New leather for seats

**cleung** · 07-06-2013, 08:21 PM

Hi Everyone,

I'm pretty new to this forum but not to BMW's, I recently sold my e60 for a Z3 roady. I have been finding lots of good info here and thought that it was time for me to contribute. I recently took a bit of a risk that seems to have paid off quite well. I bought some new leather seat skins from an ebay seller that wasn't leatherseats.com, their ebay username is seats01. He was listing his skins for much cheaper than leatherseats.com and he offered upgrades like perforated leather and contrast stitching at no extra charge. So I decided to try and ordered a set of skins in red with black stitching and perforated center. Being that it was custom ordered I expected them to take a little while but this friday I got the slip in the mail for a parcel. I put my order in on June 25 and it showed up July 5, I thought that was pretty good considering they came all the way from China. I quickly picked up the package and opened them up, they weren't in any fancy packaging just a plastic bag inside the shipping bag but everything was good and undamaged all the seat skins were turned inside out to prevent any scratching. My first thoguth when I opened the bag was, "WOW, these feel like very high quality leather". For comparison they feel very comparable if not slightly better than the dakota leather that was in my e60. Also the seats are full leather not just the seating area and the leather is all foam backed for a little added cushioning. So this morning I woke up very eager to install these (btw they came with all the hog rings). So here is the scoop, upon install a few things that were not perfect: first I noticed that their was no holes for the seat belt guides, not a big deal I had a leather punch that solved that rather quickly (also remember that this is a very good time to install new seat belt guides and seat bushings). Once I pulled the old skins off I noticed right away that the new skins were a little bigger than the old ones. Once I put them on as you can notice in the pics that the fit isn't perfect, but for the price I feel its quite acceptable. The seat bottoms fit better than the seat backs but the seat backs can be fixed by adding a little foam to the side bolsters (also keep in mind that if this was new foam it would have probably fit a lot better). I haven't finished the install yet, I only managed to get one seat done and had to go run some errands, but I was quite excited about how it all turned out and wanted to share.

I realize that this might sound like a little bit of an ad for this guy, but trust me I have nothing to gain from this and have no idea who the seller is. I'm just a bmw owner trying to pass on some savings and good experiences. Let me know what you all think, also I'm curious to know how these compare to the leatherseats.com ones in terms of fit? I haven't really seen any real photos of the leatherseats ones install on a z3.
seat1.JPG seat2.JPG seat3.JPG seat4.JPG seat5.JPG

**cleung** · 07-06-2013, 08:22 PM

seat6.JPG Seat7.JPG

**MPKaier** · 07-06-2013, 08:47 PM

Welcome Cleung,
Nice job and wise to do the seat bushings while you are at it. I think you are correct in that they made their template from a new seat. Our 15 year old seats have probably lost a little fullness. I bet that you could get thin foam from the fabric store and fill the side bolsters a little to take some slack out. Time may do that too. Please post a picture when they are all done and both in the car. They look to be well made. What was the price difference?

**cleung** · 07-06-2013, 08:52 PM

This seller lists a "buy it now" price of $400 but also takes offers, and shipping was $40. I went back and forth with the seller and ended up getting them for $275 + $40 shipping, I thought that was a steal and really wasn't expecting them to be as good as they are.

**droz3** · 07-06-2013, 09:14 PM

Cleung, can you post a link to this seller, I'd be curious to look at the what he offers.

**lokijibber** · 07-06-2013, 09:46 PM

Wow, that price is pretty good. I wonder what it would take to tighten the fit.

Are you experienced installing leather? I ask b/c I always use zip ties in place of the hog rings when replacing the seat belt guides. The thought of wrestling that ring back on makes me shudder. And, I think it's also easier to get the leather tight to the rail with the zip tie, so wonder if that would help tighten them a bit?

**cleung** · 07-07-2013, 02:10 AM

Originally Posted by droz3

Cleung, can you post a link to this seller, I'd be curious to look at the what he offers.

Here is the link
http://stores.ebay.ca/seats01?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Originally Posted by lokijibber

Wow, that price is pretty good. I wonder what it would take to tighten the fit.

