What have you done to make your front seats more comfortable?

[Dephcon]

Same problem with my 97's - torn and worn out. Added Wet Okole set covers because they look nice and it was cheaper then re-upholstering. That said the thick mil neoprene makes them crazy comfy. Only drawback it they tend to trap heat.

Good and bad news. I just bought some Wet Okoles and there in the mail. I good thing the AC still works.

 

[pluton]

The 3rd gens use the gimmick of tilting the seat bottoms back to make you feel you're in a "bigger car", which, of course, doesn't work. They are trying to hide the fact that you're basically sitting near the floor(like all small cars).
They're just tilted back, which makes pivoting around to see behind an act of extreme contortion.
I had the seat bottom re-stuffed with very firm foam, so the bottom feels like one of those racing seats.
Then, I added 1' spacers below the seat's rear leg attachment points in the floor; now it's not tilted quite so far back.

Next, soon, I plan to peel back the front of the bottom seat cover, and shave away about 1/2 to 3/4" of the bottom front bolster, a section that rises up, cuts off circulation to my legs, and again gives that "tilted back in the chair" orientation that I dislike.
UPDATE:
Tried this today, but the mechanical structure of the non-power, SR5 seat was way more complicated than my previous 2nd gen SR5 seat, so I abandoned that adventure in favor of of a much more elegant, but experimental, solution:
I'm leaving 80 to 100 pound of sandbags on the offending high-rise part of the seat bottom. This should, over a period of weeks or months, crush it down(so the theory goes) and I'll be left with a denser, de-sprung, lower foam area at the bottom front. We'll see............

 

[baja1]

did adding seat foam make it seem like you lost headroom?

 

[3rzrunner]

I saw someone swap in Land Rover Discovery seats in a 4Runner, there's a thread if you search. Now those seats are comfy! Not for tall people though, you'll hit your head.

that's me! except they are not discovery seats, I swapped it RANGE ROVER seats

boy are they comfy... :car:

 

[NorthernRunner]

Thanks for the information guys! Lots to work with. Swapping out the existing foam for memory foam might be a good option, as would spacing the seat so it sits more level. It is really annoying as a 6 foot tall person that I have to lean forward in the seat to reach the dashboard controls...

Swapping out the seats is obviously the route to go - just need to find some seats. And some time. I was hoping there would be a good quick fix.

 

[pluton]

did adding seat foam make it seem like you lost headroom?

Yes it did. That, and re-tilting the seat forward. I'm 5'11" and I wouldn't recommend re-tilting AND re-stuffing with stiffer foam to anyone taller than me.

 

[cajieboy]

Short of swapping the seats out, what have you done to improve comfortability in your front seats? The Subaru I drove before my 4Runner had nice seats; ditto the Alero before that. On long trips I've found that I get a sore lower back even with the lumbar support on the cloth seats. I do a lot of yoga and stretch when I take breaks, which alleviates the problem, but I'd like to do something to make the seats more bearable on long trips.

My wife and I take long driving trips, and the first thing we noticed after coming from a 2nd Gen 4Runner to the 3rd Gen were the uncomfortable front seats. Over time, we've grown more accustomed to them, but still they are lacking in quality support IMHO. Some folks here have given some useful suggestions so maybe I'll try one out. I'm a bit reluctant to spend any big money on this particular 4Runner as I've been mulling over the possibilty of selling it, and then buy either another 4Runner with low mileage or the 4Runner's rich cousin, the GX-470.