Chuck!

If I can get GTO quality seats in my Z28 I'd be really happy. They're not a OEM racing-type seat like the STI, but they offer good support and they're about the most comfortable seats you'll ever find in a car under $35,000.

jg95z28

FWIW, the last car I had to replace the seat in because it flat out broke and was a poor design was a Nissan.

unvc92camarors

That's exactly my point. You said you have no knowledge of the seats in question. You're first instinct is to go ahead and say "yes, they are low quality", etc. This is where the emoticon came from. I have no problem with somebody bashing the seats if they truly are bad, but do we know if they are? How much traffic has the car accumulated? At what point does GM replace them? Showing first signs of wear? Truly bad?

That is my point. We know relatively nothing about the quality of the seats because no car has suffered that much abuse yet, or as to why or when GM would replace them. Talking without facts is talking for the sake of hearing yourself.

Threxx, I gotta say that normally I like you because you bring an impartial (if not slightly anti-GM bias) that brings the rest of us down to Earth. But here is where I draw the line personally.

Robert_Nashville

Well, if you want to start throwing around stories like that my Bronco's seat actually tore the floorpan at one of the contact points although the material, at least, never wore through even after the 200K mark was passed.

Robert_Nashville

The C6 has been out long enough now that if the seats/leather are wearing out quickly that should be known by now...are they? What have people been hearing/saying about the seats?

Threxx

Thanks.

What year, model, and milage?

FWIW, Only car I've ever been in that had a seat that was literally broke (as in I couldn't lean back or accelerate too hard or my seat would fall back over) was a Mustang.

Though I am referring moreso to the quality of leather, padding, stitching, etc...

Klypto

something with the door switch, if the owner(key) isnt near the car, it auto locks/unlocks when he (the key) is near it. if he wasnt around, it was prob locked, hence no worky

Threxx

No, I didn't assume they were low quality. I presented three plausible scenarios. I said either they're very high traffic/abuse that is simulating three whole lifetimes of entry/exit/use for the Vette, or they're just wanting them to be perfect and thus replacing them when only very light wear is experienced, or they're just low quality/durability.

Seems like you read too far into one of the three - the most anti-GM option of all.

I *did* say that the C5 seats are definitely low durability in design and I think most Vette owners who are being honest with you will admit that to you all the same.

I also asked if the C6s were having similar problems, meaning I flat out admitted I didn't know and was asking the question.

GRNcamaro

the vett has had crappy seats since the c4. the c3 seats weren’t great but held up better then the current seats and people plain just dont take car of the leather properly by cleaning and using leather conditioners on them. i yet to see a car that has good leather seats that hold up well thats why i always by cloth but i got to say unfortunately gm has some of the worst leather seats in any car.

jg95z28

FWIW, that was my 89 240SX. I think it was under 50k miles, but then I had been putting on weight. The tubular frame in the back rest actually broke near where it attached to the base. I was able to special order a new back frame from the Nissan dealer (about $200), slip the covers off and replace them myself. Actually the only negative I can say about that car. I loved my Nissan and would buy a Nissan again if they had something that fit my needs.

As long as we're talking about seats. I let my wife drive my 95 Z/28 to work today as I rode in the passenger seat. Now I remember why she hates that car. I felt so damn claustrophopic as my head was almost hitting the ceiling and my line of site was of the sunvisor before I scrunched down. They really did design those 4th gens around the driver with no concern of any passengers. That passenger seat needs a height adjustment badly. Oh, did I mention, I'm only 5-9?

CLEAN

From the shows I've been to, I've never seen the line of people waiting to sit in the Z06 less than 3 people, so you figure 1 or 2 a minute, figure one ever 45 seconds, thats 80 in's and outs in an hour, times how ever many hours the car show is going on for the day (10hrs?), times how many days the show runs (4?). Just with that, you're talking about 3200 in's and outs in 4 days. Multiply that times a show every week (12,800 ins and outs in a month), and a set of seats every 2 or 3 months seems plausible, especially if they want them to look pretty nice. My number may be high, but a lot of shows run 5 days too, and big ones run for a week or 2.

I don't drive much, I figured 6 ins and outs a day, every day of the year, equals 2190 cycles. The Z06 likely gets many years of cycles in just one month of showing.

