearward tilt at the same time. I'll photo and post the hack here when I do it. I was trying to get used to it but unless I can use cruise control alot, my leg is getting pretty sore.

Bob

 

Hey Guys,

I posted this on here but have now updated the discussion on a LONG post with solutions. There are some pretty easy work arounds to the seat comfort issues. Exept it's hard to make the seat longer.

But, you can get more knee room. The pain in the legs from the right knee can be awful. I had to remove and cut out an 8 inch section of the plastic center console. I describe it in the post about half way down. A new console cost $116, if I sell the car down the road. It is the only way to gain the extre 3 inches I needed for my right knee. It made the difference between the car being driveable or not.

Call me Extreme Steve, but now I am driving a lot more comfortably, Other than the front seats this is a great car. I have thought about sellling it, but would lose too much money.

Here is the link, scroll down to the section about the right knee, the gas pedal and the console. Email me if you want more info.

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbull...ter.org/vbulletin/f77/solutions-drivers-seat-problems-back-pain-leg-pain-62698/