Keep NB or switch to Alcantara?

[nextelbuddy]

So i have my mint NB interior but lately after driving with it, it just feels cold and I slide around a lot. i saw in a Alcantara car and the seats just felt much more inviting and plush and firm with out the sliding.

there was a slight cloth odor in the car so I can assume the interior smells will need to be addressed more frequently than leather cars.

the Alcantara interior i'm considering is Mint with 0 issues and looks wonderful but i'm just not sure on getting rid of the Natural brown.

What say you mafia :)

[Hornung418]

NB for sure. Treatment with leather rejuvenating serum should bring it back to soft and supple.

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[nextelbuddy]

NB for sure. Treatment with leather rejuvenating serum should bring it back to soft and supple.

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thats not what I mean. my leather is as soft as its going to get for aged Dakota leather. Dakota leather is not that soft to begin with compared to Nappa leather in the newer cars.

my seats have been leatheriqued and rejuvenated 3 times so far. they are good but they are just cold overall compared to the alcantara.

i love the rare aspect of the NB and the 2 tone look but there was just something about the Alcantara interior that really grabbed my attention.

[holyc0w]

I like my cloth seats. They're good in the winter, and good in the summer. Spills would be a bigger issue. That said I haven't sat in the leather seats for comparison. There's obviously some trade-offs. Natural brown looks better, but I think the cloth seats look pretty cool.

[KTS317]

Switching between my NB and my friends alcantara every once in a while, we both prefer the NB I think. Cloth is much better in the winter and feels more comfortable on the body. I just hate how alcantara looks when it wears.

Does the cold leather bother you even with your seat heat on?


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[Vas]

Everyone seems to be nutty about Natural Brown Leather. So most likely you will get alot of responses to keep it.

Personally I prefer the cloth/alcantara and I think it is more fitting to the zhp package. Only concern is wear if you are not careful.

Plus Alcantara was available only with the Performance package but Natural Brown was an option for the 3 series. Exclusivity here lol

[nextelbuddy]

Everyone seems to be nutty about Natural Brown Leather. So most likely you will get alot of responses to keep it.

Personally I prefer the cloth/alcantara and I think it is more fitting to the zhp package. Only concern is wear if you are not careful.

Plus Alcantara was available only with the Performance package but Natural Brown was an option for the 3 series. Exclusivity here lol

did Alcantara cars come with a leather arm rest?

[Vas]

did Alcantara cars come with a leather arm rest?

Correct. Leather arm rest, alcantara shift boot and steering wheel ( until it was replaced towards the end of production to leather )

Most leather arm rests now though are in rough shape. The coby wheel alcantara arm rest is a nice upgrade IMO.

[d-rod]

Consider the pros and cons.
The NB is much better/premium looking, less maintenance.
The alcantara feels much better, but will show more wear, require more gentle cleaning.
If you're a generally clean person and take care of your interior, I would go alcantara.
I owned 1 zhp maybe about 4years ago and can't get over how much I loved that interior.
So now all this time later I'm looking for another!

[az3579]

I say keep the NB.

I got rid of my alcantara/cloth interior because alcantara doesn't wear well. There's only so much fabric shaving you can do before there's nothing left. Without the shaving, you get these ugly piles of clumped up alcantara. I wish the entire interior was just cloth with no alcantara; I might've kept it if that was the case. Since I drive so much, it didn't make sense to keep the more wear-prone alcantara interior.

As far as leather being cold goes - that only happens for all of 2 minutes, and in my experience, is only cool, not cold. Once you've sat in it for 2 minutes, it has warmed up to your body and feels no different than the cloth/alcantara.

Dunno; I don't really see enough of a reason to switch, but that's just me. :dunno

[danewilson77]

Trade it for the alcantara setup.

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[holyc0w]

Correct. Leather arm rest, alcantara shift boot and steering wheel ( until it was replaced towards the end of production to leather )

Most leather arm rests now though are in rough shape. The coby wheel alcantara arm rest is a nice upgrade IMO.

+1

The arm rest did seem a bit out of place. The coby armrest has been one of my favorite mods.

[Sockethead]

I've never been a fan of leather: cold in the winter and hot and sweaty in the summer. I had to put a towel over the seat when I used to wear dress shirts because the back of my shirt would be soaking wet by the time I showed up at a client's site. That's even more of an issue now that I live in SC...
The alcantara seats that were in our e53 were awesome. they were a little different than the ZHP in that only the centers were Alcantara. The sides were leather.

[nextelbuddy]

I say keep the NB.

I got rid of my alcantara/cloth interior because alcantara doesn't wear well. There's only so much fabric shaving you can do before there's nothing left. Without the shaving, you get these ugly piles of clumped up alcantara. I wish the entire interior was just cloth with no alcantara; I might've kept it if that was the case. Since I drive so much, it didn't make sense to keep the more wear-prone alcantara interior.

As far as leather being cold goes - that only happens for all of 2 minutes, and in my experience, is only cool, not cold. Once you've sat in it for 2 minutes, it has warmed up to your body and feels no different than the cloth/alcantara.

Dunno; I don't really see enough of a reason to switch, but that's just me. :dunno


yea I hear ya and that makes a lot of sense. i put maybe 5-7k miles on the car a year so i dont put a lot of miles on it so maybe i would get luckier??

the thought of a sporty black interior.. as Alcantara is usually linked to the though of high performance when mentioned or considered



Trade it for the alcantara setup.

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the person with the mint interior is looking for cash not a trade so there goes that idea.


I had the thought of going Alcantara and selling my steering wheel for a nice alcantara wheel as well.

[Vas]

The Alcantara fabric can be purchased alot easier then trying to source Natural Brown Leather. Keep that in mind.

The fabric has kept up very well in my imola car ( No rips/tears/etc) Just keep it clean and take care of it so it will last. Heck I am even considering replacing the black leather in my wife's car to cloth/alcantara mostly due to the wear and how hard the leather has become. Just would like to source a full set with non-folding rears.

Now if the leather was Napa and still soft/supple then its a different story.

[Sockethead]

the person with the mint interior is looking for cash not a trade so there goes that idea.

There seems to be enough interest on this site for NB...I would think it wouldn't be a problem to sell...

[704sw]

It’s always nice when both options are good options.

[holyc0w]

Natural brown with cloth inserts?

[nextelbuddy]

There seems to be enough interest on this site for NB...I would think it wouldn't be a problem to sell...

its always hard to gauge what people are willing to pay for an interior.

[az3579]

The fabric has kept up very well in my imola car ( No rips/tears/etc) Just keep it clean and take care of it so it will last.

You still drive the red car? All I ever hear you mention is the black one. lol

[Vas]

You still drive the red car? All I ever hear you mention is the black one. lol

Yeah I still do on the weekends. The black car is just the daily driver/road trip car which ends up requiring more maintenance and repairs

[derbo]

NO. LEAVE MY OLD ODOR-FULL (presuming the odor is me) CAR ALONE SHAWN. lolololol

[iya_e46]

Everyone seems to be nutty about Natural Brown Leather. So most likely you will get alot of responses to keep it.

Personally I prefer the cloth/alcantara and I think it is more fitting to the zhp package. Only concern is wear if you are not careful.

Plus Alcantara was available only with the Performance package but Natural Brown was an option for the 3 series. Exclusivity here lol

Good Point! Now you're making me think

[joeybananaz18]

I think either one on IR would looks great. However, i think your wheels go better with the NB. If it was my car and I switched to alcantara, I'd go for a gunmetal or anthracite finish. I know its all subjective.