mx5cartalk.com

So for a number of reasons, I selected the GT package when I bought my ND, one of the 'options' I would've liked, if this car had options, would be to deselect leather seats, or to select cloth.

Big fan of cloth seats, all the moral reasons aside against leather which is popular to talk about these days, it just isn't a great material for car seats. Sure, it is hard wearing, and it resists spills, otherwise I find it gets hotter faster under the sun, colder in winter, and it's less flexible so it's less comfortable.

Therefore, I want to find covers for my car seats, and I don't want cheap $10 covers from SCA or AB, I would prefer some sort of suede/alcantara pieces that could go in the center of the seat, the sides aren't the main problem.

Any suggestions?

I don't have a suggestion for seat covers, but this would not be a problem if Mazda Australia offered the Recaro seats like they do in Europe and Canada. They have Alcantara in the centre sections and leather on the bolsters.
This is one area where the Abarth 124 kills the ND MX-5 in Australia. They have 4 seat options for the one and only model.
The base model seats have leather bolsters with cloth centre. Then you can pick full leather, all black or black and red. The 4th option is Recaros as listed above for Euro MX-5's.


In this day and age I don't see why you just can't go to Mazda and order a base model or any model, but have what ever compatible options and parts fitted. You should be able to order the top model with base seats. I hate this limiting of options to certain models only when there is no technical reason for it not be available.
If you have ever been to a modern car factory such as an Audi or Mercedes factory in Germany you get to see first hand that this is not an issue at all. They fit different options all the time that the computer systems are programmed to do. This programing comes from the order at the dealer you ordered the car from. I don't see there being a technical issue from Mazda preventing this as you can pick options for the Fiats built in the same factory.

I have these, they are great quality, fit like a factory seat trim, look awesome, and have held up well to almost 12months of near daily use:

http://rev9autosport.com/damd-quilted-seat-covers.html

Above are nice but pricey!

Maybe consider having an upholsterer refinish the centres in alcantara or a quality lambswool/sheepskin (low pile) seat cover.

I got a quote for getting a upholsterer to refinish the ND leather seat centres in alcantara and it was for about $2000 so I quickly shelved that idea. They said it was a fiddely job. In summer I just use a black microfibre towel that is attached to the seat centre with ties, and that keeps the sweat quotient down a touch.

The best product for comfort apart from highest grade Connolly leather which one may use for your E type valued at $150,000 is lambswool. I have it in my MX-5 older model and its brilliant. It needs to be fitted properly and must not interfere with air bags in seat and one needs to be sure that in any seat setting it would be higher than stock Its checkable - i.e. sit on the selected thickness and see if its a problem.
One would also select the right colour if going lambswool and the thickness so as to get a good aesthetic appearance. Considering the ND seems to have a certain profile on the seat then lambswool might detract?

If you want anything with Alcantara (ie. faux seude) it will be costly.
Trawl the web, I'm sure there must be some nice seat covers from overseas.
Or put up a Swap thread and ask if someone wants to do a swap?

It is a costly project, I wanted lambswool inserts for my NC as the leather gets a bit hot in summer, was quoted $1400 for the pair. So being a cheap Charlie I have decided to make my own, purchased the lambskin, made a pattern from cardboard and am now busy sewing the pieces together. Managed to get some backing fabric and using fabric glue (waterproof) to glue to the backs to protect the leather. Also am going to use 25 mm nylon webbing and the quick adjuster buckles to fit the bottom/back and because of the fixed headrest sew 25 mm elastic in a loop to slip over the headrest.
All up time and around $150.

that quote is crazy- its just right off the scale- you could have sourced it from a professional for a lot less and it would fit and last. PS the elastic straps always stretch and will need replacement down the track. Good idea though- lambswool is a great product.