Ever look at a used or new vehicle specification and wonder what an 8 way seat adjustment means?
Passengers adjusting the passenger seat do so for comfort. Drivers adjust the drivers seat for both comfort (ergonomics) and safety. Positioning the seat correctly can improve visibility, improve access to the brakes, gas, steering, controls and also lessen the damage done to your body in an automobile collision.
Seats can be adjusted 6 way, 8 way, 10 way and 12 way. There might be other ‘ways’ but those are the ones I can think of. Seat position is either manually adjusted or power adjusted or a combination of both. An example of a combination would be an “eight way seat adjustment, six power” That would mean six of the positions you can adjust can be done with the touch of a button, two manual. Typically, (and I think I’m close here so correct me if I’m wrong,) the two you’d have to change manually would be he angle of the back rest so that you can sit more upright or lean back.
I was interested in this topic because my 1995 Civic, which I wrote a loving tribute about, has well over 200,000 miles on it and still going strong. From time to time I dabble in considering a new car but don’t have the heart to euthanize my Honda so I keep driving (it runs great). Anyway, seats…. My car seat only adjusts 4 ways (front,back plus back rest tilts forward and backward). That’s it.
OK, what does ‘eight way’ mean anyway? An eight way adjustable seat typically includes the following eight adjustments:
1. You can move the seat up toward the ceiling. Are you sitting too low, you can adjust the height of the seat in your car upward.
2. You can move the seat down toward the floor. Is your head hitting the ceiling? Too close to the roof? Lower the seat
3. Lean back in the chair. If you are too upright you can adjust the seat so you lean back.
4. Position the back rest forward. Move the back rest up so that you are sitting more straight up.
5. Slide the seat toward the dashboard. If you are to far away from the pedals, wheel or gauges, you can pull the seat forward
6. Slide the seat backward. Find yourself crammed into the steering wheel? Are your knees touching your chest? Push the seat back
7. Change the pitch of the seat backward. Hard to explain but this is sort of like rocking back in your classroom chair in school (which I’m sure your teacher yelled at your about :-)
8. Move the pitch of the seat forward. Opposite of #7 above.
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I’ve heard people say that the lumbar adjustment should be in there too but I don’t think that is typically counted in the one through eight adjustments. I’m thinking lumbar is counted as a completely extra feature when available.
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