Are you experienced installing leather? I ask b/c I always use zip ties in place of the hog rings when replacing the seat belt guides. The thought of wrestling that ring back on makes me shudder. And, I think it's also easier to get the leather tight to the rail with the zip tie, so wonder if that would help tighten them a bit?

No I'm not experienced at all. Actually when I took my seats apart I didn't have to separate the foam from the frames so I didn't take out the hog rings. I was able to detach the leather from the foam and slide the leather off.

**DudeDude** · 07-07-2013, 03:20 AM

I recently placed an order with them http://stores.ebay.ca/seats01?_trksi...d=498070820708

I'll let you know how it turns out.

signed morningthunderdude

**DuWop** · 07-07-2013, 03:39 AM

I ordered some of these seat covers for my z3. I'll keep you informed.

Signed morningthunderdude

- - - Updated - - -

If you wet the seat covers will they shrink as they dry? I tighten leather drum heads this way. A leather (goat skin) drum head busted when I was in Costa Rica because of going out into the humid air then returning to an air conditioned room, it got so tight it busted..

**cleung** · 07-07-2013, 11:02 AM

Originally Posted by DuWop

I ordered some of these seat covers for my z3. I'll keep you informed.

Signed morningthunderdude

- - - Updated - - -

If you wet the seat covers will they shrink as they dry? I tighten leather drum heads this way. A leather (goat skin) drum head busted when I was in Costa Rica because of going out into the humid air then returning to an air conditioned room, it got so tight it busted..

I'm not sure if it would do the same due to the finish that is on the seats? I'm no expert though, so maybe someone with a little more experience with leather may know.

**Zoupe6** · 07-07-2013, 12:42 PM

Steam is only method I have seen work to shrink leather a bit. If it were me, I would steam the leather and dry it in the sun. Rinse (figurative) and repeat a few times. I don't think they will shrink very much, though. The leather is usually stretched by the manufacturer so that it doesn't stretch while in use, although, there is usually some stretching that occurs over time in the high pressure areas. These high pressure areas will stretch back out relatively quickly, but the other (non-pressure) areas are likely to maintain their shape.

**BimmerBreaker** · 07-07-2013, 03:38 PM

E60 to Z3... that must have been a weird change lol

**cleung** · 07-07-2013, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker

E60 to Z3... that must have been a weird change lol

haha, yeah it was a little different to say the least, I loved that e60 but felt it was time to move on. It didn't go far, I sold it to my brother. I started noticing that I never take passengers in my car and only used it to and from work, so I thought why not buy something less practical and more fun? I also like to tinker a little with cars so I ended up buying this 97 z3 that isn't in the greatest shape but I got a deal on it and now I'm trying to bring it back up to snuff. The biggest difference is getting used to how "raw" the z3 is compared to how almost over assisted the e60 was, they are definitely two very different animals.

- - - Updated - - -

So I finished to install today. The passenger side ended up turning out a little nicer than the driver side, I learned a bit from the first seat. I managed to smooth and stretch out a bit of the looseness, I lot of it was fixed with using more glue to make sure everything fit to the foam shape. At the end of the day, for $275 I feel that they turned out a lot better than I was expecting. Sorry the pics are upside down I cant' seem to figure out how to fix it. Let me know what you guys think.
seat8.JPG seat9.JPG seat10.JPG

**amancuso** · 07-07-2013, 08:37 PM

Good job. Too bad the pics are upside down.

**BlackjackM** · 07-07-2013, 10:40 PM

Sorry bud, but they look wayyyy too loose. Maybe an upholstery shop can help tighten them.

**Kyle Anderson** · 07-07-2013, 11:33 PM

Not too bad. Mine came from leatherseats. The fit was definitely tighter than those right off the bat... around the head rest area was probably a bit too tight. I too had some wrinkles and loose spots, but they did tighten up considerably over time.

