cosmomiller

It varies. Cowhide is good but there are two different tanning processes. Chrome tanning and vegetable tanning. Take an example of leather shoes. The uppers of these will be chrome tanned, while the soles will be vegetable tanned. Chrome tanned leather is soft and pliable, while vegetable tanned leather, though pliable initially, may be wet-blocked to a particular shape and, once dry, will retain that shape.

Top grain leather means the just that. It is the highest quality, looks the best, and wears the best. Split grain is just that. The top has been shaved off leaving the softer stuff underneath. Think suede.

The leather in the S2000, just like many Asian cars, is actually a leather plastic blend. The real leather is pressed into plastic for forming but it is not as long wearing. That is why the holes in it for the seats begin to crack. European high end cars use real, quality leather. That is why a Mercedes from the 50s and 60s still have decent seats. Nothing from the USA or Asia can match that because it is not quality leather.

When you go to a shop for upholstering your new seats, ask about the grain of the leather and the tanning.

The location on the hide is important. The shoulder is the most uniform and holsters and shoe tops. The two bends possess high tensile properties and are normally reserved for use in the production of belts, stirrup leathers and other applications where this particular attribute is called for. The bellies are irregular and spongy, of poor quality, and are normally reserved for linings and other second-line uses.

robjoshua228@yahoo.com

Very informative, this will come in handy once I find the right shop for the job. Regards.

jts09

I replaced the leather in my '06 Suzuka a few years ago (already?). I noticed when I inspected the original seats, the fronts were a much different color than the backs. I assume that the exposure to UV faded the fronts. I requested color samples (I have a reply on this thread with the specifics along with photos of my finished seats.). The '06 doesn't have a complete blue interior, only the seats & carpet are blue, so an exact match wasn't a big concern for me.

Good luck. I've like how my seats came out. LeatherSeats.com also provided a list of local installers if you aren't installing them yourself.