Leather or Cloth on an 80? (1 Viewer)

[gotmud]

Both have their pros and cons. I have leather in mine and enjoy the feel of it. However, my leather is a replacement kit from Shane. The old leather was shot to hell (at least the DS was). I have seen many Toyotas with cloth seats that look like new after decades of use. Simply shampooing them brought them back to life. Once leather starts to go, it is pretty difficult to reverse and make them look new again.

 

[UCBerzerkeley]

This is coming from left field, but I think the original owner installed aftermarket vinyl in my truck. Well, it is amazing. Cleans like leather but wears like iron. i really like it

 

[80t0ylc]

...... Specially here in California with the extreme heat & cold climate.......

Come again??? Unless you're being sarcastic, I don't understand that statement at all. Oh, you're talking Death Valley and top of Mt. Whitney, ok. But, I still don't see the connection with cloth vs. leather interior seats in L.A. which, BTW, has a relatively mild climate compared to the rest of the country.

Anyway, I digress. Others have given their opinions on their preferences, advantages and disadvantages to leather or cloth. My '94 has cloth. I bought it used, so I basically took what I got. It's holding up extremely well for the 218K+ miles. I personally don't care - I can live with either. Scotchgard products can give cloth the stain resistance of leather, if treated correctly. I would hate to have to "treat" leather seats monthly, just for longevity. I like the smell of leather, unless it's been "fumigated" with tobacco or has mold or mildew from a leak. Cloth really doesn't have an overpowering smell unless it's picked up a foreign smell from the previously mentioned or something else. It boils down to a matter of personal taste. IMHO, unless one is in extremely bad condition, I can't see it being the determining factor when choosing between two vehicles on a purchase. Overall, if I had to make a choice, I would go with cloth for the simplicity of upkeep and ability to bounce back from neglect as gotmud mentioned.

 

[Atoyot1031]

I wish I had the manual seats because I need the more room.

Get the landtank seat bracket.

Leather is much better. If you have a family, it's way easier to keep clean.

x1,000,000

Cloth really doesn't have an overpowering smell unless it's picked up a foreign smell from the previously mentioned or something else.

I can't imagine how horrific my 80 would smell if I had cloth seats. Two kids = lots of spilled milk (insert vomiting smiley face here). Both of mine have had leather, which is easy to clean/condition. I can just pull out the cloth mats, hit 'em with Simple Green, power wash, and return for the floors. My .02

 

[Stone]

This is coming from left field, but I think the original owner installed aftermarket vinyl in my truck. Well, it is amazing. Cleans like leather but wears like iron. i really like it

I guess I must be on the right field because the previous owner did the same thing to my 1991 FJ80, and I wish he would have just left the original cloth seats in place. The shop that installed the vinyl seats also butchered the door panels with glued on pieces of vinyl...luckily Sheldon had some mint JDM door panels for me to swap in...but I still wish the vinyl seats weren't there.

When my little one grows a little older I'll have to get one of those nice leather kits from Shane.

 

[upcruiser]

I prefer cloth over leather any day personally. I much prefer the feel of cloth, and leather just makes me sweaty. For some reason I really like the old cloth seats in the FJ80's over the newer FZJ seats. Maybe I've just been driving my FJ80 too long and my sense of style is askew though. haha

 

[UCBerzerkeley]

I guess I must be on the right field because the previous owner did the same thing to my 1991 FJ80, and I wish he would have just left the original cloth seats in place. The shop that installed the vinyl seats also butchered the door panels with glued on pieces of vinyl...luckily Sheldon had some mint JDM door panels for me to swap in...but I still wish the vinyl seats weren't there.

When my little one grows a little older I'll have to get one of those nice leather kits from Shane.

That's too bad. Mine was done really well, everything matches, looks OEM. Did all 3 rows of seats as well. Everything looks brand new. I figure I am quite lucky - manual seats, vinyl, rubber steering wheel and shift knob, vinyl/rubber armrest. Built to last

Someday I will also be getting a kit from Shane, complete with cushions. That stuff looks nice!

 

[Eric Winkworth]

In my opinion:

Leather Pro's: Easy clean up for spills, looks great when in good condition

Leather Con's: Leather requires maintance (leather treatment), most 80's have some degree of cracking on the front seats, is hot in summer, cold in winter, slippery...

Cloth Pro's: Holds you firmly in place (no sliding), more comfortable than leather, no maintance other than cleaning

Cloth Con's: Doesn't handle spills as well as leather

I just bought a set of cloth seat covers for my 96' with leather and I prefer it much more than the leather.

I agree

 

[retrofive]

Great comments on both sides. Pros and Cons.

I personally like my cloth interior.

 

[2garfields]

The 95 I sold got cloth seats, the 97 I have now has leather. Did not have a choice, since I bought both LCs used, but I do like cloth better.

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Cloth. Vacuum it periodically and it looks like new. To properly take care of leather (leatherique) takes a substantial amount of time.

 

[ToothDr]

I'm a leather guy. However, the leather Toyota put in the 80 series is pretty low end. The leather in the 80's I've seen has not held up well, at least here in Colorado. I'd rather have cloth than a cheap leather. I believe the leather in the LX 450 was a higher quality.

Pete

 

[80t0ylc]

Cloth. Vacuum it periodically and it looks like new. To properly take care of leather (leatherique) takes a substantial amount of time.

