Limited owners, how's the alcantara holding up?

[Turbowned]

I just saw a kid's 2008 STi with about 60k on it. The Alcantara looked fine but the color was fading off the LH side leather bolster. I'd be more concerned about the leather than the Alcantara.

[TurnOne]

Originally Posted by ihaskrayon

The seats will be fine. I think the reason the steering wheels was gross is because it is touched by greasy or sweating hands. Your hand is never in the same position every single time either. You're always moving your hands all over the wheel. The seat, however, you sit and don't really slide around so it's not going to wear as much.

Jeans should be fine, unless you have many rivets or or studs on your pockets. I had a Evo IX and the seats looked damn near brand new when I sold it. There was slight wear on the leather portion, but the alcantara looked new

Agree with everything this ^ and I also had an Evo IX and the leather had some wear, but the alcantara looked almost perfect after 90K+ miles.

Chris

[robot]

Another datapoint:

I had a 2004 STi and owned it from 2005 to 2011. The Alcantara on the seats didn't really wear much and I had a baby seat in the car a lived in VA where it got cold/muggy and we had snow and salt.

I wouldn't really worry about it. It's resilient stuff. I will echo what others said. Alcantara steering wheels will wear out and have to be recovered. Apparently the oils in our hands break it down. I was also told that if you have an Alcantara wheel you shouldn't use hand lotions or oils because they will work towards wearing down the wheel.

I'll still probably spend money on a suede or alcantara wheel. <nods head in the direction of jpmcoachworks>

[sho220]

Originally Posted by fatoni

its probably a solid 5 years too early to say how the interior is gonna hold up

lol....too funny. I have seven miles on mine and it's holding up great!!!!!!!

[Pascal_TTH]

In 2001, I buy an Opel Astra Linea Blue special edition with *real* or true alcantara (it's a registered trade brand). I sold it to my brother, he keeps the car for more than six or seven years (about 160000 km) and alcantara was still fine. Alcantara does not peal off but it is very sensitive to oil and grease.

I really enjoy leather and alcantara seats. I even prefer this combination because seats have better grip.

[ShoNUFF]

Had alacantara in my Mazdaspeed 3. Held up perfectly for 3 years and 50K miles.

[Tambat]

i'm an audi guy and i have been around many different generations of audi's. they have been offering alcantara in their cars since 2000 in the us (originally in the b5 s4). The stuff holds up well, but it will definitely age. like some people said, its never going to be too expensive to just have the seats re-done, but for those of you that would rather maintain it, there are some pretty simple steps that i follow that get the job done pretty nicely.

the stuff will start to look "loose" if that makes sense. the material won't look as tightly woven and eventually it will start to "pil" up. thats when the material starts bunching up like an old rug or couch. all you need is a fabric shaver (you can buy one online or at any fabric shop) and a mach 3 razor to do a fine shave afterwards. to clean alcantara, all you need is a warm damp rag, but what us audi guys have figured out is that a magic clean eraser dipped into a very diluted solution of water and dish soap works extremely well. its pretty easy to maintain, but it won't look new forever.

i could be wrong though, i don't know if they have updated the material over the years. my experience comes from the stuff that was made between 99-02.

** be VERY careful about the detergents you use to clean alcantara. i have seen threads where guys have used "specifically for alcantara" type cleaners that have accelerated the wear of their seats and made the weave not as "tight" as it used to be. my recommendation is just use a damp rag. if you have oils or heavy stains, just be careful. most upholstery cleaners should not be used on alcantara.

[breaksjm]

I've had several cars with Alcantara. From my experience it has help up amazingly over time. Granted, I never kept the cars past 60k miles, but it hold up much better than leather, and even other cloths.

[PSim]

I'd be interested to hear about how your Alcantara seats are holding up now.

[tracerit]

Wow! This must've been one of my very first posts :P I ended up getting the Limited a month after my original post and I'm happy to say the alcantara has held up very nicely. I haven't even washed it or scrubbed it even though I bought the tools two years ago lol. I mainly wear hospital scrubs, so the wear is minimal imo.

[yelsew]

My seats are holding up perfectly. They would absolutely look brand new if it weren't for the left side seat bolsters getting creases and little scuffs on them from getting in and out of the car.

[jawn]

12K miles on mine. Alcantara is fine. Now, the leather on the other hand...

[funwheeldrive]

Originally Posted by yelsew

My seats are holding up perfectly. They would absolutely look brand new if it weren't for the left side seat bolsters getting creases and little scuffs on them from getting in and out of the car.

That's where mine shows wear too. The alcantara looks perfect, and most of the leather looks good. The only part that is starting to look worn is the left side of the driver's seat. I'm not a very big guy, and try to be careful about how I get in/out of the car, but it didn't seem to help.

[yelsew]

Originally Posted by funwheeldrive

I'm not a very big guy, and try to be careful about how I get in/out of the car, but it didn't seem to help.

Its just this car, I'm a relatively young guy, 5'6" build. always am sliding against the bolsters when I'm in and out of the thing. Really hoping I can keep the wear from getting too bad.