Seats...
Got the buckets and have been considering the move ever since. Never thought much about it as i ordered the car in Dec 05 and they just looked fab. They are tight. I'm 6'2" and 13.5 st but i quite like the 'gripped' feeling and I've been very comfy on 3hr runs. The seat leather does seem to be a little slack - even after a month or so. My wife hates the seats! She is slightly 'wider' than me and wouldn't like to go for anymore than shortish runs in it. Seing as we have a large Volvo Estate for her and the family it doesn't really bother us (read 'me'!). So in short - you might love them, but your family might not!
Got the buckets and have been considering the move ever since. Never thought much about it as i ordered the car in Dec 05 and they just looked fab. They are tight. I'm 6'2" and 13.5 st but i quite like the 'gripped' feeling and I've been very comfy on 3hr runs. The seat leather does seem to be a little slack - even after a month or so. My wife hates the seats! She is slightly 'wider' than me and wouldn't like to go for anymore than shortish runs in it. Seing as we have a large Volvo Estate for her and the family it doesn't really bother us (read 'me'!). So in short - you might love them, but your family might not!
PS: Does anyone know the price of changing them to Recaros - bet it's not cheap!!
PS: Does anyone know the price of changing them to Recaros - bet it's not cheap!!
Deffo won't be cheap as there are extra electric adjustment (motors) bits in them too. I understand the recaros are a fair bit heavier as a result
.
You could always sell your family to pay for them!!

You could always sell your family to pay for them!!
Current
'10 Nissan GT-R Black Edition, Kuro Black.
'59 Scirocco 2.0 TFSI
'09 RSV4 Factory
'08 Aprilia SXV 550
Car park in the sky
'07 RS4, Phantom black saloon
'57 Clio 197
'04 Aprilia RSVR Factory. Black.
E46 M3 SMG, Alpine white
E46 320i coupe
E36 328is coupe
VW golf VR6
Screw you guys!' - Eric Cartman
'10 Nissan GT-R Black Edition, Kuro Black.
'59 Scirocco 2.0 TFSI
'09 RSV4 Factory
'08 Aprilia SXV 550
Car park in the sky
'07 RS4, Phantom black saloon
'57 Clio 197
'04 Aprilia RSVR Factory. Black.
E46 M3 SMG, Alpine white
E46 320i coupe
E36 328is coupe
VW golf VR6
Screw you guys!' - Eric Cartman
The one problem with the hard backs to the buckets is the feet marks from the Kids (if you have them) when they are sat in the back (particularly on booster seats). They leave dusty / muddy footprints which show up more on the hard plastic than perhaps a softer leather. Easy enough to wipe down again, but I thought I would add it in 

- PetrolDave
- Cruising
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- Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:28 am
- Location: Southampton, Hampshire UK
Just to add to the debate, I'm 5'11" and about 12st. Came from an M3 which I always thought was pretty good on the seat comfort front. Test drives in both cab and saloon were only with the Recaros, and whilst they were comfortable, I found myself moving around on the seats a bit too much under "enthusiatic" driving (have sports seats on the wife's Boxster as well, so I guess we like to feel snug). Decided to opt for the standard buckets, but having also gone for SS+, was a little worried that it may have been the wrong decision.
But after a couple of months' ownership including a couple of two-hour-plus trips I can safely say that they are the most comfortable seats yet - worth a bit of fiddling to get teh driving/seating position right, but no sign of back-ache at all. I suspect that some larger individuals may find them a bit restrictive, but our only complaint is that the sport button does not activate the front passenger seat as well as the driver's!
Technique for getting in and out resembleds that of an Elise - one hand on sill and other on steering wheel/A pillar and drop in /lift out: relatively little wear on the bolsters and not too inelegant.
Have fun
But after a couple of months' ownership including a couple of two-hour-plus trips I can safely say that they are the most comfortable seats yet - worth a bit of fiddling to get teh driving/seating position right, but no sign of back-ache at all. I suspect that some larger individuals may find them a bit restrictive, but our only complaint is that the sport button does not activate the front passenger seat as well as the driver's!
Technique for getting in and out resembleds that of an Elise - one hand on sill and other on steering wheel/A pillar and drop in /lift out: relatively little wear on the bolsters and not too inelegant.
Have fun

