I Love GS4

Order #2 Placed. C'mon guys, lets get this goin'! You only have till next Friday to get your orders in, we need to get to 20. This is an awesome deal and some awesome savings! Dont let your fellow CL members down, we need to get to 20, we are at 2. Once your order is placed, post a reply in this thread so we can keep track.

-Chris

fireballs gs400

do i tell when i order the items i want, also did we come up with center console armrest pieces??

Leatherseats.com

Just call in and order with me. I can answer any questions you have then.

A little note to everyone... if you have a few final questions that you need answering before you order its not a problem. You dont have to have everything you want set in stone when you call. You can pass your interior ideas threw me. I will be able to answer all of your questions in a few minutes instead of trying to explain over the forum.


P.S. Here is a picture of an SC interior we did... I had gotten a few PM's with people concerned that Sandstone wasnt exactly the right color so I am hoping this will help.

sorka

Order #5 placed. Jeremy, I have a follow up question with you regarding the gathering on the seats. After we spoke today, I went back and checked the stock seats and here's what I've concluded:

The rear backrests are indeed slightly gathered. It's not much. When you follow the panel back to the stitch, you can see that it was sewn with the gathering like that. However, the bottom of the back seat as well as the bottoms and backrests of the front seats were not sewn with any gathering at all. They are washboard stiff and smooth(even smoother than the photo above). When they were new, they were still washboard stiff, but they've become slightly firmer over time as the leather has hardened. I've followed the panels back to the stitches and unlick the backrest panels of the rear bench, you can clearly see that gathering was not sewn in nor intended.

Is this different than you're understanding of the stock seats? I want to make sure I get the look as stock as possible.

Also, is the leather you guys use as thick as the leather in the stock seats?

Thanks.

Leatherseats.com

I will post 2 or 3 pictures of stock SC300s. One of them is a European spec Soarer and the other is a factory American spec SC.

The pictures I will attach is ONE of at least TWO version of the SC seats. If there are more I do not know, but these are what they looked like from the factory for the earlier US models. The later 97+ SC's had some interiors that came with perforated inserts, this is also when the Solid Black interiors started popping up.

Picture one: (Soarer)

Leatherseats.com

As far as leather thickness... I am not sure what thickness the Lexus leather is. Ours averages between 1.1-1.3mm from what I remember. Most people consider our interiors to be superior to the factory interiors, and are always VERY happy with the end result. The facts are is that I cant duplicate your factory OEM interior because its impossible. The leather used back when they made your car is different than what is used today. Every dye lot has a slight variation to it so even buying covers from Lexus wont match your particular factory interior, especially when you factory in the sun's bleaching effects on plastics and leather. The sewing... depends completely on who is doing the stitching and so your interior isnt nessecarily the same as the next SC. Leather is an organic product that is never completely consistant.

I guess in the end its kind of related to the Chaos Theory... nothing is ever the same because of even the slightest action or variation of chemicals in the process somewhere. Everything is a variable down to the age of the cow at slaughter, how fast the hide was processed, the dye lot it was in, and the physical hands sewing the interior. Anyways most of that is common sense, but people's perception of OEM always being "the right thing" or "the right way" to do things isnt nessecarily true.

American SC, Factory:

jhmasa

Just placed my order. #7 on the order list.

1999 GS300
charcoal with platinum piping.

jhmasa

P.Williams

iTrader: (1)

I must have placed my order just beforehand, I was number #6.

sorka

Here are some crappy cell phone pictures of my current seats.

http://alana.smugmug.com/gallery/194502/1/7402054

Notice how the passenger side front seat doesn't show any gathering at all on the backrest while the driver side appears to show slight gathering. It turns out this isn't really gathering on the drivers side but rather wrinkles that formed because the padding has collapsed and the leather has flattened out because the padding is no longer pushing it out. The passenger side has had much less use in the last 10 years so it doesn't show the wrinkles at all. They're pretty smooth.

The interesting thing is that the rear backrests(not the bottoms) do show slight gathering and have always been this way.

None of the seat bottoms show the slightest gathering now nor when it was new.

I have a question about the "flat insert" option. What is it that makes it cost more? Is it more difficult to manufacture or do you need to use different materials to achieve that flat look?

zilverz

I paid this morning, I think I'm number 9. I've had the SC for 2 weeks and already got in on 2 groupbuys. I can't wait until I get everything installed. Any chance of a groupbuy on Supra brakes or ToyoMoto KIts. That would ROCK!!!!!!

johnee78

iTrader: (4)

Congrats on your purchase of the new interior..Contact Steve ganz at carson toyota and he can give you a geat price on a supra BBk upgrade..

SC300-95-TMM

Just curious if it is too late to be included in the latest group buy so I can get a set of covers for my "soon to be here" ride. Pick it up in two weeks. Thanks



PS. Toyomoto buy would be KOOL!!!

Leatherseats.com

sorka: Well there are three different options we offer. Gathered, Flat, or Flat Perforated. You can choose either one you feel is more factory. Your pictures you posted didnt work, but from all the factory SC pictures I have seen they have been either flat perforated or gathered inserts. Our gathering might be more gathered that factory or less... I dont know because I have seen some factory pictures with a LOT of gathering (soarer picture) and others with not as much gathering (American SC picture). I dont know what your particular vehicle looked like from the factory so I couldnt tell ya how gathered or flat it was. I would just make a decision based upon what you would want in the interior and then run with it because I mentioned before there is pretty much no way to copy your exact factory interior. Even Lexus couldnt.

The Flat Insert is more for one simple fact... our interiors are all programmed into machines that cuts the leathe automatically. The way the inserts are designed in the machine is gathered. So any alteration from the way it is designed in the machine has to be cut seperately and it takes more time.

I will post 2 pictures. One of our interiors with gathered inserts and another one of our interiors with flat inserts. That way you can decided which you like better.

ImpalaSS95: If you call me by the end of the week and order you can get in on the group buy. Not sure what kind of car you have, but judging from the CL name I just want to let you know that this group buy was for Lexus vehicles only.

Flat Inserts Picture:

Leatherseats.com

One of our Gathered Interiors:

Leatherseats.com

Here is actually a factory picture off a SC in REALLY good shape on Ebay... looks gathered to me: