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      01-31-2020, 11:40 AM   #1
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Leather seat/bolster protection

Anyone see wear on their leather seats? We have black Merino leather and our driver side seat is seeing some wear from getting in/out of the car. Its only been 8-9 months, so at the rate of wear, the seats will be pretty beat up in a few years.

I've been using leatherique conditioning and cleaning. We are also lowering the car with our air sus to help harsh ass rubbing on the seats
Any recommendations on preventive care or protection?
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      01-31-2020, 11:56 AM   #2
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looking for something like this.
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      01-31-2020, 02:19 PM   #3
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I'm almost positive i used exlusive options for some additional leather pieces for my 997 turbo several years ago. if it's the same outfit, he does amazing work.
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      02-01-2020, 12:26 AM   #4
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Those leather conditioners that leave a slightly slipper and shiny finish go a long way in protecting your leather. Merino doesn't have the thick plastic coat that cheaper leathers have so you have to really take care of it. The trade-off is that it breaks in like a baseball glove and gets to be much more comfortable. Coated leathers like Vernasca are just excuses to call the finish leather and charge more. Functionally it's the same as sitting on vinyl seats (non porous and actually slightly less durable). Merino will actually break in like real leather and breathe a little bit. You do have to regularly clean and condition the leather though. And conditioners will actually absorb into the leather unlike coated leathers.

So you should be using conditioners on the leather but you should also be a bit more careful in how you enter/exit your car. Raise your legs a little and swing them out over the bolsters. If you just get used to a particular method of egress, it will become like second nature. If you're really large, there's not much you can do; the leather will be wrecked after a couple years.
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      02-01-2020, 08:00 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel View Post
Those leather conditioners that leave a slightly slipper and shiny finish go a long way in protecting your leather. Merino doesn't have the thick plastic coat that cheaper leathers have so you have to really take care of it. The trade-off is that it breaks in like a baseball glove and gets to be much more comfortable. Coated leathers like Vernasca are just excuses to call the finish leather and charge more. Functionally it's the same as sitting on vinyl seats (non porous and actually slightly less durable). Merino will actually break in like real leather and breathe a little bit. You do have to regularly clean and condition the leather though. And conditioners will actually absorb into the leather unlike coated leathers.

So you should be using conditioners on the leather but you should also be a bit more careful in how you enter/exit your car. Raise your legs a little and swing them out over the bolsters. If you just get used to a particular method of egress, it will become like second nature. If you're really large, there's not much you can do; the leather will be wrecked after a couple years.
Short people cannot raise their legs a little and swing them out over the bolsters.
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      02-01-2020, 08:22 AM   #6
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i've noticed wear already on my month old X5 and im just as concerned in the long run... especially on the door side of the bolster that takes the brunt of constant entry/exit.
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      02-03-2020, 08:47 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm View Post
Short people cannot raise their legs a little and swing them out over the bolsters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel View Post
Those leather conditioners that leave a slightly slipper and shiny finish go a long way in protecting your leather. Merino doesn't have the thick plastic coat that cheaper leathers have so you have to really take care of it. The trade-off is that it breaks in like a baseball glove and gets to be much more comfortable. Coated leathers like Vernasca are just excuses to call the finish leather and charge more. Functionally it's the same as sitting on vinyl seats (non porous and actually slightly less durable). Merino will actually break in like real leather and breathe a little bit. You do have to regularly clean and condition the leather though. And conditioners will actually absorb into the leather unlike coated leathers.

So you should be using conditioners on the leather but you should also be a bit more careful in how you enter/exit your car. Raise your legs a little and swing them out over the bolsters. If you just get used to a particular method of egress, it will become like second nature. If you're really large, there's not much you can do; the leather will be wrecked after a couple years.

Exactly my wife, she's 5'2" and I'm 6'. I have no problem, but it extremely odd and inconvenience on the method of getting out of $90K vehicle Wife, she slides out, even with the air sus, so it takes a beating. rather than avoid method of exit/enter, I was hoping to get something to protect it.

