POLL: Your ME Interior Material Choice

[John]

What are you thinking might be your interior material choice for your ME, e.g., traditional leather, suede, or not yet sure?

We started to earlier discuss our ME’s interior material in this thread:

https://www.midenginecorvetteforum.c...rior-materials

It got little traction as a regular thread. Maybe we would be more involved in the format of a poll? Or maybe most care less, thought that something I doubt, for everyone I personally know, is adamant on their personal preference for traditional leather vs. suede for their current and their next Corvette.

Before we get into the poll itself, here is the key paragraph from that thread, specifically comments forum member “Stevera2” made to me last year.

This summer, I had fun visiting all exotic car dealers within a 100 mile radius. Every single exotic brand offered not just a suede seat material option, but additionally matched that with suede their dashboards, door cards, consoles and often more, and in fact for some of their models, suede/alcantara was the standard material.

We have seen the suede ordering options during the C7 generation; very few doubt it will again be offered for the ME (so let’s assume that suede will again be an option).

I will stick to a traditional leather interior for my C8.

I will definitively choose a suede interior for at least part of my interior.

I am not sure as to whether I will choose a traditional or a suede leather interior.

Thanks for voting; thank you also for adding thoughts/reasons as to why you voted as you did.

[Sigmon]

This is certainly a tough one for me John, a year ago I would have said all leather, but I'm starting to like the idea of a sueded wheel/seat inserts.

[John]

i know that there are advantages for going with at least some suede, including staying in your seat better at high G corners, better/easier steering wheel grip, and for weight purists, suede weighs a lot less than regular leather — and perhaps why so many high end exotics are using suede (or real alcantara) for some of their cars.

[Sigmon]

i know that there are advantages for going with at least some suede, including staying in your seat better at high G corners, better/easier steering wheel grip, and for weight purists, suede weighs a lot less than regular leather — and perhaps why so many high end exotics are using suede (or real alcantara) for some of their cars.

great points, certainly some of the reasons I'm considering it. My guess is that it will be necessary in the higher performance models.

[John]

Does suede wear quicker than traditional leather?

That is a contentious question. I answered it for myself by spending a few minutes looking at my friend’s Corvette. His Stingray came from the factory with 100% traditional leather. About one year and 12,000 miles ago, he bought a GM suede replacement steering wheel and center console cover. I was not able to see any wear on the console cover currently, but did easily find two small places were all the suede was completely worn off on steering wheel, specifically at the 9:00 and 3:00 positions (where he holds his wheel). Did it look ugly? Not really. Might it look bad at 24,000+ miles? I do not know, but have a suspicion it could, for even at around 12,000 miles, it did look worn in those two spots.

Kind of like a chip in your paint job, once you see it the first time, you tend to see it a lot of the time thereafter. Is it possible that he uniquely holds his steering wheel in a way that others might not, and thus could others go 40,000 without suede wear spots???

It will be interesting to read other posts below from others who have suede regarding their wear patterns — or their not having any.

[meyerweb]

I like the fake suede on the seat. I'm not sure I'd want it on the dash or steering wheel, though.

[Shadow]

Going to wait until I see the locations where the suede is (and voted accordingly)

[JB]

I had a microfiber steering wheel in my c6 and in a year it didnt look so good.

ill take whatever comes standard for the corvette.

i would like microsuede seat cushion as its less slippery in cornering than all leather...but believe it or not it doesnt really matter that much.

[Busa Dave]

Cannot run fast enough to force microfiber or any variant on me. That is a deal breaker. I would pass on the car. Leather 100%...

[MidEngine]

I just consulted with one of my favorite references, “The Corvette Black Book,” and for the last it has specific option amounts, 2017, it showed that 22% chose an option with part of the interior as suede.

[Ssscooter66]

I know its just my opinion but I do like the inserts on the seats ...

[Frenzy36]

All Leather, I have had partial suede seats and in no time they look terrible. Especially on the steering wheel. Looked old at 5K miles. Besides it's hard to clean and attracts dust dirt ETC.

[George]

All Leather, I have had partial suede seats and in no time they look terrible. Especially on the steering wheel. Looked old at 5K miles. Besides it's hard to clean and attracts dust dirt ETC.

Totally agree with Frenzy36. A quality suede seat insert looks wonderful when new...but not for long. To me, if you want to pop for something 'high end special', it would be a really premium quality of leather.

[bobbytinvab]

My good friend has a Lamborghini with the Alcantara interior, it looked very nice when new, but after about 6 mos I think it looks worn. I'll stick with leather, but it would be great if the leather used was a of a nicer quality.

[tooold2race]

I can't wait to get my hands on a 'suede' steering wheel. I almost traded our C7 for a newer one just to get the wheel! (Sorry, but I'm just not an 'aftermarket' guy)…..

I liked the 'suede' seat inserts on our Viper coupe. It was great for 'tracking' (I'm told.... I don't do that anymore) but it was like 'velcro' getting in at out at Starbucks.