Leather or Vinyl seats/dash

[sbenso]

I am looking to order a cobra and trying to figure out if I should spend the money and upgrade to the leather. Do you guys have any pros/cons to having vinyl or leather seats/dash here in AZ, especially with the sun and heat. The color will be black. thanks

shawn

[Bob Broberg SPF667 460BB]

Ouch to both. The leather will simply last longer provided it is treated correctly. Just lay towels down when needed. You will find you don't drive on those hot days anyway.

AZ Black Seats Bob

[1985 CCX]

Early 289 cars were leather.
S/C's were naugahyde, vinyl
I think later street cars were once again leather.
I prefer leather however a padded vinyl is not bad either.

[sbenso]

I didn't know if one or the other fades, or starts to dry out and crack sooner than the other.. thanks for the info so far.

shawn

[davids]

Shawn, what does it matter?..It's going to take years to fade anyway...I had my roadster for 5 years and in the sun all the time...no fading...Leather is always nice...get the leather.. Dave

[sbenso]

It sounds like leather is the way to go, just wanted to make sure there are no major downfalls to spending the extra money.thanks for everyone's input.

shawn

[Mulv]

There is only one difference - leather requires maintenance and vinyl does not. If you use the car, which most do not, leather will not last as long.
Synthetics last longer than organics in the sun..
If you only plan to drive the car occaisionally and keep it in your garage most of the time then it doesn't matter which you choose..buy the cheapest. No one can tell plastic from leather anyway, and it is a kit car after all...

The semi-dry climate here means you still have maintenance on leather even in the garage..

[SteveV]

Also may depend if you like the seat that the leather comes in. There are some aftermarket seats that are more comfortable on a long ride than the stock seats that are offered by FFR for example. Sube makes a really nice seat, but I think its only available in vinyl.
What brand of car are you going to order?
Steve

[Danr55]

Shawn, Spend the extra money. You'll never regret it..

[Fred Z]

Shawn.....go leather!! I have it in So, Cal., which can be hot too! You will like the quality, even though only a little noticeable. the dash also! in my opinion.....keep the dash flat, not the 'doughboy look with too much padding! just gives a 'classier' appearance. the leather wears well, but I went online and looked for 'FoodHyde', a great product to care for leather. However, other products are good.
I went with SPF seats, as they really have more comfort and work great!
' good luck.
fred z

[sbenso]

i am going to buy a Hurricane and they offer an "upgrade" to leather for the seats and dash. I plan on driving it a couple of days a week to work in the winter and it will be sitting outside in direct sunlight all day, in the summer most likely it'll be in the garage most of the time. It's somewhere around $1000 for the upgrade, so I was wondering if it was worth the extra cash. it sounds like there are more votes for leather. thanks for the input.
shawn

[Ant]

Shawn,

I agree with the leather option for the seats, I have had two cars done now in leather, nicer look and feel, keep some dressing on it. I use my tonneau cover on hot days when parked up for a while.

Dashboard, this is an area that can make or break the car, one answer
Vinyl reasonably coarse grain topping, similar or as used on tonneau covers for utilities trucks and
AC Cobras, Jaguar E Types etc, with no padding underneath and you will get the original look with either Smiths Autometer repros etc my opinion a lot dashboards look like sh*t.

You could have a look at an original or Kirkham, Superperformance or ERA with some samples from an upholstery shop, having said that leather can appear in the same grain, but as mentioned in this post vinyl may have more sun protection.