Leatherseats.com after the install?

I have seen numerous pictures of Leatherseats.com installs and one in person. In all the pics and the one I have seen the leather hangs loose in places and looks like crap. I see people's comments that it takes a few weeks after install to stretch or to tighten (not sure how leather can tighten).

Does anyone have any good pics of the leatherseats.com after it settles?

I am trying to decide whether to go Katskin, Leatherseats.com, or custom. I am not changing colors or doing anything wild - just tan with center perforations (like OEM). It's just every leatherseats.com job I have seen pics of looks like it is obviously aftermarket - with the disclamer (it will settle).

So... I am just wondering if it does indeed settle? Also, how is it wearing long term? Long term install pics?

i have had the same observation- maybe there is a reason why i paid $1400 apiece to redo the seats in my latest restoration with connoly leather.
from what i can tell it is the stiching that creates issues on their stuff- it is inconsistent and no amount of stretching (or especially 'shrinking') will fix it.
it is nowhere close to stock.
i kinda feel that most folks expected much better results.
i wonder if anyone had those covers professionally installed ?
(after doing lots of stuff myself i learned to leave upholstery to guys with experience).

I installed mine myself and I have no bunching or looseness of the covers. I've seen some other sets installed that did look like crap. I used plastic snap ties to tighten the covers to the cushions. I was able to fine tune my install by adding more tightness to areas that looked like they needed to fit better. The only thing I didn't do was to add some foam at the hinge of the backrest. That would have filled out that area a little better, but otherwise everything else looks great. I'll try to get some pictures posted.

Thanks Doc. I knew that install was important, but I saw so many that looked like crap it made me wonder if it was the "one size fits all" patterns or the actual installs.

Cl65captain, I have these covers. I had them done in black like the 2002 with the preforations, and yellow stiching to match the car when it was yellow. The covers actually pretty decent, just have a professional do the install. They will need extra foam in some areas. Alot of the ones I have seen done look horrible, due to people trying to install the seat covers themselves. If you have a proffesional do them you will be happy. Give me an e-mail adress and I will get you some pictures. Frank

In my experience, getting a good snug fit is based on the experience of the installer. Most (not all) of the DIY projects I've seen have not looked that great. When I had seats on a previous car re-upholstered, I brought my seats to a vendor of katzkin. He did a great job! My passenger seat did look a little loose, but the vendor told me to wait a few weeks to see if it would settle. It never did, so I brought it back and the installer added some padding. Nice TIGHT and OEM look by the time he was done.

D.I.Y. or pro'?

CL65 Captain... as aforementioned, the proficiency/experience of the installer at'hand makes all the difference.

Going w/ Leatherseats.com is only advantageous if you do the install yourself, as the cost of the actual (2) seat-covers w/ perforated inserts, will be ~$700'ish (not including installation materials/tools) & you'd obviously provide the labor.

Whereas a local/custom interior/trim/upholstery shop can do the job for $1,000-$1,100, while custom-fabricating the seat-covers from scratch to ensure ideal/near-perfect fitment & professionally installing them (using even more custom-materials/options that cost extra ala'carte w/ Leatherseats.com such as ultra-suede/Alcantara inserts, contrast-double stitching, etc'). Very tempting to go w/ gator, cayman, 'swine, ostrich, etc'...

Here's how it breaks down:

www.leatherseats.com
+$629... NSX leather interior-kit
+$20... flat/smooth-inserts (not gathered like OEM)
+$35... perforated seat-inserts
+$35... installation-kit/tools
+$30... s/h
~$749... TOTAL

(door-panel inserts matching the perforated seat-inserts are presumably extra money)

TxChopperGuy paid $1,000'ish locally for his completely new leather-interior, and he has ultra-suede/Alcantara perforated inserts, double contrast-stitching, and a hybrid woven material (similar to CF) for his outer seat-inserts. His door-panels also matched the seat-inserts. The install in terms of fit/finish looks OEM/stock, and the construction/fabrication/detail looks very professional & classy.

AdvansCPAP.com paid $1,100'ish for his Zanardi'inspired leather-interior which included leather covering complete backside, perforated ultra-suede/Alcantara, and door inserts. Looking at the pics here, I'd give it a 9.9/10.0!

