Katzkin ALTERNATIVES??? Leather Seat Cover opions?

[tekdeus]

I plan on buying new leather within the next month (like a lot of guys). Since the katzkinz deal is out, can anyone offer feedback on their experiences with some vendors like leatherseats.com or autoleathers.com? Any complaints about quality and fitment from various dealers? Turnaround time after ordering? I only want to do this once and do it right, and I've seen some photos around with Mk3 leather seat covers that look a little wrinkled and saggy from poor fitment.

I found these photos on the net a while back and want to do something very similar. Check out the quallity of the fitment. No wrinkles period and perfect stitching. Do you think this is possible for the do-it-yourselfers? Or is this kind of quality only possible professionally/custom done? Cheers - B.

 

[Suprastic]

The wrinkle on the front of the seats s called a gathered insert. Both website have the option of gathers or flat, like the pics shown. The foam in seats break down over time, and they all break down differently. There is a good possibility that those seats were stitched up by a local upholstey shop, and NOT by a general template that would be used by an online distributer. I ordered a set of seat covers from www.leatherseats.com . The customer sevice was excellent, and emails were prompt. (I've emailed katskinz 3 times with no replies to follow) I personally like the puckered up look of the gathered inserts, and ordered a set. Production time was 12-14 days and the another 5 days or so for delivery. I'll post pics whe I get mine in next week sometime. Im also goint to contact Bill Coon at leatherseats.com and see about a possible GB.

 

[Jetfixr757]

The wrinkle on the front of the seats s called a gathered insert. Both website have the option of gathers or flat, like the pics shown. The foam in seats break down over time, and they all break down differently. There is a good possibility that those seats were stitched up by a local upholstey shop, and NOT by a general template that would be used by an online distributer. I ordered a set of seat covers from www.leatherseats.com . The customer sevice was excellent, and emails were prompt. (I've emailed katskinz 3 times with no replies to follow) I personally like the puckered up look of the gathered inserts, and ordered a set. Production time was 12-14 days and the another 5 days or so for delivery. I'll post pics whe I get mine in next week sometime. Im also goint to contact Bill Coon at leatherseats.com and see about a possible GB.

Was yours $750? That's what mine will come to, got to finish the engine first.
William

 

[Suprastic]

I actually bought a 100% vinyl kit since it will last longer and doesn't require as much conditioning as leather. I think it came to $630 after shipping and install kit. Im going to see what kind of GB prices I can get.

 

[born2drv]

I paid $600 for my seats.... two tone black and burgundy, 100% perforated and non-perforated leather (it's perforated in the same spots as the oringal ones were, and the pattern was matched almost exactly). Price included labor to install too, they even removed the seats and reinstalled. Everything is leather, even the back... except the rear pouch thingy... he recovered that thing in vinyl and reused the original netting.

It's not super 100% tight like factory since it was all done by hand, but its damn close, and it was a great price.

Look for yourself:

 

[born2drv]

PS - I had the option of having my seats done in a different pattern, and it would have been much tigher with less wrinkles, but I wanted to keep the factory pattern. Each row or long pillow thingy or whatever you call it that are in the middle, is actually 3 peices of leather for each row. It's much more work involved.

The pics you show just have a few peices of leather with some cloth in the middle... even if you look at the sides, it does not have that thin strip of leather seperate, it's made into one large peice. Something like that is much easier to make, And with much larger and fewer pieces, and less stitching it will obviously have less wrinkles.

 

[MKivSupra_Rob]

By being slightly loose like that i'll bet they'll last alot longer without cracking then if they were as tight as possible

 

[born2drv]

That's true, I never thought of it that way. If I had my choice of a handmade factory replica or a supertight cover that just fits over the cushions and doesn't retain the same pattern, i'd rather have the factory replica even if slightly looser. Other people may opt for the other way. Or you could pay big bucks I'm sure to get a perfect factory replica. All things considered with price, etc I'm very happy with how mine came out

 

[Suprastic]

You paid ~$600 for just the front seats though. Also if your cars are Targa the UV rays will attack the leather and wear it out and crack it much, much sooner than Vinyl. The vinyl I got looks and feel like leather, but uts stronger and more durable. Also less expensive. Also the pemium kits that you guys see on the net are 40% leathers (front eat surfaces) and 60% (vinyl). I didn't see it being worth spending the extra money and having a lesser quality material on the parts of the seats that would wear down the fastest, The front seating surfaces and side bolsters. A full leather kit runs around $1100 from an online distributer. Give me until later this evening or tomorrow and I'll have a price for a GB.

 

[born2drv]

Maybe other people will like vinyl, do you have pics? I'd still prefer real leather though. Especially in summer time I don't want my ass sweating and sticking to the seat

I'm going to get my rears done next, he quoted me $300, same two-tone leather.

But I'm sure some people would rather have vinyl for longer wear. I'd still like to see pics

 

[Kyle87T]

ooo GB price

 

[Suprastic]

Maybe other people will like vinyl, do you have pics? I'd still prefer real leather though. Especially in summer time I don't want my ass sweating and sticking to the seat

I'm going to get my rears done next, he quoted me $300, same two-tone leather.

But I'm sure some people would rather have vinyl for longer wear. I'd still like to see pics

I'll post pics when I get the new covers in next week. Also you can still get perferated vinyl. I was like you and wanted leather and not vinyl. When I got samples of both in the same color, I was hard pressed to notice any difference. Also when I talked to several upholstery shop locally to cross reference what Bill said about vinyl and leather, all the shops and owners agreed. Its just a better decision, especially if you have a targa. I was still saying "but its vinyl" in my head, but is also looked and felt the same as leather, and came with the option of perferation, however still less expensive and longer lasting.

Those who want to take part in this possible GB will have the option of 100% vinyl, premium kit, and 100% full leather kit. The decision is up to you to make, I've just told you some of the benefits and disadvantages of each

 

[tekdeus]

I know that there is some quality leather-like vinyl out there. What are the other differences? Does it smell like plastic? How is it in hot and cold compared to winter? What's the advatage of perforation? Cooler? Less leg sweat?

 

[Suprastic]

vinyl will hold up better to UV rays. Looks and smells like leather. wont crack as easily in the winter unlike leather

Perforation helps the material breath better, resulting in a semi-cooler seat, and prevents your ass from ssticking to it somewhat compared to non-perforated

 

[GrimJack]

FYI, the vinyl they make these days is a far cry from the stuff they put in you parents 1965 station wagon.

The quality, durability, and feel has improved over the years until it's literally indistinguishable from leather.

As a matter of fact, high end vinyl actually costs a fair bit more than leather... plus it feels better and wears out in literally 10x the time.