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Leather vs fabric

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Link24
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Leather vs fabric

Postby Link24 » February 26th, 2019, 4:39 am

What are the pros and cons of each for car seats? Does leather get too hot in trinidad weather?

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VexXx Dogg
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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby VexXx Dogg » February 27th, 2019, 1:58 pm

Good quality/premium leather (not cheap leatherette), is soft, easier to clean and cools quickly even if the sun is blazing. I used to prefer fabric, but leather is much better.

It also helps if you have UV tint, which keeps in-car temps lower than without.

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby 4Motion » February 27th, 2019, 7:04 pm

On some really hot days, the leather can get horribly hot but, it does cool down quickly. Helps to have tinted windows & keeping the sunroof closed if you have one . The pros of leather for me, definitely greater than the cons.

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby agent007 » February 28th, 2019, 4:45 pm

I like leather more than fabric because of cleaning and dust retention. Fabric seats soak up lots of dust if not vacuumed often and this recycles through your AC filter which has to be changed more often. Leather on the other hand does not retain dust like fabric and can easily be wiped of stains and spills etc. The leather I am referring to is of course high quality synthetic or real leather. Most vehicles have a combination of low quality synthetic leather and high quality type. Very few vehicles can boast of having premium real leather.

I know some people would rather have high quality fabric vs fake leather seats. Think mazda cx5 vs kia sportage respectively.

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby *KRONIK* » February 28th, 2019, 5:54 pm

Question: how you does know what kind ur vehicle have?

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agent007
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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby agent007 » March 1st, 2019, 9:01 am

You need to know your make and model. Cross reference with brochure. Most times, just from the make and model alone, you dont have to go further cause the leather most probably is fake. You want to go deeper? Touch or feel the seats, if it feels smooth and soft with consistency then high chances are, it's fake leather. More like a vinyl. Some synthetic leathers can be faux or pleather which has better quality and may not give off that synthetic smell. Real leather is thicker, smells differently (not plastiky but nicer) and is a bit tougher/rougher to the touch. Consistancy of the leather throughout is not equal. Sometimes, you may see a tag stitched on indicating 100% man made/synthetics or made from animal hides.

If your car brochure boasts of stuff like Alcantara leather then that is considered premium synthetic or pleather. If you brochure indicates Nappa, then you've got some good stuff. I know there are experts out there but that is the jist of what the differences are and how you can really tell if yours is fake or not.

Most vehicles in TT have cheaply made fake leather seats and a combination of faux leather. Real premium nappa leather and the likes of it are rare. Most probably only high end European vehicles may have those.

Anybody with vehicles such as 316i, c180, corolla, civic, accord, camry, altima, teana, cefiro, maxima, sentra, sunny, sylphy, lancer, galant, legacy, xtrail, crv, rav4, outlander, grand vitara, forester, tucson, elantra, cerati, sportage, kuga, mondeo, cruze, trax and captiva etc etc is pure fake leather.

If you have: sonata, optima, mazda6 and passat (all later models), then chances are, its not total rubbish but more faux leather than anything else.

If you have vehicles like 7 series, s-class, a8, panamera, cayenne etc then chances are you have real premium leather or alcantara.

But there are some grey areas, so if anyone can articulate this better, I'll appreciate it so I could learn some more.

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby *KRONIK* » March 1st, 2019, 9:52 am

Good info

I rolling with mih fake thing good then.

Is maintenance the same?

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby adnj » March 1st, 2019, 10:15 am

OEMs are required to disclose to the prospective buyer whether the seats are leather, leather seating surfaces or synthetic leather. Oftentimes, there is more than a single vehicle trim level with the more expensive trim offering better interiors along with added features.

There are also surfaces on the headrests and door panels that may or may not be indicated.

You can always tell whether the surface is leather or not by looking at at the backside. Synthetics have a fabric backing while animal hides are flocked.

There is good seating manufactured in all three types of coverings. The majority of the near luxury market uses leather seating surfaces (a mix of leather on the seats with vinyl in other areas) because it performs better overall and has a higher level of consistency.

Audi has best in class seating. In fact, they have some of the best interiors in the industry. Their 100% vinyl seating is superior to the seating of nearly every other manufacturer, cloth, vinyl or leather, regardless of price.