Looks like your driver seat came out much better. I would recommend tweaking the fit on the passenger side then taking the pair to an upholstery shop to get them steamed/shrunk. I tried a small household steamer, and it did nothing... either go with a professional or let them shrink over time. I would say mine took a year to look like they do now.

**cleung** · 07-08-2013, 12:09 AM

Well, hopefully they will shrink a bit over time, I may try steaming them myself and see what happens. Trouble around here is that I don't live in a big center and there aren't many upholstery shops around so the ones that are here charge an insane amount, thats why I went the ebay route to begin with.

Its funny in the photos it looks like the driver seat turned out better, but in person I feel the passenger one looks better?

**sknittel** · 07-08-2013, 03:42 PM

Kyle:
On the picture of your white leather seat covers, I noticed you do not have a seat belt guide. I replaced my seats in my roadster with a set from a coupe and have not got around to putting the guides in - in fact I am getting used to them not being there. Are you haveing any issues with the seat belt rubbing directly aganst the seat and creating an abrasion?

**Mr Bingley** · 07-08-2013, 05:49 PM

Steam the foam, that will expand it back to its original size, plus put a foam scriim over it to fill it out.

**cleung** · 07-08-2013, 07:33 PM

Thanks for the tips guys. Today is the first day that I have driven the car since I put the seats in, and I can say that the seats feel much better now than they did before. You can tell that the little extra foam backing on the leather and the perforated leather makes a big difference. Also the driver seat after being sat in for a bit already looks better. Hopefully this weekend I will have some time to try steaming them, but so far I'm still quite satisfied with them esspecially considering the price.

**Z3MROADY** · 07-08-2013, 10:06 PM

I bought seat covers from seats01 for my 98 M last Feb. I may have been his first Z3 M customer because the seat backs did not have the straps that inserted through the foam to the frame they had wire sleeves. They also did not have the correct arc pattern in the double stitching in the seat area. I shipped them back and they replaced them with an improved pattern design quickly and no hassles. The seat bottom skirt's wiring sleeves were not cut quite right but I ended up hog ringing them in to the leather and the base frame for a decent fit. The design is basically good but not OE looking. The fit is a little loose with a few wrinles here and there but you cant beat the price. Good quality leather, great color match, and tight sewing. If you order these for your M make sure they have made the necesarry updates to the cut so they fir the sport seats good.

**lokijibber** · 07-08-2013, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by cleung

No I'm not experienced at all. Actually when I took my seats apart I didn't have to separate the foam from the frames so I didn't take out the hog rings. I was able to detach the leather from the foam and slide the leather off.

I have to admit, when I first read this I was scratching my head. Then realized you have standard seats. There is no glue in the sport/M seat. The leather is only held on by hog rings at each seam.

I'd be interested to see pics on the M seats. Very impressed with the effort here, if the fit were better, it could open a whole world of interior changes.

**cleung** · 07-08-2013, 11:29 PM

Originally Posted by lokijibber

I have to admit, when I first read this I was scratching my head. Then realized you have standard seats. There is no glue in the sport/M seat. The leather is only held on by hog rings at each seam.

I'd be interested to see pics on the M seats. Very impressed with the effort here, if the fit were better, it could open a whole world of interior changes.

I read a lot of threads about redoing the leather on seats and lots about the hog rings, when I took my seats apart I was quite confused as I didn't see any hog rings but just kinda rolled with it. Now that you say the base seats have glued leather and the sport m seats use hog rings that makes tons of sense now, kind of a "ah ha" moment...

**Z3MROADY** · 07-09-2013, 01:21 PM

I'd be interested to see pics on the M seats. Very impressed with the effort here, if the fit were better, it could open a whole world of interior changes.[/QUOTE]

Here are the M sport seat covers:

**cleung** · 07-09-2013, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Z3MROADY

I'd be interested to see pics on the M seats. Very impressed with the effort here, if the fit were better, it could open a whole world of interior changes.

Here are the M sport seat covers:

[/QUOTE]

It looks like the hog rings make it fit a little better by holding the leather in the right spots on the foam. Maybe what I need to do is do a better job of gluing the leather to the foam for a better fit.