When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm considering having my Cayman S seat centers (I have the base seats) recovered in Pepita, trying to find the best place to source the fabric. I have a sample from Relicate that looks pretty good, but it is unbacked and seems like it might not be very durable. Appreciate any info you all might have.
I'm considering having my Cayman S seat centers (I have the base seats) recovered in Pepita, trying to find the best place to source the fabric. I have a sample from Relicate that looks pretty good, but it is unbacked and seems like it might not be very durable. Appreciate any info you all might have.
-Randy
I got it from Classicfx and am pleased with the result. Have had it for almost 2 years; no wear issues. Cooler than Alcantara, *much* cooler than black leather on previous Boxster (might not be as much of an issue for Cayman). White/black/red was nice match (pics).
Thanks for the replies gents. Billy I certainly agree with BondJ, your seats look incredible! I have the base black interior in my Cayman and hoping to wake it up with the black/white pepita. The pictures of yours gives me hope and inspiration! Looks like Classicfx is the way to go for the material, and thanks also for the cost estimate to do the work. I have 2 estimates so far, one for $2,500 (yikes!) and one for $600. So one is crazy high and the other a bit low. I'm in Bucks County, Pa (Philly suburbs) so if anyone has a recommendation for an upholsterer in the area I'd love to hear it. Thanks again.
LOL. No, seriously with my previous Boxster (2015 GTS; full black leather interior) with the top down on a sunny day, the seats were painfully hot if exposed for more than about 15 minutes. Alcantara was better, but still got hot. Pepita is very comfy in the sun and about as grippy as Alcantara. I haven't left it parked outside with the top down for lengthy periods but no sign of fade. Look is pretty old school and I tell my GF she looks like Grace Kelly when we're cruising about, which gets me major points. Alas, I'm no Cary Grant.
Since those pics, I swapped out the seat belts for Guards Red to match the exterior which is also a nice look. I bought it used but the window sticker was with the documents. Original owner spec'ed Guards Red vent louvers (can just see them in the pics) which was a $1200 (sic) option; apparently he really liked his red.
TBH, I thought the $1K I paid to have it done was nuts--the seat inserts aren't as easy to replace as in the LWB that basically have the inserts attached with velcro, but they come out as one piece on the 18-ways w/o damage (I still have 'em)--because it doesn't seem like that much of a job, but it's not like I could do it myself, so there ya go. A colleague has a GT4 with LWB and got some Pepita inserts that were about $1500 which didn't make me feel bad at all, LOL. $2500 labor seems exorbitant. If the shop that quoted $600 has good reviews, I'd go for it.
Yeah, the $2,500 nearly knocked me over. The guy at $600 has very good reviews but he hasn't seen the car yet, although he was familiar with 911 seats so at least has some experience with Porsches. Will take a trip to his place and feel him out a bit more.
Love the Grace Kelly line, may steal that one. My wife is a big Cary Grant fan, but I'm not him either
One more question DrBilly. Are you saying on the 18-way seats that the centers did detach without removing the entire seat cover, or did your guy pull the covers and then detach the centers? Did you save the entire center pieces in leather and have the upholsterer remake the center foam pieces with the Pepita?
Thanks, just trying to understand the process. May not be the same on my base seats, but then again maybe it will
My first Boxster was a 2015 GTS. Interior was full black leather. Had 4 way seats (*not* carbon fiber lightweight bucket (LWB)). I didn't do anything with the interior on it. The exterior was dark blue metallic, which is a great color. Traded it in and got a 2016 Boxster Spyder.
Spyder had standard Alcantara (e g. seat centers, door armrests, center console cover, glove box cover, etc.). The seat centers were stitched in and were removed by cutting stitches, but they came out intact and undamaged with foam backing attached. I don't know the steps in the process of center removal. The seats are 18-ways. The installer fabricated foam backing for the pepita when he did the install. Guards Red isn't my favorite color but there aren't that many Spyders out there and I've never seen one in DBM. The Spyder came with black wheels which I didn't like, so I swapped them for the 20" chrome turbo wheels on my GTS. Spyder wheels are a little wider than standard Boxster wheels (tire sizes are identical) but they're interchangeable. The black Spyder wheels looked better on the DBM GTS than they did on the GR Spyder.
A colleague has a 981 GT4 with LWB seats. On his seats, the seat centers are mostly attached with velcro and he could replace them himself. He got black/white/yellow pepita, which went well with his options (yellow PCCB calipers, yellow dash gauge faces, yellow center strip on steering wheel). He also got a mod to change the seat to back angle to his liking.
Thanks DrBilly, really appreciate the detailed response. I'm hoping to make a trip up to the upholsterer this week. I've also been in touch with Garry at Classic FX so if all goes well with the upholsterer I'll be placing an order with him.
The seat centers were stitched in and were removed by cutting stitches, but they came out intact and undamaged with foam backing attached. I don't know the steps in the process of center removal. The seats are 18-ways. The installer fabricated foam backing for the pepita when he did the install.
This is really interesting. I assume it wouldn't be any different on the 14 way seats? I've been thinking about trying to spice up my all black interior but I've been a bit scared to have someone start cutting away at the seats. It would make me feel better if the inserts come out in one piece and can be salvaged and potentially sown back in if I ever want to sell the car.
Also has anybody done something like this and kept factory seat ventilation, or would that not be possible?
This is really interesting. I assume it wouldn't be any different on the 14 way seats? I've been thinking about trying to spice up my all black interior but I've been a bit scared to have someone start cutting away at the seats. It would make me feel better if the inserts come out in one piece and can be salvaged and potentially sown back in if I ever want to sell the car.
Also has anybody done something like this and kept factory seat ventilation, or would that not be possible?
AFAIK, seat ventilation not an option with Alcantara centers, so assuming you have full leather seats. Since I have no experience with replacing 14-way seat centers, replacing full leather seat centers, nor seat center replacement with ventilated seats, I'm wondering why I'm even bothering to respond, LOL. What I'd suggest is finding an auto upholstery shop that's worked on P-cars and talking with them about it.
What I can say is that even on an 80+F day with full sun, the pepita seat covers do not get uncomfortably hot. Also, the cloth is much more breathable so that sweat doesn't build up on the back of your legs when driving on a hot day. In sum, you may not need the ventilated seats if you switch to pepita cloth, though I certainly understand why you'd like to maintain the ability if you've paid for the option.
Somewhat related, the heated seat function still works fine after swapping out the seat centers.
Seat ventilation no on alcantara, heat yes. Doubt vent would work other than on perf leather unless pepita fabric had pinhole or some breathabikity factor…. Great look regardless!
Wanted to update this thread. Just got my seats back today from the upholsterer and reinstalled them. Gotta say, they look great! I went with the OEM Porsche pepita they used on the 911 50th anniversary cars and also the 911R. This is the black/silver color and sourced it from Garry at Classic FX. Big shout out to him for the great service. Really happy with the quality of the workmanship and the overall look, it's lifted my base black interior at least a level or 2.
03-26-2022, 09:06 PM
best source for Pepita seat fabric