I reckon a professional install from a reputable & recommended shop who offers some sort of guarantee/warranty for the work would run $300-$400 (from what I was quoted about 3yrs ago, locally).


If you got the time, check-out these sites:

- www.autoleatherinc.com

- www.bestleatherkits.com

- www.customtrimonline.com

- www.leatherseats.com


Manufacturers...

- www.katzkin.com

- www.nwleather.com

- www.classicsofttrim.com

- www.autoskin.com

- www.trimmasters.com/bartlett.htm

^ now thats saturation...a lot of good info.

i'd love to see those pics you guys are promising, i am curious if it all up to the install with this kit (cheap doesn't mean bad:wink.

I found out the company that does the leather seats on our planes (Delta) and am going to see if/how much they would charge for the leather and do it local. http://www.perroneleather.com/

Our planes are used 7/365 with a bunch of fat ass people sitting in them and they don't show any wear, cracking at all. It might be worth it to spend the $ and have leather seats that will last. If I ever crash they won't burn and I can also use the seat bottom as a flotation device. :biggrin:

The company leatherseats has suggested these fitment issues will either be cured with time (leather will stretch), or are the result of worn foam, that can be addressed by adding additional padding when installing the seat covers.

The covers they sell replicate all of the same retention mechanisms as the OEM seat covers, and from email communication, the company contends their pattern is based off of a new OEM cover, which they disassembled and copied into a template.

The main issue I had with my covers was I had ordered suede, and was instead given alcantara (fake suede).

Scorp your FS seats were what made me start this thread... no offense, but they look like crap. I am guessing you did these DIY? If I had a pro do them and they looked like this I would bust a nut in rage!

I remember seeing other people's pics of leatherseats.com and not one I saw looked OEM. Some were much better than others, but each one had a couple of spots were it was very loose or just didn't hang right. Everyone's comment was it will stretch after awhile but I have yet to see one that got any better. That's why I started this thread to see if people were happier after the fact. As well as to see how they were wearing.



Compared to this custom job...

CL65 Captain said:

I found out the company that does the leather seats on our planes (Delta) and am going to see if/how much they would charge for the leather and do it local. http://www.perroneleather.com/

Our planes are used 7/365 with a bunch of fat ass people sitting in them and they don't show any wear, cracking at all. It might be worth it to spend the $ and have leather seats that will last. If I ever crash they won't burn and I can also use the seat bottom as a flotation device. :biggrin:

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Great idea. When you say "..do it local." do you mean get the material from them and then have professional installation, because they are in New York and you are in KY? Also, did anyone get material from leatherseats.com and have that installed professionally?

Don't really understand the "wear" issue. I have about 50K on mine and I would guess my interior is about 95%+. I admit I do a lot of internal detailing as well as external detailing as well. I always pamper the seats and take extra care of the bolsters, shampoo the carpet, etc. However, that doesn't mean I might not be opposed to an update.

Dtrigg said:

Great idea. When you say "..do it local." do you mean get the material from them and then have professional installation, because they are in New York and you are in KY? Also, did anyone get material from leatherseats.com and have that installed professionally?

Don't really understand the "wear" issue. I have about 50K on mine and I would guess my interior is about 95%+. I admit I do a lot of internal detailing as well as external detailing as well. I always pamper the seats and take extra care of the bolsters, shampoo the carpet, etc. However, that doesn't mean I might not be opposed to an update.

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Yes, have them provide the raw hides and have a local shop do the custom work. I don't know what they use but if you think about the abuse they go through on the plane, it's amazing how they hold up with no signs of cracking or wear at all.

My car is a 2000 and only 30k, but the die has shown small crack stress lines in several places. In addition the drivers side had a spot on the butt area where it had folded over and wore off the die. There are not any cracks in the seat, only in the die.

I take good care of the seats and use leatherique cleaner and their rejuvination oil. Maybe it's my ass sliding around pulling 1.5gs at the track, but they weren't wearing real well which is why I used the leatherique die. They look 10x better now, but it is apparent that the stress lines are going to come back eventually. I don't think the leather in our cars was up to par with a $90k car.

BMW has switched to a syntheic leather, which I wouldn't be opposed to if I could find it in the tan.

Stress cracks in the die.



