Group buy for custom leather seats

[DonDavis]

I wanted to bring this up in the General forum where maybe more of us will see it. Tony Priester posted a thread at:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27597&highlight=northwest

about the possibility of a group buy for leather seats and door panels.

After having removed my seats and perforated the seating surfaces by hand, then conditioning the leather while it was off, I can say that it's not a daunting job as a DIY-er.

I contacted Kim at NW Autoleather in BC, Canada, some time ago when I was trying to find out how best to perforate the leather, and she's remained helpful and friendly throughout. From testimony and pictures she's sent, they appear to have an excellent product at a reasonable price and best of all you can customize your seats any way you want them with stitching, colors, perforation, etc.

If anyone is interested in new leather for their seats and would like to join a group buy, please contact Kim through Tony's thread above.

Don

 

[NSX/MR2]

I want the word "NSX#1" on the seats if that is possible, but I think a lot of the upholstery shops can do this.

 

[DonDavis]

D - I'm sure a lot can... Make sure they're familiar with leather if you go that way!

Don

 

[KGP]

So what's the group buy price?

 

[NSX01]

So what's the group buy price?

$10k

 

[DonDavis]

Group Buy for NW Autoleather seats

Funny you should ask about the pricing! Kim emailed me this morning with details. I've pasted it in below, along with a picture of seats in black/red and the link to their NSX work.

http://www.nwautoleather.com/nwautoleather/acura.html

Please know that I'm in no way affiliated with or profiting from this arrangement, should it go through, other than the GB discount should I jump in as well, blah, blah, the usual disclaimer. Kim has been extremely friendly and helpful and I've agreed to post her offer and terms on this deal. Please contact Kim directly with any questions, comments, etc you might have, since I'm not a middleman of any sort.
-------------------------
Hey Don
I have some stuff for your to post so there is no confusion. I will let you know though that we are concerned with how the people from the forum will feel about a GB who have already purchased from us. But we feel that it may be worth it in the way that we have had SOOOO many inquiries from NSX Prime, and this GB would encourage them to purchase. I would also love to see a pic on that posting if possible. You can get it from our website- do you know how to do that?? Anywase, here is what we have come up with:
US$$ CDN$$
10+ $665 $871.15
20+ $635 $831.85
****Includes embroidery, two tone, and black only door panels.

Mono tone
10+ $565 $740.15
20+ $535 $700.85
Embroidery $40
Black door panels included

Shipping is not included in these prices. I can find out exactly what it would be if someone gives me their city. Lead time is three days. As people decide to be a part of the GB we would like them to give us a call (toll free) and provide us with their mailing address and Visa or Mastercard number so that once the GB is over we are not scrambling for orders and info. Do you think people will go for this?? We want to do it this way because we recently finished a Tiburon GB and have not heard from half of the people who agrred to purchase. This does not mean we do not trust Prime members, but it would be nice to be able to manufacture these covers the day it ends. We would also like have a limited time to run the GB because we do not want to have everyone antsy from waiting. plus can you post a link to our website and email?? What do you think??
Cheers
Kim
Northwest Autoleather
8130 Ontario Street
Vancouver, BC
V5X 3E3
Toll Free 1(888) 821-1066
[email protected]
http://www.nwautoleather.com/nwautoleather/acura.html
-------------------

Don

 

[Jeff A]

I just went thru the whole deal with Northwest, and the results are absolutely gorgeous. I did the work myself, mostly. There were some hurdles along the way, not the least of which was that they made the covers wrong and they could not be attached to the seats as delivered. Half the plastic J-hooks were sewn on upside down. To their credit however, they located a local shop near me and paid to have the covers reworked (although I had to hassle with the delivery of the covers to the shop).

I also bought the "door panels". Something you should be aware of - the "door panels" that they sell are 1 piece of raw leather. That's it. You (or someone) has to cut it and remove the old leather and glue it on each panel piece. I wanted it to get done really nicely, so I had the same shop that fixed the seat covers do the panels. That added another $200 but the results are great. They did the gathering stitch before gluing them on, and so they match the old black ones that were taken off veru well.

I went for matching stitching and no NSX embroidery, a slightly more conservative and I think better looking (less "hip-hop" if you know what I mean) upgrade. I also did not get perforated leather, which lasts longer and is not as tough to moisturize with leather conditioning products. Picture enclosed. I priced these replacment seat covers from Acura, and you're talking $2000 PER SEAT for the covers, even from my favorite online discount parts place (http://acuraautomotiveparts.org) where you get a 20-30% discount! NWAutoleather sells them for about $650 for BOTH seats. If you want more install details, let me know.

