Alcantara longevity
#1
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Alcantara longevity
Will have to soon decide to go with alcantara or full-leather (then deviated stitching in orange, and then...).
I think alcantara looks great in the showroom, but how long will it take for the seat/steering wheel to start looking like ****e? I would think they are the first to go, but do other parts besides the obvious?
I think alcantara looks great in the showroom, but how long will it take for the seat/steering wheel to start looking like ****e? I would think they are the first to go, but do other parts besides the obvious?
#3
Rennlist Member
#4
Rennlist Member
I installed Cobra seats w/alcantara in my car last year and so far they are holding up very well. Easy to clean and no wear patterns visible to date.
Regards, Dave
Regards, Dave
#5
Alcantara is fine on low use areas. It quite quickly shows wear on gearshift levers and steering wheels.
I just don't think there is a place for synthetic fabric in a quality motor car. Its just second grade ultrasuede, which is a cousin of the nylon shirt when you come to think about it.
I like real metal, real leather, real suede, real carbon fibre. I don't like plastic or fake wood or fake carbon fibre inside an expensive car.
When you strap a Black Hawk helicopter onto your back, look at the seat material - shorn black lambskin that has been fire resistance treated. Sikorsky just might have a point. Its natural, it breathes, you can sit in it for hour after hour.
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I just don't think there is a place for synthetic fabric in a quality motor car. Its just second grade ultrasuede, which is a cousin of the nylon shirt when you come to think about it.
I like real metal, real leather, real suede, real carbon fibre. I don't like plastic or fake wood or fake carbon fibre inside an expensive car.
When you strap a Black Hawk helicopter onto your back, look at the seat material - shorn black lambskin that has been fire resistance treated. Sikorsky just might have a point. Its natural, it breathes, you can sit in it for hour after hour.
R+C
#6
Originally Posted by Nordschleife
When you strap a Black Hawk helicopter onto your back, look at the seat material - shorn black lambskin that has been fire resistance treated. Sikorsky just might have a point. Its natural, it breathes, you can sit in it for hour after hour.
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I want to strap a Black Hawk onto my back. That would be a highlight day... of course it would be a short highlight day because I can not fly rotary wings and would quickly kill myself... but up until crashing on take off, it would be a highlight day.
BTW, isn't lambskin also Nappa leather?
#7
Originally Posted by JohnnyBahamas
BTW, isn't lambskin also Nappa leather?
Nappa is fully treated leather, its fine because its from young hides/skins
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#11
Originally Posted by blueillusion97
Does anyone agree?
#12
Originally Posted by gerkebi
It is a microfiber. We use it on sofas as a "performance plus" fabric suitable for high use areas with kids, pets, etc. However, a sofa is one thing, a steering wheel is another.
#14
Instructor
Alcantara seats are "grippier" than leather though . I have it in another car and it seems like it holds you in place going around corners a lot better than leather does .
#15
I've had the RS Alcantara steering wheel and gear shift for about a year or so. They have held up very well. As well as leather? No, but I took a wet microfiber towel, and the "less soft" areas returned a lot of their way towards new again. I think if you are a slob and expect them to last for 100K miles, then leather might be a better choice. If I have to replace mine after 5 (or 10?) years because they are starting to look less than pristine, then they will have been perfectly acceptable to me.