Threxx

Interesting calculation. I have seen groups of people waiting to sit inside the Z06 at the car show here in Memphis, but that's generally during the busier hours. Earlier in the show and later in the show it's only the occasional person looking at it.

You also have to consider that getting in and out of a seat, while certainly more wear than just sitting in it.... well, when you sit in a seat, and sweat, and shift around and such... that's putting wear on it too even though you aren't exiting and entering the vehicle.

Just food for thought.

Fbodfather

go look at any leather interior (the driver's seat) after it's been thru an autoshow such as Los Angeles or NY or Chicago -- where there are hundreds of thousands in attendance.

Leather wears. Simple as that. The wear is accelerated by denim -- which is very abrasive --esp. with stitching and such.

Any sports car is going to wear even worse -- because they sit lower to the ground -- go watch someone get in and out -- on a large car, you don't drop as much and the seat is larger and does not have as an agressive bolster. On a Corvette or any other such sports car -- there's considerable drop before one's backside impacts the leather -- then one's backside drags across the leather.

Believe me -- we've spent untold hours looking at ways to reduce the leather wear. One solution is to make the seat bolster smaller. (unacceptable) Another would be to make the bolster face out of a heavier vinyl -- or water buffalo hide. In both cases, the tactile feel is gone -- and it looks bad. We even tried putting heavy vinyl UNDER the leather -- to no avail. With the cost of seat covers as they are, you can bet we want them to last.....and when they don't, they're replaced in most instances, under warranty.

So.....it's not a case of 'cheap' leather or bad engineering.

(Unless one wants to accuse God of engineering cheap cow skin.....I'd prefer not to........)

As to replacing the seat covers on the Z06 at Dallas -- yes, we replace them after the show...and the car in question was shipped to several shows.

Fbodfather

as to the air duct ready to fall out.....I have not yet seen that happen with the exception of one instance. (I'll get to that in a minute)

I can't speak as to why that particular one was loose -- any number of reasons from perhaps an incorrect installation -- to someone trying to pry it off (yes -- happens all the time at shows....)

I did see one loosen at NAIAS last year -- for those of you who were there early, there was a Silver Z06 on the floor -- for those arriving later in the show -- it mysteriously turned "yellow" -- that's because I watched 5 people plant their backsides on the front fender of the Silver one -- I don't mean 'lean up against it' -- I mean "plant your big fat personality ON TOP of the fender" --- all for a picture. None of them could have been described as 'petite'....

...........


The front fenders of the Z06 are carbon fiber. We did not design them to hold that kind of weight........and thus a very large crack appeared...about a foot long -- and when that happened, the brake duct came loose......

Threxx

So you're saying most of the rest of 'em are replacing the seats as well? Man that must get expensive.

Leather wears, sure, but at different rates - require maint, susceptibility to cracking, fading, stretching, etc... I've without a doubt noticed a difference in quality of leather between models and brands. Not all leather is created equally. Ironically what I've learned about leather is the cheapest way to make it durable is to make it not leather at all - 'leatherette' and such as the Germans, especially, are fond of. My 06 Audi A4 fools everyone that gets into it, but not me. It's hard feeling, and smells nothing of leather. That's nice in some ways though - but still ironic to see the cost scale go from vinyl, to cloth, to really nice vinyl that simulates leather, to leather that incorporates heavy vinyl topcoats and backing, to leather with thin top coats and no backing, to just flat out analine leather that feels amazing but you better take damn good care of.

With that said, I've noticed the GMT-800 truck and SUV leather seems to wear worse than others. Maybe just people don't take care of them compared to other competing models? Same with the Vette - compared to other sports cars on the market it just seems to wear more (speaking at least with the C4 and C5 - again, I dunno about the C6)

Good point - didn't think about the increased wear on the outside facing bolsters due to their greater height and the lower point of entry/exit. Still, though, the wear I see seems to still be excessive across the entire seat.

Are they? Seems like I hear of a lot of dealers just claiming 'normal wear' or that the owner hasn't taken care of the seats. This doesn't just go for GM but for all/most makes and models. Also, B2B warranties only last so long. Seats should last longer than 3 years without looking beat up.


You know as well as I do that there is a TON more involved from the time the cow is skinned to the time you're sitting on a leather car seat. There are many different ways and methods to dye, back, pull, and cure leather.