Those who have had seats recovered:

[cduke]

Have any of you had your seats recovered in vinyl? How are they holding up? Comfort? Looks?

I'm considering having this done but would like to know if they hold up as well as the upholsterers claim they do compared to leather.

Any comments or suggestions before I start talking to local shops?

Thanks!
CD

[97XRAY]

I had the leather on my front and rear seats replaced with vinyl. As aweful as it was to stomach the idea or loosing the leather, the seats have held up very well.
I think it looks 90% the same as the tan leather I had before. My fiancee can't tell.
Good luck finding a quality upholstery shop! I spent a long time and asked lots of people.

[cruzermusic]

look at your old seats and where they wore out. mine tends to wear out on the door side back rest seam, because the way i enter the car, i going to have my seat guy try to beef up the seams if he can, o yea...... i also took out the pens and pointy things i use to carry in my back pockets...keys are in my hand ,not hanging on my belt loop..........

its the little things that count

[cduke]

97XRAY: If you wouldn't mind telling ... what did it cost you?
I've been quoted everything from $250/seat to $600/seat.

At some point I could just skip the recovering and go for some boxter or 993/996 seats!

CD

[Afterburner951NOS]

My dads old 86 944na had vinyl seats in the front and they looked brand new from the time we got it in 93 from the time we sold it in 1996. So you can see that they hold up very well. They also seemed more supportive on long drives than leather. Thats just my $0.02.

Sam

[944pete]

If you have partial leather seats now then your back seat is vinyl. I recovered my front seats in vinyl and I swear it looks like leather. As far as comfort, the old leather was hard and dried up but now it's very comfortable. I wouldn't hesitate to take a 1000 mile trip. I recovered them myself and it's a tough job but not too bad. If you take your time the end result is well worth it. The upholstery cost me about $450.00 from World Upholstery.

Good luck whichever way you go.

Pete 85.5 Alpine White/Burgundy

[cduke]

944pete: Could you describe the process? I'm very interested in doing this myself if it will save me money and improve the results I can get. I just can't afford $1100 for the best guys in town right now.

You seem impressed with the quality of the World Upholstry stuff, how is the install? What kind of work is it? Just a bunch of tucking in or do you sew the corners or what?

Thanks!
CD

[gforces944]

I'd like to know if any of you had the supports (foam or springs/frame) replaced. I feel like I would like some lumbar support for my 86 (I don't think they stressed lumbar support back then).

My buddy had placed an airbag adjusted by a small hand pump in his miata. He said they were specifically designed for his car. Does anone know where I could find this? My lumbar would appreciate it much.

[97XRAY]

I had the supports replaced in my partial leather when the vinyl was put on. The difference is amazing. Using the always consistent (?) fiancee as a measure, she found the car boring before the "re-packing" of support cushion and now really enjoys driving with me.
The seats hug my back 10 times better.
And I only paid $150.00 for a rural upholstrey guy who usually does couches and chairs.
He did an amzing job.

[944pete]

The quality of the upholstery was excellent. The grain in the vinyl matched the factory leather exactly. Call world Upholstery and tell them the year and color and have them send you samples of the material. They sent me four samples and only one was an exact match. There is no stitching or sewing neccessary. To install you'll need hog ring pliers and a box of at least 100 hog rings. They're kinda like staples that will bend in half to secure the vinyl. You can get them at an upholstery shop. Take both seats out of the car and use a workbench that puts them at a comfortable height to work on them.( You'll be there for a while) Do one seat at a time.(Very important) Separate the seat back from the bottom (easy), cut the hog rings holding the old covers on and slip them off while taking note of how the old covers are attached. Make sure the new covers are warm or you wont be able to stretch the new material enough to get them on. You may want to have a hair dryer handy. Use the other seat for a reference and just stretch the new covers over the frame and padding and use the rings to secure it. There are also some pointy metal tabs on the seat frame that pierce the vinyl and hold it on. You'll see what I mean when you look at the bottom of the seat. You probably have a power drivers seat so you have to remove the power mechanism to get the cover on. It is easier than it sounds. Just keep referring to the old seat and you'll get it. Meake sure to stretch the new vinyl as tight as you can because it will loosen slightly in the summertime. They will look factory new when you're done. I had never done it before and I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I'll try to get a pic of mine to post here in a few days.

Good luck,
Pete

[gforces944]

That would've been cool if you took some step-by-step pics! I'd buy that for a dollar!

[TLSMikey]

Well, I had my grey/beige seats recovered in vinyl as well. Most shops wanted $1500 to do both seats in the leather/vinyl combination the car came with. The vinyl has a leather pattern like mentioned above and i'm very happy with the results. I paid $450 for both seats to be redone. The guy did a good job, but not great. If it was up to me i would have paid $600 at a better shop. Just my 2 cents.

[cduke]

Hey guys,
Thanks very much for the replies. It looks like i'm going to save up for the world upholstery option.

Thanks for the info!
CD