Oooh, I like the Saab idea. Jeremy Clarkson will tell you that 9000 seats are the most comfortable he's ever sat in. And he apparently has back problems as well.

A 99-00 LS400 or 01-budget LS430 would be great. Both are awesome cars that are a pleasure to drive around. I dream of doing a 1999 LS400 with a W58 Manual swap.

Any early '00's buick will do the trick, but make sure it has a 3800 engine. The 3100 and 3400's are dogshit.

My old man owned an 04 pontiac gto for a while and those seats were facking awesome! So soft and comfy, yet supportive. They should have sourced them for the vette. :rofl:

Minivan or older buick. The newer minivans ride like a cloud, and you can haul a lot of ----. Older buick speaks for itself, the seats are like EZ-Boys. :D

Yeah you didn't seem like a minivan kinda guy but my wife's new Honda Odyssey rides really nice and the captains chairs are pretty comfy. Gets pretty good mileage although we use it almost exclusively for in town driving so I can;'t give you a good highway estimate

DJP:

The nerve pain is what gets me while driving. While I get muscular pain that grows throughout the day, it's a minor inconvenience compared to the nerve pain until it starts giving me a headache mid-afternoon and I start with the heavier drugs.

Options are the bone spur removals and disc replacement as soon as I'm to the point I feel like it's the last option. I'm holding off due to mixed reviews on both, but I try to stay open minded. I'm also cognizant that the longer I wait, the more options there are. I was told my bone spurs would likely grow back every 5yrs as it's basically the vertebrae trying to expand its footprint to compensate for not being positioned correctly. I have two more discs on their way out, and would like to wait and have them all replaced at once. My philosophy is to basically wait a decade and hopefully not need too many more surgeries throughout my life, instead of starting now and going back every few years.



Thanks for all the suggestions. It's funny how I can see a land yacht now and look at is just as longingly as I used to gaze at sports cars. All good engineering...just different purposes.



I hadn't considered a minivan. If they ride nice I will. Don't like the idea, but it's all for comfort now, and if they basically have car springs on a car chassis just with mega suspension travel then I could see how they'd be great.

On the lower end of the budget, what about a car built for fat guys to sit in all day long?

That's right, I'm talking about a police package Crown Vic.

While shopping for a low budget car for my mother, who needed rear seat space for my children's carseats, I had the opportunity to drive a couple.

The ones within her budget, and almost all P71s, have pretty high miles. They certainly were floaty, but still crashy. Shocks can be replaced easy enough though and there are some upgrade options, including self-leveling air suspension kits.

If I had a little more cash I'd be looking for a nice single owner '04 (rack and pinion's first year, along with updated frame).

I would suggest reading up on the Lotus Probax seats. There was a whole thread I stumbled upon with people raving that there back problems go away in the Lotus. Being dead serious.

^ that would kill me or make me wish I was dead. I have both sciatic (spelling?) nerves pinched off. For me pain now is way better than sittting in a humvee for 16hrs or running in 100lbs of gear all day long. My dad has had some serious spine issues, much worse than mine. To be honest he like riding his BMW K1200gt more than any car. He wears a homedepot style back brace to keep his posture right and loves it. He says (and I agree now) it's a lot better than the seats in his Stang with all the lubar stuff. He actually loves his '09 STI. It rides okay for him, but its the "huggyness" of the seats is what does it. Keeps him from getting tossed around like cars with flat seats. For us it's more about posture and not fighting factory crappy car seats. He likes my old sparcos but they are to hard to get in and out as you probably know. On a side note our old Mitsu Montero had a fully independant suspention for the drivers seat.

Side view
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1336541732
3/4 view
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1336541732
this was in 1986, ours even had a shock and little handle to lock it if need be

Edit-if I remember right the little rotary knob even adjusted preload and I want to say we trimmed the bumbstop to be more linear and not hit so suddenly after an airborn landing off roading. Drivers seat was A LOT more compfy than the pass.

+1. In your price range, an early LS is the best option out there. Bank-vault quality, awesome reliability, relatively low maintenance cost, and very, very comfy (even when the kids get older).

Another vote on the 430. If I was in the market for a comfy and nice car, it would for sure be an LS430. I found a lot of respect for them in the little while that I worked at Lexus. Anything other than the LS430 would be a stupid move in my book.

...and an LSx fits.

Aw ---- yeah. Though the V8 in it could be made to be quite fun.

How about this:



http://bringatrailer.com/2012/05/08/...w-e34-touring/

Just throwing this out there: if you haven't already, consider talking to your doctor about Lyrica. For me, the only negative side effect I have ever noticed is that it hyper intensifies the effects of alcohol. I have a pretty high tolerance for my size, but the couple of times I have forgotten and taken the pill and then had one or two cocktails, it ended poorly. It's like a lightswitch from sober to holy------I'm-drunk!

I have two bulging discs that press on a nerve cluster in my lower back. I was started on muscle relaxants and other normal pain relievers with no improvement. If I forget my Lyrica, I definitely notice a huge difference.

Good luck; chronic pain is a huge bummer.

This was my experience when I owned a stereotypical Grand Marquis: literally one-owner, old lady car with sheets on the seats. Floaty, but crashy. Worst of both worlds. Mine was a '92.

Lexus GS400/430?

Comfy and fast. Not great fuel econ though.

I think I'm sold on the Lexus. I've had one before and it was the perfect vehicle, for what we use vehicles for daily.

I have debated just putting in a sprung seat. Not sure how well that'll work in in a light, stiffly sprung hatch.

Sciatic pain sucks. I do have some, but it only pops up once a month when I do something stupid. I do not envy anyone that has it bad.

I was taking Lyrica. It helped some. Wife and I made a deal, no more prescriptions (I was on 5 different things at the time, and had tried over a dozen prior). She lets me stay stoned (7/10) all day simply because it works. I vaporize instead of smoking for both financial and health reason. Helps me relax, lowers pain level without knocking it out, no violent return of pain like with Rx narcotics, and makes yoga, normal stretching & PT very effective.

It also helps me keep a positive attitude, which is honestly the largest factor in dealing with chronic pain aside from the mechanics of what is really going on.