Edit: with respect to maintenance, it's very similar. Leather requires that you preserve the natural oils of the hide by periodically cleaning with a fatty soap like saddle soap. You can also soften leather with mink oil. Vinyl does not benefit from added oils.

Both benefit from a UV protectorant like Armor All.
Last edited by adnj on March 1st, 2019, 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby *KRONIK* » March 1st, 2019, 10:38 am

Interesting!

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rebound
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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby rebound » March 2nd, 2019, 8:15 am

agent007 wrote:You need to know your make and model. Cross reference with brochure. Most times, just from the make and model alone, you dont have to go further cause the leather most probably is fake. You want to go deeper? Touch or feel the seats, if it feels smooth and soft with consistency then high chances are, it's fake leather. More like a vinyl. Some synthetic leathers can be faux or pleather which has better quality and may not give off that synthetic smell. Real leather is thicker, smells differently (not plastiky but nicer) and is a bit tougher/rougher to the touch. Consistancy of the leather throughout is not equal. Sometimes, you may see a tag stitched on indicating 100% man made/synthetics or made from animal hides.

If your car brochure boasts of stuff like Alcantara leather then that is considered premium synthetic or pleather. If you brochure indicates Nappa, then you've got some good stuff. I know there are experts out there but that is the jist of what the differences are and how you can really tell if yours is fake or not.

Most vehicles in TT have cheaply made fake leather seats and a combination of faux leather. Real premium nappa leather and the likes of it are rare. Most probably only high end European vehicles may have those.

Anybody with vehicles such as 316i, c180, corolla, civic, accord, camry, altima, teana, cefiro, maxima, sentra, sunny, sylphy, lancer, galant, legacy, xtrail, crv, rav4, outlander, grand vitara, forester, tucson, elantra, cerati, sportage, kuga, mondeo, cruze, trax and captiva etc etc is pure fake leather.

If you have: sonata, optima, mazda6 and passat (all later models), then chances are, its not total rubbish but more faux leather than anything else.

If you have vehicles like 7 series, s-class, a8, panamera, cayenne etc then chances are you have real premium leather or alcantara.

But there are some grey areas, so if anyone can articulate this better, I'll appreciate it so I could learn some more.
Well articulated, thanks for the info.

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shake d livin wake d dead
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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby shake d livin wake d dead » March 5th, 2019, 8:05 am

as we on the topic of leather seats...what you all recommend to keep them from cracking up???

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby rspann » March 5th, 2019, 8:14 pm

Stop telling them jokes.

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby j.o.e » March 6th, 2019, 9:56 am

Leather over fabric for me
1. Doesn’t wrinkle clothes and build up static
2. Car doesn’t retain smells as much like when you transport food
3. A car doesn’t feel premium to me if it doesn’t have leather. Regardless of brand or price.

These are just my opinions.

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby MG Man » March 6th, 2019, 10:44 am

leather gets too hot, your backside slides around too much, and costs more to maintain
Fabric also absorbs farts

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I spann
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Leather vs fabric

Postby I spann » March 6th, 2019, 2:42 pm

shake d livin wake d dead wrote:as we on the topic of leather seats...what you all recommend to keep them from cracking up???


Using these on my seats, works really good. The cream is used on the solid leather and the spray on the perforated area . If you use the cream on perforations it gets into the holes .ImageImageImage
Last edited by I spann on March 6th, 2019, 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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I spann
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Leather vs fabric

Postby I spann » March 6th, 2019, 2:44 pm

These seats are 12 years old . Conditioned 3 weeks agoImageImage

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shake d livin wake d dead
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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby shake d livin wake d dead » March 6th, 2019, 6:09 pm

I spann wrote:These seats are 12 years old . Conditioned 3 weeks agoImageImage


Looking good though 8-)

Where you buying that product??

This is my daily driver...
Attachments
20190301_170508.jpg

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I spann
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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby I spann » March 6th, 2019, 6:36 pm

Both are available at Autorama Ltd. on El Socorro rd. San Juan. The cream is $90 and the spray is $65

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Re: Leather vs fabric

Postby tylerbennett » July 12th, 2019, 8:11 am

Nice seat, I'm also planning to change my seat.

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