As mentioned, we do condition our leather, but still taking a beating, so hence I'm hoping to find a protector of some sort
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      02-03-2020, 08:50 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tellch00 View Post
I'm almost positive i used exlusive options for some additional leather pieces for my 997 turbo several years ago. if it's the same outfit, he does amazing work.
probably contact them to see if they do something for the G05. I dont mind the high price tag if it not protects and not an eye sore. the one in the vid looks pretty good, imo.
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      02-03-2020, 08:51 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silver.Solid View Post
i've noticed wear already on my month old X5 and im just as concerned in the long run... especially on the door side of the bolster that takes the brunt of constant entry/exit.
Let me know if you find anything
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      02-03-2020, 08:51 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dream54ing View Post
Exactly my wife, she's 5'2" and I'm 6'. I have no problem, but it extremely odd and inconvenience on the method of getting out of $90K vehicle Wife, she slides out, even with the air sus, so it takes a beating. rather than avoid method of exit/enter, I was hoping to get something to protect it.
As far as your legs and pants go, they're doomed but you can protect that part of the car (sil) with a clear vinyl wrap. After all the back and forth on this subject, that is the conclusion I have come away with.

Of course, there is always this for your wife.. ..

.
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      02-03-2020, 09:03 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm View Post
As far as your legs and pants go, they're doomed but you can protect that part of the car (sil) with a clear vinyl wrap. After all the back and forth on this subject, that is the conclusion I have come away with.

Of course, there is always this for your wife.. ..

.
clear vinyl wrap the seat?? yeah, that would be an eye sore. lol
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      02-03-2020, 09:18 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dream54ing View Post
clear vinyl wrap the seat?? yeah, that would be an eye sore. lol
Ha ha ha, sure would...no, I meant the sil where your legs/pants are always rubbing on as you slide out of the car. I have not seen anything that looks good in terms of the seat bolster protection.

In my X3, I have a button I can press to adjust the seatback side bolsters, to bring them in closer to your body or further away...why can't they do that with the seat bottom bolsters so you can flatten them out for entrance/exit???
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      02-03-2020, 09:24 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm View Post
Ha ha ha, sure would...no, I meant the sil where your legs/pants are always rubbing on as you slide out of the car. I have not seen anything that looks good in terms of the seat bolster protection.

In my X3, I have a button I can press to adjust the seatback side bolsters, to bring them in closer to your body or further away...why can't they do that with the seat bottom bolsters so you can flatten them out for entrance/exit???
ah, we dont have problems with the sil, just the seats her legs/pants rubbing is against the seats bolster.

as for adjsuting the seat. we would hate to adjust it before and after we get in/out. haha. with all the work and time involved in that, Im better off getting her a step stool, lol
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      02-03-2020, 09:31 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dream54ing View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm View Post
Ha ha ha, sure would...no, I meant the sil where your legs/pants are always rubbing on as you slide out of the car. I have not seen anything that looks good in terms of the seat bolster protection.

In my X3, I have a button I can press to adjust the seatback side bolsters, to bring them in closer to your body or further away...why can't they do that with the seat bottom bolsters so you can flatten them out for entrance/exit???
ah, we dont have problems with the sil, just the seats her legs/pants rubbing is against the seats bolster.

