Aftermarket leather seats

[Chowbaby]

I got my dd/mall crawler sport s outfitted with aftermarket leather seats through the dealership and worked it into my purchase. At the time, I was unfamiliar with katzskin and didn't even think to ask who the manufacturer was - I just looked at the sample car they showed me and it looked good. Upon install, I saw that it was not katzskin, but classic soft trim (still reputable from what I have reseached). Here is my review:

Leather quality: 8/10
The leather quality is pretty good - it is decently thick and feels durable.

Leather choice: 10/10
The dealer had a huge wheel of swatches (100+), from perforated to non, and they were all the same price (at least what I was told).

Leather fit: 6/10
This is probably my biggest area of gripe. I am a little disappointed with the fitment (see pictures below), but this may also be heavily influenced on your installer (and because I'm anal about small imperfections). I will admittedly say I do not believe my installer was all that great, considering they put a small scratch on the interior of my car and took my car for a 200 mile joyride (although I could never prove it). As seen below, there are several areas with wrinkles. Understanding/hoping some of these will go away with time, overall they're not too terrible and the majority fitment is nice.

Warranty: 10/10
Classic soft trim has a limited lifetime warranty. Don't know if this is pretty standard or not but at least on paper it looks good.

Overall: 8/10
I haven't seen katzskin yet in the flesh so I can't do a direct comparison but I am overall happy with how mine turned out, especially with the color combo. I think specific issues with fitment depends on your installer and how sensitive you are to these things. I thought about notifying my dealership to see if the shop can smooth out some loose spots, but figured it may cause more harm than good. If you find a good deal on classic soft trims, I would not hesitate to recommend it.

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[Firecracker Rubi]

This isn't what you want to hear, but... For an aftermarket production replacement cover, yours fits very well compared to a lot of them. You will never get OEM fitment without going original OEM from the factory or to a custom shop that will shape the foam perfectly. I did OEM replacements on my Sierra and they didn't fit as perfect as the original covers did.

That being said, this is exactly why I no longer do the aftermarket leather kits. Katskinz would be exactly the same, very small patches that are too tight or just slightly loose. I think your installer did just about the best you can expect. Park it out in the sun with the tops off and let the sun soften the leather a bit, you should see a slightly better fitment when it softens up.

 

[Chowbaby]

This isn't what you want to hear, but... For an aftermarket production replacement cover, yours fits very well compared to a lot of them. You will never get OEM fitment without going original OEM from the factory or to a custom shop that will shape the foam perfectly. I did OEM replacements on my Sierra and they didn't fit as perfect as the original covers did.

That being said, this is exactly why I no longer do the aftermarket leather kits. Katskinz would be exactly the same, very small patches that are too tight or just slightly loose. I think your installer did just about the best you can expect. Park it out in the sun with the tops off and let the sun soften the leather a bit, you should see a slightly better fitment when it softens up.

That's good to hear. This is my first experience withb aftermarket leather seats so wasn't sure what was the norm...the sample car (I think it was the managers) they showed me though was perfect, so my expectations were somewhat elevated. Regardless, overall I am happy with them - as my first wrangler with leather and all the interior upgrades of the jl, it feels so damn luxurious lol.

 

[Firecracker Rubi]

The color you chose looks great, what's the name of it? On my screen it looks like a football color, I like it.

 

[COBoarder]

The color you chose looks great, what's the name of it? On my screen it looks like a football color, I like it.

I'd like to know the color as well. For me, I want a contrasting color for the seats and the stock tan leather is too light for my tastes. This color looks about right.

 

[BradyAntebellum]

I got my dd/mall crawler sport s outfitted with aftermarket leather seats through the dealership and worked it into my purchase. At the time, I was unfamiliar with katzskin and didn't even think to ask who the manufacturer was - I just looked at the sample car they showed me and it looked good. Upon install, I saw that it was not katzskin, but classic soft trim (still reputable from what I have reseached). Here is my review:

Leather quality: 8/10
The leather quality is pretty good - it is decently thick and feels durable.

Leather choice: 10/10
The dealer had a huge wheel of swatches (100+), from perforated to non, and they were all the same price (at least what I was told).

Leather fit: 6/10
This is probably my biggest area of gripe. I am a little disappointed with the fitment (see pictures below), but this may also be heavily influenced on your installer (and because I'm anal about small imperfections). I will admittedly say I do not believe my installer was all that great, considering they put a small scratch on the interior of my car and took my car for a 200 mile joyride (although I could never prove it). As seen below, there are several areas with wrinkles. Understanding/hoping some of these will go away with time, overall they're not too terrible and the majority fitment is nice.

Warranty: 10/10
Classic soft trim has a limited lifetime warranty. Don't know if this is pretty standard or not but at least on paper it looks good.

Overall: 8/10
I haven't seen katzskin yet in the flesh so I can't do a direct comparison but I am overall happy with how mine turned out, especially with the color combo. I think specific issues with fitment depends on your installer and how sensitive you are to these things. I thought about notifying my dealership to see if the shop can smooth out some loose spots, but figured it may cause more harm than good. If you find a good deal on classic soft trims, I would not hesitate to recommend it.


I wouldn't sweat the little wrinkles/imperfections in the leather, my rubi's factory leather has no less than that. I suspect if they pulled the leather too taut while installing it, it wouldn't leave any slack and be more prone to wear/tear and rips after years of use.

 

[JASPER]

Id like more of a red to match the dash, but looks nice..

 

[Chowbaby]

The color you chose looks great, what's the name of it? On my screen it looks like a football color, I like it.

Sorry I just realized that I never answered your question but better late than never...I don't remember the specific "color code" on the swatch (it was like A104 or something) but i believe the color is called brick. It is exactly as you described - same color as a pigskin with maybe just a slightly more red-ish hue. Looks awesome imo.

 

[Hip2u77]

Thanks for the review. Looking at options for my wife's JLUR.

For a few months I worked at Faurecia assembling the seats for the Chevy Malibu. I was on the line that buttoned everything up. The differences from one leather seat to the next could be huge depending on how well the cover was installed. We had a steamer at the end on the line that we used to smooth out the wrinkles. I would stick a towel over the area and then 'iron it' with the steamer and that would tighten up the leather. I would assume Classic and Katzkin use OEM covers as patterns so I would think the biggest difference is the installer.

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