releasedtruth

<rant> Alright, here's the scoop, I've been reading about these companies doing business with us regarding leather interior and people argue over quality. What I seem to be realizing is that it's all the same company that makes it, just different distributors. Let me know what you guys find out, ATP, Leatherseats.com, Classic soft trim, Katzkin, I think it's all the same quality and yes, it's pretty good, but my front seat isn't wearing all that well after only 9 months and I am religious with the cleaner/conditioner. I'd really like some super quality leather and be willing to pay for it, but not if everyone is selling the same stuff! The question is, if it's all the same then how can people say one is better than the other besides price? I'd just like other options besides Katzkin...</end rant>

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Umm leatherseats.com plainly states on their site that they sell Katskin...

araffio

iTrader: (9)

I looked on LeatherSeats.com and couldn't find their statement about selling Katzkin leather.


-Tony

Y2KSESteve

iTrader: (22)

ASU174's custom leather is real good quality. Looks better than the leatherseats.com's kits...

releasedtruth

Looks like a Katzkin kit to me, guys here in town finally admitted their stuff is the same. I like mine, just not the wearability of it so far. I'd almost prefer the vinyl feeling slippery leather, just cause it seems to wear better

Dave B

Hmmm, I've had my black/charcoal leather kit from Leatherseats.com for over 20 months now and it's shown absolutely no wear and tear. It bakes in 100+ outside heat and freezes in subzero temps. No problems. It's lightyears ahead of the factory leather in terms of feel, quality, and grip (you don't slide around).


Dave

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

So you got Katzkin?

Who locally installed it?

If you don't mind, how much to install?

releasedtruth

I have leatherseats Katzkin, there's only one small place that's not wearing well, under my big black azz, the rest looks and feels great. Jamis wouldn't tell me what kits they use, then I said I'd get one and they said it was Katzkin and I didn't get it anyway. They wanted 600 for install, other places were talking 300-450 for install, I did it myself. Won't do it myself again, came out great, but it's no fun at all

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, I've hear of Jamis, I think.

IIRC, Marvin Strickland used to run it or some place similar and left, but he started up "Custom Creations Upholstery" so I'm told. I have his business card, but it's pretty old.

I plan on giving him a call and seeing what leather he uses SOMEDAY. Otherwise, I know a kick **** place in Vegas that replaced my Uncles' BMW white leather. Looked AWESOME, but cost biiiiiiig money.

pjalst

Had my leather for over a year, same company, same color, same conditions and I have the same comments. I drive my car almost every day and the leather still looks great.

97blackSE

iTrader: (1)

nubiannupe

iTrader: (9)

Sprint

iTrader: (10)

I thought leatherseats.com did not sell katzkin, but Attention to Detail did.

i had my seats for over a year and i never had any problems with them.. maybe your a$$ is too big

releasedtruth

Heh, it's just the right side of the drivers seat, it was installed damn well, but I think there's too much slack in the material because even as tight as they could be made there's a few creases starting to form in that spot. Not a huge deal, but I do want to see what other options there are, for a color change and such.

Maximam

Then go get a custom job done.

releasedtruth

Hmmm, never would have thought of that, now I know what I should do. It's all so clear to me now......

TXMAX

LOL

Frank Fontaine

I kinda think the discussion is moot because as we all know in a 30,000 (-) car, the majority of so-called leather is vinyl. Vinyl is stiff, but durable and requires not too much maintenance. Unless your talking about a car which has real leather on the sun visors and backs of the seats and doors, one has to accept that "leather" is of a lower quality than a $500 sofa from BJ's Warehouse.

Sit in a Caddy and then sit in a Nissan--you will be able to see the difference. Caddy's got some real leather goin' on.

TXMAX

Why would the discussion be moot if the question is in regard to "aftermarket" leather and where to get good leather, not what comes in a Nissan vs Caddy.

Frank Fontaine

it's called an oxymoron--"good aftermarket leather."

Go to the supplier to cadillac, they're in upstate NY. They can make you leather seat covers if you want, but relative to the price of a new maxima, hardly worth it.

releasedtruth

Basically your contention is that there is no standard manufacturer that makes quality leather in kits available for the Maxima. This may be true, but there have to be more options than we've previously listed. I like what I have far more than factory leather to be sure, just curious as to the world of possibilities...

grody

I may draw some crap for this, but oh well...

Frank, I have a 3 step program for you.

Step 1: Click here

Step 2: Click on the "buy it now" button.

Step 3: Go to the BMW boards so we don't have to listen to you talk about how the Maxima is a crappy car and how anything expensive is good and how anything inexpensive is worthless. Anytime it is the least bit warranted (and often when it is not), you start talking crap about Maximas. If they are really that bad, then please ditch yours and leave. If they are not, then quit whining about yours. Sorry if I've offended you, but it's just something that's been bugging me for a while now.

releasedtruth

That's the way to big up, nice work

JAKE02

releasedtruth

I just rode in my friends new CL-S, parchment leather, very smooth. Perforated, felt unlike a nice leather couch, more synthetic I guess. Probably the brand newness of the whole thing, but it got me thinking about different leather options again. The CL-S is near the price of the new max, but it just plain feels better. There was one guy on the board that did his seats in the reverse color on frost with the puddy outside and the grey inside, 2kseattlemax maybe? That was kind of sweet, wondered if anyone else tried that.

delerium75

When you're looking at aftermarket leather from well known suppliers, chances are that the leather won't be the highest quality--perhaps better than stock though realistically it won't be light years ahead either. If you're looking for a very high quality leather interior, then you'll probably have to check out buying your own hides and have a shop sew them up or getting your own machine and doing it yourself. Both options cost money. Once you start learing about leather, you'll find that some makers put a finish on that pretty much seals the leather (Katzkin, et al.) and the cleaners and conditioners really only soak in at the seams. In the high end market, like Spinneybeck (on their automotive grade leathers anyway), use thinner finishes that don't completely seal the hide and conditioners actually can penetrate thru the surface. Spinneybeck hides costs $7-10 per sq./ft. retail but they do come up on Ebay. At the very bottom of the market is the stuff on a lot of "leather" office chairs. This cheap stuff is usually suede with a heavy colored and embossed finish to mask the fact it's not top- or full grain leather. All things considered, I will say that I bought a hide of Katzkin leather off ebay and have slowly but surely been working on covering parts of my car (see homepage). It smells quite good and is a nice weight to work with (and I'm learning new skills!) but I'm happy I didn't pay retail. http://www.hirschauto.com sells a bunch of different leathers with a wide price range.

releasedtruth

Damn, that's some skills, nice work. Very few will ever have that level of customizing, that's for sure