as for adjsuting the seat. we would hate to adjust it before and after we get in/out. haha. with all the work and time involved in that, Im better off getting her a step stool, lol
There are two seat memory positions per side. You can set up one for load/unload and one for travel. That's what my height challenged wife did.
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      02-03-2020, 11:09 AM   #15
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I put CarPro Cquartz leather protectant on all of our ivory white merino leather in ours. I want to avoid dye color transfer and possible spill damage. Put it all over dash as well. Maybe that is a bit of insurance for you.
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      02-03-2020, 03:26 PM   #16
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Just got back from a BMW dealer, we checked out the X5 with air suspension and merino multi contour seats. First off, the seats are excellent! However, getting in and out was a chore. We are both rather short and the only way that made it easier was to lower the suspension to its lowest setting and then lower the seat too. That worked.
However, I just can't fathom having to lower all that twice each time we drive the car. I asked the sale person how to program all that into the key fob so as soon as we unlocked the car it would automatically adjust. He tried his best, it refused to do it.
This X5 had the running boards and as much as I like the way they look, they actually made getting in and out worse for us...we're doomed.
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      02-03-2020, 06:43 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm View Post
Just got back from a BMW dealer, we checked out the X5 with air suspension and merino multi contour seats. First off, the seats are excellent! However, getting in and out was a chore. We are both rather short and the only way that made it easier was to lower the suspension to its lowest setting and then lower the seat too. That worked.
However, I just can't fathom having to lower all that twice each time we drive the car. I asked the sale person how to program all that into the key fob so as soon as we unlocked the car it would automatically adjust. He tried his best, it refused to do it.
This X5 had the running boards and as much as I like the way they look, they actually made getting in and out worse for us...we're doomed.
You can just kind of ... launch yourself head first on entry and just sort of ... fall out on exit. Just an idea.
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      02-03-2020, 07:51 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by LexxM3 View Post
You can just kind of ... launch yourself head first on entry and just sort of ... fall out on exit. Just an idea.
If we slather ourselves in KY jelly, would that make it easier whilst lubricating the side bolsters at the same time in an attempt at protecting them from chafing?
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      02-03-2020, 10:17 PM   #19
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Just an fyi, but I just checked my (new) merino seat bolsters and found the leather was quite thick, at least thicker than I expected. Do you think they possibly spec thicker leather for the bolsters knowing the abuse they will see ?
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      02-04-2020, 08:00 AM   #20
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Just an fyi, but I just checked my (new) merino seat bolsters and found the leather was quite thick, at least thicker than I expected. Do you think they possibly spec thicker leather for the bolsters knowing the abuse they will see ?
Somehow I doubt it. In any event, its the top that takes the abuse so even if they were thicker, it wouldn't help. After just being at the dealer yesterday, I didn't find the merino side bolsters to be the issue, they are not that rigid or high. The issue is getting in the car since the car is so high. Meaning that even if there weren't any side bolsters, we'd still be wearing the entry side of the seats. I had this happen in my 840 which was so low to the ground that you got yourself into a certain position and then just fell into the seat from there. The entry side still wore.

Here is my X3 dakota leather drivers seat at about 60K miles. This seat is very easy to get into and out of for me, just the right height but I still make sure I deliberately try to avoid sliding on it yet you can see the wear marks. However, for me, this is acceptable at that mileage.
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      02-04-2020, 08:17 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm View Post
Somehow I doubt it. In any event, its the top that takes the abuse so even if they were thicker, it wouldn't help. After just being at the dealer yesterday, I didn't find the merino side bolsters to be the issue, they are not that rigid or high. The issue is getting in the car since the car is so high. Meaning that even if there weren't any side bolsters, we'd still be wearing the entry side of the seats. I had this happen in my 840 which was so low to the ground that you got yourself into a certain position and then just fell into the seat from there. The entry side still wore.

Here is my X3 dakota leather drivers seat at about 60K miles. This seat is very easy to get into and out of for me, just the right height but I still make sure I deliberately try to avoid sliding on it yet you can see the wear marks. However, for me, this is acceptable at that mileage.
yeah, i also doubt BMW made thicker as we seen in ours... We have air suspension and lower the vehicle 90% of the time for convenience entry/exit. still high for the wife and leg rubbing still occurs.

your pics show exactly where I want to add extra protection if any exist. We also have the same wear in our 4 with dakota leather, which is much tougher leather than merino. Becuase the 4 was much lower, it took about 3 yrs to show extreme wear.
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      02-04-2020, 08:47 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dream54ing View Post
yeah, i also doubt BMW made thicker as we seen in ours... We have air suspension and lower the vehicle 90% of the time for convenience entry/exit. still high for the wife and leg rubbing still occurs.

your pics show exactly where I want to add extra protection if any exist. We also have the same wear in our 4 with dakota leather, which is much tougher leather than merino. Becuase the 4 was much lower, it took about 3 yrs to show extreme wear.
Ok, you've got the air suspension, the SA told me yesterday when we were looking at the X5 to simply get the air suspension and lower it before getting in and out. I saw a few issues with this, can you shed more light on them for me?

1. It took approx 30 seconds for the car to fully lower. My thoughts are that over time, you will stop waiting for it to lower and just put up with getting out without lowering it.

2. No prob lowering it when you are about to get out but how do you lower it before getting in? The SA couldn't make it happen, he couldn't even get the seat to auto lower upon detecting the key which he said he assigned the lowering profile to.

3. Do you also lower the drivers seat before getting in and out? Again, no prob doing that before getting out but how do you do it before getting in?

I just think all this lowering/raising will get old and you'd stop doing it or it will cause something to fail just that much sooner. Its easier to buy platform shoes
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