 

[MJK]

Looks wonderful, thanks for the post. Do you have any closeups of the stitching, especially around the side bolster area?

Also, I've been toying with doing the seats only but not the side panels. Nothing really is worn, I just want black/black suede combo a la zanardi. Would the black 'outsides' of the NW covers match the existing black panels on the doors?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Jeff A]

Mark -

Kim at NWAutoleather sent me some higher-res pics, and below is a clip of a closeup of a bolster from that. The one shown is perforated, which doesn't stand up to abuse as well (particularly an issue in NSX bolsters). In my opinion, the covers NW makes are of very high quality. The leather is better quality than OEM - I compared them when installing the new ones. There is synthetic material underneath the leather, and the NW covers have thicker and better synthetic material than the OEM covers. The stitching is fine, every bit as good as the OEM stitching. The close-up shows the alternate color (as opposed to matching color) stitching. The bolsters had worn out in my '92 seats, but the leather wore thru - the stitching itself never failed. That's why I replaced them. Common problem!

Yes, the black leather on the NW covers is an exact match to the OEM leather. It's really beautiful. Installing them was not easy, but saved me a lot of money, and I could take my time and do it right.

Jeff

 

[NetViper]

My bostler on the drivers side has torn in a few places. They wanted over $200 to fix just that strip. Needless to say, I am in on the group buy. I would want seats like the 2000 though. Perforated in the middle. Is that possible?

 

[Jeff A]

I assume you mean perforate the back seat cushion and the bottom seat cushion but not the bolsters? I'm sure they could do that for you. You specify all the details, and they custom make the covers for you. No doubt they would do that if you want. But you should ask them to be sure. Their email address is [email protected]. Kim reads the emails.

Jeff

 

[MJK]

Thanks for the info Jeff!
BTW, when does the GB close?

Mark

 

[DocL]

I'm also interested in being part of the GB.

Is it possible to have piping put on the edges?

 

[Jeff A]

I don't know if they offer piping. I wouldn't be surprised - they'll do about any car you want. You'll have to ask them.

The Group Buy closes at the end of February. Here's the email from them -

Jeff

Hello NSX Owner!
Northwest Autoleather is currently in the midst of a group buy with NSX Prime and thought you should be informed of the discounts available:
MONO TONE(black door panels included) TWO TONE (including black door panels & embroidery.)
10+ $565us 10+ $665us
20+ $535us 20+$635us
(embroidery $40)
This group buy offer will expire at the end of the month,(February). If you are interested or have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to email or contact us toll free.
Kind Regards
Kim
Northwest Autoleather
8130 Ontario Street
Vancouver, BC
V5X 3E3
Toll Free 1(888) 821-1066
[email protected]
http://www.nwautoleather.com

 

[sjs]

How about a close-up of the seat to back corner, by the seatbelt? Is it more bunched up than stock?

Also, are left and right covers identical? My rights sides may never need replacing.

 

[Veleno]

Is it possible to get the whole seat in red suede? What about red leather with matching red suede down the center? Is there a warranty on these pieces? Is the whole seat going to be covered in leather (front/sides/rear) or half leather-half something else?

In looking at the seats again, I noticed that only the center portion of the center section is covered in the different color leather, but where the center section meets with the side section it's black. Is there a reason for this? I would think that it'll flow more nicely if the whole center section was colored the same. JMO

 

[Jeff A]

I *think* the covers are the same for driver's and passenger's seat. I don't remember seeing any difference, and chose them randomly when putting them on. You do have to cut the holes in the side for the power seat adjustment switches, so after you do that, then they are indeed fixed on left or right (don't cut the holes on the wrong side!).

I'm just a customer who has gone thru the purchase and installation of the covers. I don't know for sure all of the details of what NorthWest sells. You should ask them. They can do the entire seat covers in a single color, they are actually cheaper that way. That's the Mono Tone option. Personally, I would be carefull about how much suede I used, because it gets dirtier and is a lot harder to clean in my opinion. I already accidently splashed some coffee on the red leather, and it wiped off leaving no mark. I had just conditioned (moisturized) it, which adds oil. That's another thing I think you don't do to suede - you use silicon spray I believe.

The pleated part that bends when you adjust the tilt of the seat back seemed identical to the OEM covers when I installed it, but I agree it does seem to "ruffle" a bit more then the old ones. It may settle down (stretch or shrink) with time.

The warrantee is a good question. Never asked about that myself. Looking at the quality of the covers, I'm not concerned.

Jeff

 

[sjs]

Great, thanks for the info. It sounds like left/right won't be an issue so I can use one on each of two cars if desired. The corner part still concerns me a little, though it is probably a minor thing.

