newton982

A couple of the 993TTs I am currently looking at have the ruffled leather interior. Not sure if this is the accurate term, but it's where the leather is not taut over the seats but has a sort of rippled look. Is it is possible to have an upholstery shop do anything to make this closer to the look of the standard seats?

Also, if the seats are heated, where is the heat switch? Is it possible to retrofit non-heated seats with the heating option?

allegretto

That's "supple leather". I like it, though some do not. Does it bother you enough to get rid of it? I'd suggest you try to find some salvage seats. Would likely be cheaper

heat switch is on the side. small rectangle if no heated installed. yes, it can be added in these. But with the 997 IIRC the wiring was set from the factory and if it didn't have heat you could not add it.

djantlive

you can always add the heated seats but it'll cost you a pretty penny as the leather needs to be pulled to put in the heating elements and new wiring and switch will be required.

the standard seats look better as it's more taut. the supple leather offers a little more cushion. if you change the seat or recover the leather, you'd want to do the same for the rear so everything matches. all this will cost you into the thousands so i'd just buy the car with the seats you want to save the headache. upholstery is not cheap and it's a pain to find someone qualified. old leather can be harder to work with as they harden over time.

mkhn

They are pretty heavy seats as well. IIRC, the 12-way, heated supple leather seats are about 65lbs each. I took those out and are now running the 996GT3 seats (~15lbs). Love the fit and pulling that much weight out in one fell swoop was great.

newton982

Do the GT3 seats fold forward to allow you access to the rear seats?

From what I've gathered re-doing front and rear seats (and perhaps adding heating) from supple to a more standard look will cost somewhere between $5-7K.

Does the supple leather option offer anything more than the standard seat option (e.g. more leather) or is it just a different look?

mkhn

Do the GT3 seats fold forward to allow you access to the rear seats?

The 996 GT3 seats are a single piece so they dont forward and it's about impossible to get into the back.

I have a set of new 997 GT3 seats I have been meaning to sell (havent posted due to a bad case of procrastination) that will also fit in a 993TT and those fold forward.

Q

- the AU market calls this "soft look leather" It was a $990 option when new.
- heat switch is the rectangle on the side of the seat [pic below]
- heated seats were not available with "soft look leather" ...so you wont have to recover if you find a car with heat.

djantlive made an important point [for some] the "soft look leather" seats are actually a little better padded....

allegretto

Cant speak for the AU market, but Supple Leather was certainly available with heated seats in the US. Here's mine;

Q

interesting ! ...one of those weird anomalies between countries :-//

what is the 3rd adjustment dial for ?

allegretto

Lumbar support

Q

Aaaah, of course.
AU must all have good backs - have NEVER seen it there :-//