6ft and usually about 14st but have dipped to 13 at present........... have to say that I find the bucket seats very comfortable, support all the right bits and if you take the time to adjust them, you wont find a more comfortable seat for long journeys. Sports setting can be a bit confining if you have stuff in your pockets, I have turned off the seat option in spoort mode and control it manually if I find I need more support or holding.
Jason
Will you be parking your RS4 in a garage and if so will you have the room to open the car door without restriction? I found that my garage was to small to open the door fully and to get in and out of the bucket seats in that situation was a right pain, especially bearing in mind that I would be doing that at least twice a day every day of the week and trying to lift myself at the same time in an attempt to avoid undue wear on the seat base side bolster.
Will you be parking your RS4 in a garage and if so will you have the room to open the car door without restriction? I found that my garage was to small to open the door fully and to get in and out of the bucket seats in that situation was a right pain, especially bearing in mind that I would be doing that at least twice a day every day of the week and trying to lift myself at the same time in an attempt to avoid undue wear on the seat base side bolster.
After just driving to the Nurburgring, some 468 miles in one go, and back again 2 days later, I can honestly say they were awesome and very comfortable. I am 6'6" and weigh far too much and they were great.
2500 in 3 weeks and not 1 complant.
2500 in 3 weeks and not 1 complant.
Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
I think the buckets and flat wheel are all part of the RS4 package and add a real wow factor to the interior.
I suppose the problem with such tight buckets is they have to be made to fit around an average frame, so its understandable that some people dont fit.
I seem to remember the Mac SLR and the Enzo offer 3 different sizes for the seats, which is obviously much easier for low volume models.
At least Audi offer an alternative and its still a top quality seat.
Lancaster Audi in Manchester have an orange S3 with the RS4 seats and it looks fab but the seats look too big for the car.
I suppose the problem with such tight buckets is they have to be made to fit around an average frame, so its understandable that some people dont fit.
I seem to remember the Mac SLR and the Enzo offer 3 different sizes for the seats, which is obviously much easier for low volume models.
At least Audi offer an alternative and its still a top quality seat.
Lancaster Audi in Manchester have an orange S3 with the RS4 seats and it looks fab but the seats look too big for the car.
2007 RS4 Avant Phantom Black - Buckets - sat nav - SS+ - Privacy - 6CD - window blinds - carbon inlays - GSM prep - homelink - auto dimming mirror - pogo alert
2008 X5 3.0sd M-Sport
2006 535d M Sport Touring Silver Grey SOLD
2008 X5 3.0sd M-Sport
2006 535d M Sport Touring Silver Grey SOLD
My issue wasn't the comfort or wear, but the hassle of multiple drivers. All of the posts say how good the buckets are when properly adjusted, but my partner and I are totally different size / shape / height and I could see a time when I was spending whole journeys just wondering whether I'd got the seat back to the perfect position.
In the end went for the Recaros with memory to remove all doubt
If I was the only driver (and without children needing rear space) then I'd have probably gone for the buckets, but there's still the hassle of mechanics and even the car wash people moving your seat!
In the end went for the Recaros with memory to remove all doubt
If I was the only driver (and without children needing rear space) then I'd have probably gone for the buckets, but there's still the hassle of mechanics and even the car wash people moving your seat!
Now got my log in sorted and swapped back from JayBee.. Just to update, I bought a car last night, Dec 06 with Recaro's.... and a few other toys
Jason
Jason

June 08 S5 ¦ Phantom Black ¦ Black Silk Nappa Interior ¦ Carbon Trim ¦ DVD Nav Plus ¦ DAB Radio ¦ AMI ¦ Phone Prep High ¦ Bang & Olufsen ¦ Parking Plus ¦ Heated Memory Seats ¦ Auto Dipping Rear & Side Electrically Folding Mirrors ¦ Adaptive Xenon's and no Mod's just yet

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