Vinyl Seat Upholstery is Becoming a Trend

[Mad Mac]

Ford, Chevy and Ram trucks
offer seats upholstered with vinyl.
Vinyl upholstery is not limited to work trucks.

Even European luxury cars
like BMW and Mercedes
are trending toward vinyl upholstery.

Subaru TV commercials with dogs
prompted me to see
if Subaru offers vinyl upholstery.
Indeed they do. Breathable StarTex.

Vinyl upholstery for the off road lifestyle
seems like a no-brainer,
with or without canine copilots.

Sound off and let your voice be heard.
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[bgott]

Vinyl sucks! It makes me sweat like a pig and is hot as hell. I had heard at an emissions class that they had moved away from vinyl because the outgassing affected the evaporative emissions testing. That made me very happy!

 

[Deleted member 52902]

I preferred later generation of Wrangler JEEP's to have cloth seats. Fabrics used in recent years are incredibly durable. Vehicles in say, the 1970's and 80's with cloth, pretty much pulled apart early on. Stain preventatives were not so common so they could look nasty in not so short time. While vinyl and leather especially in colder climate states are cold to sit on at first, they are more durable. Still don't like vinyl or leather because of their first-sitting cold. Regardless of seat heaters that take a little time to warm up. Even if you have remote start but depends on how long you let it run before getting in a vehicle. So in modern vehicles, I much, much prefer the long wearing and treated cloth used today. I just sold my 2008 Wrangler JK and its cloth seats still look like new.. the driver seat is the only one that has a slight sag and left bolster does have a slight difference but really, it was incredible how well it looked last week before handing over its keys to a new owner.

Bear in mind that my wife and I I are tall . Stock height suspension on the JK, we both entered and exited the JK with very little sliding on that left bolster. Whatever food, drink or ice cream spills we had, easy peasy to clean with its factory Skotch Guard-like feature.

Likewise I specifically selected a Gladiator JT to also have cloth seats. Still agreeably indifferent to cold temperatures. The Gladiator is unfortunately adorned with electronics to make driving decisions, electronics to entertain and electrical to heat human rear axles . I still view a JEEP Wrangler or Gladiator to be closer to bare bones for off road first, and human comfort good enough for pavement use. Today, these JEEP's are marketed as Swiss Army knife of cushy and gee-whiz stuff with the expense , and sometimes issues to match.

Nonetlheless, I still stand firm on selecting cloth seats. However, if for some reason I end up with a JT or JL with leather or vinyl; Sheepskin seat covers even on cloth while expensive, are amazing. Expensive? Yes. But once you have sat on these, wow. But take them off and store, especially for mudding and really dusty trails. Vinyl underneath has its benefits on just about all off road ventures. Except in direct sunlight, boy can they really, really burn.

Gene

 

[wolfdog]

Leather options on factory orders are not all leather, more vinyl than leather?
Leather inserts so to speak!

Go Jeep!!!

 

[Mad Mac]

You are absolutely correct, bgott.
I always used a cooling wire spring cushion
of some sort to circulate air
and it provided additional lumbar support.

But put one of those on a fabric seat
and it would tear it up.

On the other hand
a fabric seat absorbs sweat and dirt
and after a while the vehicle stinks.

When the fabric driver seat in my Silverado
got torn up by my dog clawing her way in
I covered it with a vinyl seat cover.
It has worked out great
and does not seem to get hot and sweaty
like Naugahyde in the old days.

It is difficult to find good Naugahyde
these days anyhow, now that Naugas
are an endangered species.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...lcro-and-other-synthetic-creatures-180964811/

 

[Mad Mac]

In my neck of the woods
the problem is summer heat
not winter cold.

Try jumping in your car in August
wearing a mini-skirt or short-shorts.
Beach towels or Saddle Blanket seat covers
were a good compromise.

 

[HorsesRear]

I had my fill of vinyl seats years ago.. I love leather seats as they look and feel luxurious which is nice even in a jeep.

 

[Supazuk]

depends on the vehicle, car cloth or leather, truck cloth however Jeep wish mine were vinyl I want water proof I'm covering it anyway

 

[Splenda]

On the other hand
a fabric seat absorbs sweat and dirt
and after a while the vehicle stinks.

Methinks you may need to shower more often...

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Vinyl sucks! It makes me sweat like a pig and is hot as hell. I had heard at an emissions class that they had moved away from vinyl because the outgassing affected the evaporative emissions testing. That made me very happy!

There is "cool touch" vinyl. It appeared in boats around 2018.

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