Agreed.
As much as I love tinkering on the cruiser, life is too short to waste time slaving over the seats just because they're leather. Seems like the tighter I cling to something, the quicker it gets trashed in some way. Say you're in an accident and the thing gets destroyed, or it gets stolen, or vandalized or burnt up, or (the icing on the cake) you decide to tackle that mud hole every one has shied away from, with confidence, because you just finished installing your snorkel. Only it turn out to be 5 feet deep! Now, how are your well cared for leather seats going to fare? How much more work is it going to take to restore than cloth seats?

Don't get me wrong - leather is nice and durable within certain parameters, but is it really worth the amount of time needed to properly care for it? I know if my '94 would've come with leather, instead of cloth I'd either have seat covers or the seats would be cracked - prolly both.

 

[jlg32281]

I'm a leather guy. However, the leather Toyota put in the 80 series is pretty low end. The leather in the 80's I've seen has not held up well, at least here in Colorado. I'd rather have cloth than a cheap leather. I believe the leather in the LX 450 was a higher quality.

Pete

My leather on my LX is completely shot. I don't think the quality of the leather is any different, or atleast you can't tell now. Maybe when it was new you could tell, but now it's shot just like all of the LC's. I'm willing to fork out $1K every 10 yrs for new leather. I actually wouldn't mind paying $1K every 5 yrs to have the new leather feel and smell. It's all preference though.

 

[lockd80]

I have manual seats covered in leather. This was a dealer installed leather kit but it seems to be holding up just about as well as the factory stuff. I have owned and driven lots of vehicles with different interiors and I must say that to me cloth is the most comfortable especially the new microfibers. That said cloth is also the worst for the dog hair, sand, food, and firewood chips ect. that my Land Cruiser sees several camping trips a year. Not to mention the mud, snow, greasy clothes and dirty hands that get in while wheelin, fishing and skiing. The abuse my leather takes is extraordinary, I do not take real good care of it except to wipe it down occasionally and leather treatment every year or so but it still continues looks good. I have trashed several cloth interiors with much less mistreatment than this truck has seen

 

[Makelo]

Come again??? Unless you're being sarcastic, I don't understand that statement at all. Oh, you're talking Death Valley and top of Mt. Whitney, ok. But, I still don't see the connection with cloth vs. leather interior seats in L.A. which, BTW, has a relatively mild climate compared to the rest of the country.

Not sarcastic, but I don't think you been to L.A. if you think that we enjoy mild climate? Every summer we average above 100 degrees. Why you think we are always catching on fire?
Summer really sucks here (yes, AZ peeps have it worst) No matter were you park your car, by the time you return, the average temperature will be around 125 degrees inside your rig. That's defenately going to leave a mark on your butt & back thanks to the hot leather. That's why summer and leather should not mix. Anyone that leaves in any CA county (LA, SD, OC, Inland Empire, Ventura, Kern) can attest to this.

Having leather during winter time sucks a bit less than summer. For example, if you are in a hurry and temps are below 30's you are going to freeze your buns fast. Something that's unlikely on a cloth interior seat. Yes, you can wait until the heater warms up the seat, but that's time wasted. Yes I know that been from L.A. we don't know jack about what really cold weather is compared to the norther coast, mid west or east coast people. But I can only imagine how time consuming it can be waiting to seat on a not so cold driver seat.

What I'm trying to say is that leather has more shortcomings than cloth interiors when it comes to places that suffer from extreme wheather climates. Like summer time in CA, AZ and NV
Or cold wheater like in NY, MI, OH, MO, etc.

 

[Garth66]

the leather Toyota put in the 80 series is pretty low end. The leather in the 80's I've seen has not held up well

The leather in my 95 looks awful - like a worn out junk yard dog. Only 157,000 miles and completely worn through on the seat back and side bolster on the driver's seat, plus cracks all through the passenger and back seats. Treated regularly with Lexol from my Toyota Stealer too.

Now the leather in my 96 BMW looks nearly new after 189,000 miles. Hmmmm. I think Toyota when low end on their choice of material for the seat leather.

I've seen these guys on ebay and their kit looks nice, but way more $$$ than I want to spend, and my wife doesn't want leather anymore. She prefers cloth.
1988 - 2004 Toyota Landcruiser Leather Seat Covers NEW:eBay Motors (item 360091610982 end time Oct-18-09 01:36:18 PDT)
Note: Link above is for 88-04 seats, but I've contacted them and they have 95 as well.

So, who makes/sells a perfect fitting CLOTH seat cover for FZJ80 seats? I'd like to cover mine with a nice looking cover. And I'm not interested in the expense of having an upholstery shop recovery them at this point.

Thanks!
Garth

 

[firetruck41]

GT Covers makes some pretty nice OEM looking cloth seat covers. I bought some for a cloth seated 4runner, and they were very high quality covers that slip over, they have the correct cutouts for switches/knobs/etc. The fabric is similar/same as newer OEM cloth.

 

[bugsnbikes]

i really was surprised the difference in weight of the two---i ended up removing second and third rows and swapped out the fronts to cloth-->i dont recall the exact weight difference per row, but i do like dropping 250+lbs. (pretty much offset alot of armor add ons).

 

[jvazquez53]

Mine is going to get upholstered with the same material is used for convertible tops or boat seat upholstery material, best part is waterproof. I do not drive too far, I live in a small island and the furthest driving distance is about three hours non stop, and that's not done very often. BTW the carpet will be rubber, like the Honda Element or FJ Cruiser. Sorry, leather doesn't work for me, my truck gets wet too often.