Jessa

How do they stack up in hot weather? Vinyl doesn't shrink like leather, so one would expect to have fewer panel warping issues with it. I've seen some very nice looking vinyl rear quarter panels that seem to have held up far better than their leather counterparts. But, each car has had different doses of sun and care, so its hard to say for sure.

Leather dashes warp, but vinyl ones crack. Which is less fragile? I'm going to reupholster or replace my dash and quarter panels eventually, and prefer to pick whicheven material will have the best lifespan. Your thoughts?

SharkSkin

FWIW... my 1/4 panels have not warped(vinyl). The car did some cooking in its lifetime, as evidenced by the shrunken rear seatbacks. The vinyl itself ought to be replaced, as it's beginning to split along the edges. But at least it didn't take the panels out in the process! Also my dash is straight(vinyl) though it too has cooked and is beginning to show some fine cracks around the defroster vents.

YMMV

Nicole

Nothing lasts forever, but my impression is that in hot climates, vinyl holds up better. I do highly recommend that you always put on a sun shade - no matter which material you chose for yoru interior. And have side and rear windows tinted...

Chuck Schreiber

Jessa,

I agree with nicole. The vinyl should hold up better in the hot weather and in some cases, like with dark colors, it is very hard to tell if the material is "Porsche leatherette" or leather. BTW, it's a whole lot cheaper to redo in vinyl as well, but you already knew that.

Good luck!

Normy

I guess vinyl would work just as well or better on side panels, ceiling, etc.

DON'T put vinyl on your seats. When I bought my current car, the front seats were upholtered with some good-quality vinyl covers. They don't breath [you sweat like crazy, even if it is cool out], and you just about leave some skin behind if you drive in shorts. Not good...

N!

1981 Shark

My seats were recovered with a good quality vinyl by my PO's PO, which I think was a replacement of what was there; all other surfaces are vinyl. No complaints from me. I am in the south, so I've gotten a taste of the heat, although I haven't endured a full summer's wrath yet. If I had leather, I might be on the other side of the fence, though. Will consider leather if and when recovering is needed; for my wallet's sake, I hope it's a while.

IcemanG17

928's with the leather 1/4 panels almost always shrink & warp the panels in hot climates...the vinyl panels hold up much better, often looking excellent after 15+ years. Typically you can tell if they are leather by the stitching seams. I plan on redoing my panels, since mine are leather and warped....I was thinking about vinyl for the cost and longevity....plus I wanted to make a custom speaker housing for the rear speaker, which would be easier with vinyl!

Gary Knox

I've had three 928 S4's. The first two had leather rear quarter panels, and both had significant shrinkage/warpage (PA and NJ owners throughout their previous life). The current one had vinyl reqr quarters, and there was no shrinkage/warpage at all (PA and NH in previous life). The first car was an '87, bought in '96, the second an '88 bought in '00, and the third an '88 bought in '04. ALL had vinyl dashes in black. NO cracks in the first (87), one crack between defroster vent in the second (88), and 2 between defroster vents in the third (88). I believe the leather was great when new, and very nice if has been maintained, and the car kept out of the sun. For my usage, I prefer the vinyl for dash and quarter panels. LEATHER on the seats, however!!
Gary Knox
West Chester, PA

bigs

I have wondered if Porsche changed the composition or quality of their vinyl once dash cracking issues became apparent. I had cracks in my '84 and '86.5. But nothing at all so far in the '93. I realize the '93 obviously isn't as old, but IIRC the cracks began to show up on the earlier models after 6-8 years of age, and the '93 is certainly beyond that.

Might also have something to do with the fact that my two earlier models spent their entire lives in dry climates (CA desert, AZ, UT), and the GTS was in NJ until I bought it a year ago.