All that considered, I am interested in participating in the group buy. I may even be inclined to get a total of three seats worth if that would be allowed, or split a set with someone if they like.

 

[LJSB]

I have already contacted Kim and left a e-mail for a order.
She did mention a group buy but I am unsure how to participate and how it's done. Is it all shipped to one location, paid through one source?

 

[NetViper]

So how many people do we have now?

I would like to get plain black seats with the perforated in the middle just like the stock 2000+ seats.

 

[DonDavis]

Group Buy

Sorry I've been out of the loop. As I stated before, I'm not in the middle of this, I just posted NW Autoleather's offer and Kim's email address to see if we could get a GB together.

It ends the end of this month, which this year is Feb 29th.

Just email Kim or call, and let her know your preferences and what you want and that you want to participate in the group buy for the NXS Prime gang. I'm sure she's keeping count of how many of us want to get in.

Don in Germany

 

[NA1/2-R GT]

I am in with this GB. I hope we can come up with a good number.

 

[painlus]

I'm in too guys. I'm sending a sample to Kim of the ivory into them so they can match the exisiting - seems there's a variety of "ivory" versions industywide.

 

[Jeff A]

Custom Seat Cover Installation Tips

Here's some install tips for these seat covers from NorthWest Auto Leather - I'm not an expert but I did just go thru the whole thing and can give you some good pointers.


There are 2 basic options for installation:

1) Pay an interior/trim shop to do it for you. In addition to doing the labor, they can correct any mistakes and adjust the new covers by sewing and reworking them if needed. Steve at NorthWest said that you should not have to pay more than about $300.00 or so for that. If you want it done with minimal effort on your part or you are not up for a serious DIY project, do this. Remove the seats, pile them into your wife's minivan, and drop them and the box of covers at the shop.

2) Do it yourself. I did. It was a lot of work, and I got serious blisters from bending those copper binding rings. And when I found out that the covers needed adjustment, I had to stop (leaving the NSX out of commission) while they were fixed. But the results were great, and I like to work on my car.

If you do do it yourself, here's a quick list of pointers that come to mind:

• To remove the seats, undo the 4 big bolts, the 2 seatbelt bolts, and unplug the electrical connector. Put a rag on the threshold before lifting the seat out so you don't gouge the threshold. Before you unplug the connector, move the seat back to a pretty much full tilt backward position, to release strain on the rear plastic J-Hooks.
• There are some plastic fasteners that cannot be removed without breaking them. Most you can reach the backside with longnose pliers to pinch so they can be reused. Some you can't. You'll need at least a half dozen or so per seat. Auto parts stores or perhaps Lowes sells them.
• The bottom foam seat cushion is glued to the aluminum frame of the seat. You can kind of work it off from the underside thru the holes using a metal tool like a tack remover or screwdriver as you lift it (after you undo the 2 plastic fasteners).
• I suggest you remove the passenger seat first, remove the covers from the passenger seat, and very closely examine all the attachment flaps and plastic J-Hooks, to compare the OEM covers to the new NW covers. That's where I discovered that the new covers were not built correctly and needed to be reworked before they could be attached. Of particular concern are the J-Hooks curving in the correct direction, the attachment flaps on each side of the pleat, and the long flap at the front of the lower seat cushion. I sure hope NW gets their act together and builds them right for you guys. The shop that I took the covers to, to get them reworked, required both sets of old covers (from both seats) since they moved some of the attachment flaps from the old covers to the new.
• The back and bottom seat cushion covers are held on to the foam cushions with copper rings (binding rings, I think they are called). A pro's shop will have a binding machine. I did it manually, using a small screwdriver to split the ring and then 2 longnose pliers (and a lot of elbow grease) to unbend them. It's not easy. You have to hold the foam cushions bent between your knees to get access to some of the rings. Once you get them off, move the metal rods from the old covers to the new, and pierce the new attachment flap in the appropriate places before struggling to get the bent rings back thru the pierced holes. This is the toughest part. Big longnose pliars work best. I suggest you wear gloves, I got blisters doing it, and very tired arms.
• You have to cut the holes for the power seat electrical connectors. Use the original covers as a template.
• You have to cut the long J-Hook on the bottom of the seat back, since it attaches into 3 holes. I used tinsnips to cut the plastic J-Hook. Diagonal wire cutters would probably work too.

That's all I can think of. There are other detailed accounts of the steps done by others, here on NSXPrime, you can probably find them by searching.

Good luck!

Jeff

 

[NetViper]

Do they come with any instructions at all?