Katzkin and Roadwire Leather

[gto093]

I have been thinking about reupholstering my seats, probly make them two-tone

I found out that Katzin and Roadwire are famous ones

Anyone here have experience with either of them?

[Larson7.62]

How much does it cost to reupholster? I would just upgrade the seats.

[elwigglero]

How much does it cost to reupholster? I would just upgrade the seats.

x2...If you're going to spend money on seats, put it towards a decent set.

[gto093]

yeah but then seats i want are too much..
i want recaro toplines b/c i want to keep power seat/heat etc.. and keep OEM look
but they are like 1500 a piece and also need the tools..
on the other hand, local shop quoted me around 1000 for both front/rear two tone- black leather w/ silver alcantara, white stitching, embrossed audi logo..
i just wonder how this combo would look on stock seats ..

[Shnab]

its funny that i saw this thread, i work as a dealer and im adding leather in a 2010 nissan rogue for a customer, im on the phone with the upholsterer as im typing this. and its coming out to 900 for the whole intirior, thats for just plain black leather no 2 tone or anything like that. Im sure if you needed to do a 2 tone look it might be a few extra dollars. An A4 should be around the same price I cant imagine it being much more than that.

[gto093]

haha
Shnab, do you use katzkin or roadwire or just some custom piece?
could you tell me more about them? quality and etc?
and do you think they will look good on stock seats? thats my biggest concern..

[Shnab]

I have done this numerouse times to cars. not any A4s cause they come with leather. Ive done honda odyssey base accords rouges rav4s etc. The leather that is used is good stuff. keep in mind it wont be the quality leather that you may find in a BMW or a Audi expect a lower quality not shitty just not top of the line. i dont deal with katzkin or roadwire i use guys local to me no need to ship ur intirior. you can go to local upholstery. Im sure better leather can be requested at a higher premium.

I dont understand by it looking good on stock seats please elaborate

[gto093]

thanks.
by that i meant,
you know how s4 seats or b8 a4s have some kinda patterns to their seats so 2-tone looks really good there
for ex:



while b7 have simpler(?) designs like:


So basically I was wondering if two-tone combo will look as good as they do on b8 or s4 on ours..
hope im making sense here.. not really good at explaining stuff.. haha

The leather quality kinda worries me though.. i might have to visit and check it out.. only thing is that they are 50miles away from me.
Local shop uses leather kit from Roadwire, told me they have 5-yr warranty and use alcantara..

[europaisch]

50 miles is a 2 hour drive round trip. Not too bad for some peace of mind.

Personally I think it would look dated and a bit plain on the stock seats. No wow factor, just different.

[Shnab]

I agree, I dont think 2 tone would look good because of the seat structure. when a company reupholsters seats theyr basicaly covering the existing structre of the seat. not changing the design pattern or anything like that. look a the beige seat above. to take that seat and maybe put black on the outter part and lets say red in the inner would be easy cause its structred properly to do that, our B7 seats have horizontal lines going through it unless you want horizotal stripes going accross your seats its not gonna work

[Shnab]

Ok just got off the phone with the upholsterer im using, he does have higher quality leathers. for our cars it is more money and he also can do all kinds of exotic shit, like alligator skin, shark skin, ostrich etc. he said a job using good leathers etc is about 15-1800, just so you have an idea of what your getting yourself into, I would definately bring the car to my guy if your local and seriouse and maybe you can chop him down a little.

[gto093]

haha yeah
thansk for the help!

i will have to think more about this..
I really love Recaro Toplines but they will be around $2500 :( i will get a new car with that money haha..

[Shnab]

They are bad ass, there is a thread about a guy who put recaros in his B7 with out setting off any lights PRICEY!!, for the most part changing the seats in our cars sets off some lights. Im sure if you ran a search you can find it

[gto093]

yup. i did a search while ago..
that was another reason.. i dont wanna put $$$ seats and have some codes up..

should i get these or save up and get recaros..

[p1nk50ck]

our stock seats are horrible. absolutely no leg, side, or shoulder support.

save up an extra month or two, and shell out the bucks for nice seats. dumping more money into our stockers is just a waste of money. i would say that it would even be worth it to just swap the driver's seat. it'll help improve your driving comfort, cornering ability, and depending on the seat, shave off a few pounds.

[gto093]

im also thinking about getting b6 recaros.
are they same as b7 recaros?
and simple plug-and-play?

[p1nk50ck]

im also thinking about getting b6 recaros.
are they same as b7 recaros?
and simple plug-and-play?

i don't know for sure, but i've heard that they're different. I think the b7 recaros have airbags, which would set off the light.

[Shnab]

The idea of rehupolstering your interior is sweet ans unique, ther are ups and downs to both sides
Pros: I you were to redo the seats it would be totally different and unique
cheaper than recaros by far
You dont set off any lights doing it
Cons: No extra support like the recaros as stated above

Pros (Recaros) Sick ass seats
Tons of support and will hold you in place
Lighter than stock
Different for sure,just not one of a kind
Cons: very expensive
sets off lights
I believe you lose the heated seats option if you have or care about it
cant think of much else, add to the list please if you feel there is something I missed.

[VWWay]

The Katzkin and Roadwire Leather Kits are the top of the line companies.
Their quality is about the same.
The Roadwire was around much longer, though, I was told.

I'm very happy with my kit, which was made by Roadwire.
The local guys did all the work.
If anybody interested you can find them: http://bestleatherkits.com/
Or call: 775-BestKits

[DocJ]

i cant shed much light on this subject, but if it was me, id save up and just get top of the line (recaros). its like waiting the extra month to get coils rather than just shocks and springs.

[A4 Centaur]

Hey, went through this with my VW A4 Tdi. Easy fix! First thing is you can have the seat shop add bolsters with thicker foam in areas just like Recaro. Then have them wrapped like you want with Alacantara or Suede. Second, you could find a set of regular Recaros like say: Toplines and have them gutted and matched to your seat frames and then bolt in the airbags. This would require the removal of the seat skins but this works because I did it with a set of Audi A4 seats (B5 2001 MY) into my VW A4 2001 MY. This is simple but will take the shop like a friggin month!
Lastly, you could do a combo method. Take your seats and have them built with guts and new skins from roadwire that are made for the Recaros! That is a cool idea and will work. I eventually did buy real Real OEM Euro Recaros from RPI however. But the custom ones were nice too!