Wear area...

My other option is Recaro PPs and having a custom tan leather done (real Type S is on the left).
The OEMs are just so damn comfy and look right in the car.

I did my own leatherseats.com install and they look pretty good. Use a LOT of hog rings is part of the secret! ALSO, i think a LOT of people don't realize that the seat bottom edges use a 'rolling tuck' or whatever to pull them tight. When I FIRST finished mine they looked really loose and then I realized I had those edges wrong, and that helped a LOT.

I'll try to post pics after they've heat shrunk....

it's the usage, not the material. . .

CL65 Captain said:

I don't think the leather in our cars was up to par with a $90k car...

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Actually, the NSX has Nappa leather (soft/thick sheep hides). Read up on it for more insights. It's pretty much as good as it gets in terms of comfort/appearance/luxurious-feel. It def' belongs on a quote/unquote $90k car. The real question is, does it belong on a high-performance oriented enthusiast sports-car? Perhaps, or perhaps not. The duality of the NSX as a comfortable weekend getaway-GT'like car & it's alter-ego as a dedicated/well-versed track-ready car creates the conundrum.

As often the case in life, doing too many things too well can create compromises. In this case, premature wear-&-tear caused by usage that is independent of actual age. . .

I agree with theman1990.

You've got to get the hog rings tight, move the leather and seams into the correct position and re-bind the edges correctly. I'm darn near 100% satisfied with the seats.

CL65 Captain said:

Scorp your FS seats were what made me start this thread... no offense, but they look like crap.

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It's pretty obvious what you did there, which is why I posted a response - I contacted leatherseats regarding their fitment after I received these covers, and relayed to you the information they gave to me.

They insist their covers are cut to the same dimensions as the stock cover.

scorp965 said:

It's pretty obvious what you did there, which is why I posted a response - I contacted leatherseats regarding their fitment after I received these covers, and relayed to you the information they gave to me.

They insist their covers are cut to the same dimensions as the stock cover.

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Did you DIY or have them pro installed? The reason I made this thread as I am trying to figure out whether to buy a set of leatherseats.com or have someone local custom recover. As you can see from this thread, some people are saying they fit great. So I am wondering if it's the install or some of these are hit or miss on the fitment from leatherseats.com?

These seats are by far the best I have seen. I wish I had someone local that could do that. Every time I see them I get jealous. :redface:

DocL said:

I installed mine myself and I have no bunching or looseness of the covers.

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Doc did an outstanding job. It's impossible to tell his newly covered seats are not aftermarket.

I on the other hand got lucky, I picked up a pair of almost brand new black seats from a new NSX exactly the way I would have ordered the new leather for the old ones. (Black with perforated seating area)
They are offered here on Prime for $1K for the pair. d0h!

Now what to do with Charlotte's old seats?

I agree, these seats look perfect! If and when I have to re-do my seats, this is EXACTLY how I'd like my seats to look! Good job.

DRIFTER said:

These seats are by far the best I have seen. I wish I had someone local that could do that. Every time I see them I get jealous. :redface:

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Re: it's the usage, not the material. . .

Osiris_x11 said:

Actually, the NSX has Nappa leather (soft/thick sheep hides). Read up on it for more insights. It's pretty much as good as it gets in terms of comfort/appearance/luxurious-feel. It def' belongs on a quote/unquote $90k car. The real question is, does it belong on a high-performance oriented enthusiast sports-car? Perhaps, or perhaps not. The duality of the NSX as a comfortable weekend getaway-GT'like car & it's alter-ego as a dedicated/well-versed track-ready car creates the conundrum.

As often the case in life, doing too many things too well can create compromises. In this case, premature wear-&-tear caused by usage that is independent of actual age. . .

Click to expand...

While on this subject, I have wondered if the leather used was a different quality in later years? To me, there is a definite difference in feel from some of the NSX seats of 1997-on versus those of 1991-95. The early ones are softer to me and the later ones seem harder.

DRIFTER said:

These seats are by far the best I have seen. I wish I had someone local that could do that. Every time I see them I get jealous. :redface:

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Does leatherseats.com offer these?

davidf said:

Does leatherseats.com offer these?

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I believe they do, but I think we are all talking about the fit and filiment of the leathers.