[WillyZ83]

I’ll be doing the katzkin route and I’ll post my finished results when I get the fabric in and installed. Thanks for everyone’s input ; I appreciate it

[Fraxum]

OP New or used Recaros are by far the best option for an upgrade to me. And well worth the $$. Note they all com with ventilation and heaters. But getting both to work can be a big deal on a 1SS. But it has been done. I ordered them on my LT1.

I don't think the ventillation is worth the trouble after having them on the last 2 Camaros I have owned. But the heaters are a chore to hook up from what I have read. I will wait on that project for now. The LT1s come with a free winter tire setup. That heated steering wheel would be nice also.

[cdrptrks]

Do you have documentation for how to get the heaters working? Last time I checked no one had figured it out.

Gen5DIY sells a wiring harness to enable the built in ventilation fans on Recaro seats (and probably 2SS seats too) with a physical switch for $163. It was definitely worth it for me in the hot Texas summers.
https://www.gen5diy.com/collections/...23134969135162

Also I drove on a several thousand mile road trip this year with the Recaro seats and they are comfortable and supportive for both long trips and driving through corners at high speeds on track. My butt was sliding all over the place in my leather seat while driving through corners on track in my previous car.

[WillyZ83]

Wanted to update the thread, I decided to pull the trigger on the Katzkin option which had leather and suede for the middle which is close to what I was looking for. The fabric quality is top notch, however, they sent a kit that has lots of loose space and isn't a tight "factory fit" The company guarantees oem quality or better and I'll hold them to that. I contacted Katzkin, showed them photos and they're sending a new entire kit. I'll post up some pics later.

[LT4Greg]

Good luck!

[Mike7409]

Katzkin seats are very well made. Leather is thicker than OEM
Perfect fit. I installed mine myself they look great. Only thing lower quality than OEM is
The zippers seem thinner but never had a problem.
Had them in a mustang before and they don’t seem to wear as fast as OEM
Great product

[WillyZ83]

I haven't posted the pics yet but experience has been less than stellar. They replaced the kit a second time and it's still not right, wrinkles in a lot of places, suede was scorched from the installer, panels aren't fitting right. Getting the run around from Katzkin currently since they have to ship out a 3rd unit! This has been a total pain in the ass so far, can't say I recommend going Katzkin

[Bumbleboy92]

Originally Posted by WillyZ83

I haven't posted the pics yet but experience has been less than stellar. They replaced the kit a second time and it's still not right, wrinkles in a lot of places, suede was scorched from the installer, panels aren't fitting right. Getting the run around from Katzkin currently since they have to ship out a 3rd unit! This has been a total pain in the ass so far, can't say I recommend going Katzkin

That sucks, I've only heard good things from Katzkin. How are you having them installed? Through a Katzkin authorized installer or DIY? I've heard it takes a lot of steam and stretching as well as some time after to smooth out the wrinkles.

May need a few after treatments of steam to get all the wrinkles out. If by change you haven't been using steam on the install, I'd highly recommend it. This video is practically a walkthrough and IMO the best way to install skins

[WillyZ83]

Originally Posted by Bumbleboy92

That sucks, I've only heard good things from Katzkin. How are you having them installed? Through a Katzkin authorized installer or DIY? I've heard it takes a lot of steam and stretching as well as some time after to smooth out the wrinkles.

May need a few after treatments of steam to get all the wrinkles out. If by change you haven't been using steam on the install, I'd highly recommend it. This video is practically a walkthrough and IMO the best way to install skins

I used one of their preferred installers all setup through Katzkin as well. It looks like they used a heat gun instead of steam because the suede is scorched on upper back area of both front seats. I'll put some pics up here when I get some time. I paid a bunch to have it done the right way too.

I'm staying on them until it's fixed the right way, they have a 3 year 36,000 mile guarantee so I'm not going anywhere until it's looking the way I expect

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

The standard seats are butt ugly, whether cloth or leather, because the headrests look like something from a minivan.

The standard Gen5 seats, on the other hand, have headrests shaped like those on the Gen6 Recaro seats. That's what I have now. Those are some good looking seats, with "SS" embroidered in the headrest instead of stupidly glued onto the seat back. What were they thinking?

I would go with Recaro seats for an upgrade.

If I'm ever able to order a Gen6 (after the chip shortage) you can bet it will have Recaro seats!

+100. I fell in love with the 6th gen Recaros in my ZL1. So much so I ordered them in my LT1. IN addition all of the 6th gen Recaros have Ventilation and heating if you have a 2SS easy to hookup I think. On the 1SS or LT1 hooking up both are possible, but this is not so easy.....

[Staves]

Will never understand why someone would get cloth seats just to upgrade them. Not to mention the cloth seats are literally some of the most comfortable seats I’ve ever used in a car. They look great to me. I don’t track the car and the bolstering is fine.

[WillyZ83]

Originally Posted by Staves

Will never understand why someone would get cloth seats just to upgrade them. Not to mention the cloth seats are literally some of the most comfortable seats I’ve ever used in a car. They look great to me. I don’t track the car and the bolstering is fine.

Forgive the late post..... When I purchased the vehicle, I was more set on the performance side of it and didn't take into account the seating cloth / leather. To me, the cloth seats were flat and I moved around too much when driving spirited. Also.... the 2SS seats are pretty much the same as far as inner foam / padding goes.

One good thing about this is the installers added foam to make the seats hug you more which I do like since it keeps me more in the seat

Having said that, Katzkin finally sent out the third set to make it right. So here is the first install given to me. See for yourselves









These pics don't show the added bolsters they did, this was the first set that was awful and can't belive they let the car be returned like this.


this was before

[WillyZ83]

So here is the second install, much better but not the quality I expected for paying a premium. Some spots were loose, some wrinkles and just not tight fitting as you would expect.











here you can see the seat back is no longer flat and offer more of a hugged feel which I do like



Im dropping off for the 3rd install this Monday and I'm going to work closely with the company until it's right. Overall I do like how the interior turned out. it's minor details at this point but they're working with me. It just took a long time for the last set to get sent. Here is how the inside looks

[craigss50]

Well at least that looks a lot better. Hopefully the 3rd try will be the charm.