Katzkins Leather Upgrade

cjr02 · 01-17-2005, 07:25 AM

Anyone put in a Katzkins leather kit yet? I put one in on my '02 Chevy HD and it couldn't have been easier. All the attachment was plastic clips and zippers. I've heard that domestic vehicles often use the plastic clips, and foreign vehicles more often use hogrings. When Uncle Sam sends a pitiful amount of my money back, I'm ordering a Katzkins kit from autoleathers.com . Just wanted to know if anyone had done it in a titan yet.
Also, if anyone has done it, did you do the door panels? The seats in my chevy were simple, but timming and gluing the door panel inserts seemed like a pain, so I left my panels fabric. The titan panel inserts won't match my leather at all, so I want to cover them. I may just do the seats myself, and take it to an interior shop for the door panels.
If you haven't looked at Katzkins, check them out. leather quality is excellent. They use vat-dyed leather rather than surface dyed.(Leather won't get those ugly white cracks and scratches like cheap factory leather interiors)

Thanks,

Chad

falchulk · 01-17-2005, 08:43 AM

autoleathers.com only sells up to 03 model, 04 and 05 must be ordered from a dealer it says. leatherseats.com also has a leather package coming. They had the prototype up on ebay a few weeks ago.

raskm · 01-17-2005, 10:28 AM

I think they still offer those seats on ebay....after bidding is done they go for a very high price....I would like to see the rear covers....I have seen some very nice leather seat covers and think they look better than most OEM.....keep me posted on what you come up with....

cjr02 · 01-17-2005, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falchulk

autoleathers.com only sells up to 03 model, 04 and 05 must be ordered from a dealer it says. leatherseats.com also has a leather package coming. They had the prototype up on ebay a few weeks ago.

Autoleathers will only sell kits for vehicles one year after their model year (2004 model year leather available to purchase Jan 1 2005). They hold out that first year for dealers (MANY dealers use katzkins for dealer-installed leather) and their licensed installers. They charge $500 for their licensed installers to put in the kit. I talked to them on the phone and via email. Even if the website is saying you can't order your 04 kit yet, give them a call.

cjr02 · 01-17-2005, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raskm

I think they still offer those seats on ebay....after bidding is done they go for a very high price....I would like to see the rear covers....I have seen some very nice leather seat covers and think they look better than most OEM.....keep me posted on what you come up with....

The standard kit ($679) has leather seating surfaces on the front, and leather inserts (center sections of the seat and back) on the rear seat. The other surfaces are vinyl that is virtually identical to leather in appearance and feel. This is the same as most OEM leather. If you upgrade to the deluxe ($879), the whole seating surfaces on the rear are leather. I had the standard kit in my Chevy, and the quality was EXCELLENT. I would take katzkins over OEM leather every time.
You can choose options like gathered leather, two tone, and a giant selection of colors. I'm going to do a two tone dark and light grey to match the rest of the interior. The customer service is great and the install is easy if you're mechanically inclined and take your time.
I just want to find out if the contours are secured with heavy velcro like my chevy was, or with hogrings. Guess I'll give them a call. I'll post what I find.

raskm · 01-17-2005, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjr02

The standard kit ($679) has leather seating surfaces on the front, and leather inserts (center sections of the seat and back) on the rear seat. The other surfaces are vinyl that is virtually identical to leather in appearance and feel. This is the same as most OEM leather. If you upgrade to the deluxe ($879), the whole seating surfaces on the rear are leather. I had the standard kit in my Chevy, and the quality was EXCELLENT. I would take katzkins over OEM leather every time.
You can choose options like gathered leather, two tone, and a giant selection of colors. I'm going to do a two tone dark and light grey to match the rest of the interior. The customer service is great and the install is easy if you're mechanically inclined and take your time.
I just want to find out if the contours are secured with heavy velcro like my chevy was, or with hogrings. Guess I'll give them a call. I'll post what I find.

Thanks cjr02 keep us informed!

BilltheCat · 01-17-2005, 09:16 PM

Leather is the main reason I didn't get an LE

raskm · 01-17-2005, 09:40 PM

I love leather!! If you have kids....so easy to clean....Wifes car has leather and I love them...I just didn't want to pay the extra....And I have a Golden retriever that would ruin them...

falchulk · 01-18-2005, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raskm

I love leather!! If you have kids....so easy to clean....Wifes car has leather and I love them...I just didn't want to pay the extra....And I have a Golden retriever that would ruin them...

Put the seats up when you put him in the back. He cant tear up what he cant stand on (unless you mean he will bite it).

MOTO-MAX-TITAN · 01-18-2005, 06:43 AM

Check with the dealer/service dept and find out if the seat covers void your warrenty.
Reason being is most of the seats have a sensor's that detect weight (someone sitting in the seat) for the air bag's.
And some seats have the side curtain airbag's.
From what I understand Nissan only lets the dealer's use a handfull of vendors for that reason.
Not trying to be a downer, just trying to help.

cjr02 · 01-18-2005, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOTO-MAX-TITAN

Check with the dealer/service dept and find out if the seat covers void your warrenty.
Reason being is most of the seats have a sensor's that detect weight (someone sitting in the seat) for the air bag's.
And some seats have the side curtain airbag's.
From what I understand Nissan only lets the dealer's use a handfull of vendors for that reason.
Not trying to be a downer, just trying to help.

Thanks for the heads up- I already thought about the side airbags, but my truck doesn't have them. I didn't think about the sensor. I can't imagine it would be a problem, but I will definately check. At worst, it would void the warranty in relation to the sensor only.

raskm · 01-18-2005, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falchulk

Put the seats up when you put him in the back. He cant tear up what he cant stand on (unless you mean he will bite it).

Only one side is down most of the time becuase my duaghter rides back there and he likes to stand on them......If she is not both get folded..

cjr02 · 02-11-2005, 03:10 PM

Just ordered the kit from autoleathers.com. Will post pics after install

Stevencraver · 02-12-2005, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjr02

Just ordered the kit from autoleathers.com. Will post pics after install

Thanks for the update cjr02. Could you take a lot of pictures during the install so that those of us who are planning on doing the same thing (me) can learn from you. Thanks.

cjr02 · 02-19-2005, 10:28 AM

Well I have the back seats done and the front passenger seat done, all I have left is the center (I have the bench) and the driver seat. I'm taking a break for the moment. So far, install has been pretty smooth. This kit has been much more difficult to install than the chevy was, due to the fact that Nissan uses hog rings (ALOT of hog rings), while the chevy used none. This does make for a nicer, better quality install, though.
I'll get some pics up when I'm done.