340Elise

Guys, just a quick question on the 996 GT3 seats.

I cannot afford (OK, I will not spend the money) the 997 seats, and from what I have heard, I will not fit in them anyway.

So now I have the opportunity to buy either the cloth 996 seats with the colored Porsche crest on the headrest and Recaro below it; or, I can just get the leather ones with the embossed crest and Recaro on the back of the seat.

They cost about the same. If I get the leather, I would want the alcantara inserts to match my current interior. However, I am really a big fan of cloth seats. I think more cars should have them. They look and feel more racey (is that a word?), they are more comfortable in extreme cold or heat, and you stick better to them. But I can certainly live with the leather and would like them almost as much.

Which ones are more popular, and which ones will fetch more come resale time?

Also, do the cloth ones look nice in our GT3's, or do they really look out of place because of the material and the colored crest and recaro logo?

I'm pretty sure that I can't go wrong with the leather, but I am not sure about the cloth. Are the cloth a bad idea for any other reasons; are they almost impossible to resell at a fair price?

Oh, and one more thing. I still have not sat in either the 996 or 997 GT3 seats, but hear that the 996 have more room. I am 6' 3", 240 lbs and have a 36 inch waist. I fit fine in the Elise and Exige seats, but they don't wrap as much around you as the GT3 seats. Will I fit, or should I give it up?

If I don't fit, then the cloth vs. leather question will be taken care of.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Stephen

mooty

you will squeeze into both seats, but 996 is slightly wider.
leather is more common.
and i believe will get u better resale b/c cloth seat will stink up after lots of sweating.
if you have full leather int. get the leather seat.
if you have regular int. either material is fine.

iLLM3

The cloth looks cool especially with the colored Porsche logo, but leather for me any day! You will fit , will just take you a little bit to find a comfortable position!

340Elise

Thanks. I think I will go with the leather and order the alcantara inserts.

Anybody know the best source for these inserts price wise?

mooty

not sure about best price, as dollar is useless now days
but carnewal.com has them

chasen1211

Suncoast Porsche is having a sale on the leather GT3 seats for $2599 a pair. and as Mooty said, the inserts are available at Carnewal. here is the link to the sale: http://http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107892

mooty

i think you need a pair for the C4S

chasen1211

Indeed we do! My arms are still sore, from holding myself in place while driving!

C.J. Ichiban

if you wear leather pants you're gonna stick great in the leather seats lol

SpeedGeek

I've had both leather and cloth. The problem with a cloth bucket is that it can feel claustrophobic because you're Velcro'd in place. On long journeys you need to be able to shift your *** slightly from time to time for comfort. Easy in leather, impossible in cloth. Alcantara is more like cloth in this regard. Personally I'm most comfortable sitting on plain leather for any extended timespan. But if your car is primarily a track car, cloth may be preferable.

I also spent quite some time in the leather and Alcantara 997 buckets, and found them noticeably tighter than the 996 ones. And the belt receptacle mounted inside the 997 seat is really uncomfortable unless you're skinny.

03-turbo911

I mounted mine outside the seat even before taking delivery.

Larry Cable

I am in the process of installing 996 leather buckets and the alacantra seat inserts in my GT3 ... will post pictures ...

Larry Cable

BTW I dont recommend the cloth ones, I had those in my MKI clubsport ... they were great but they did have a certain "odour" after a few sweaty track events!

AllanJ

Re: sizing: I have the 996 GT3 seats and I'm around 215 lbs and wear 36" pants. On some days I might feel better wearing 38" pants though. Anyhow, I just fit into the 996 GT3 seats and I wouldn't want to be any wider.

Cheers,

tcracing

I am in the process of installing 996 leather buckets and the alacantra seat inserts in my GT3 ... will post pictures ...

Larry: I'd like to see the pics after the install.

Thanks,

Tico