fireman591

Nothing against VE but this year I went to some corvette shows and drive ins and saw VE's work and a few from the auction site. I got a be honest,the fit looked better on the non-VE covers.As far as wear and tear only time will tell because all of the owners I spoke to had their seats done no longer than 3 years. I will be doing mine in a few years but will think twice before spending 3 times the cost for VE covers.
In closing I will say all the cars posted look great! VE is a great company with awesome quality. Keep posting pics. I need some ideas for a white vette with firethorn interior.

Vetteman Jack

I absolutely loved my VE interior. Top quality, and even after nearly five years the leather still looked awesome. Here is a pic of what mine looked like:



You will not be disappointed going with a VE interior. BTW, I had the seat covers installed by an upholstery shop, the steering wheel and door grips (not shown) by a Chevy dealer and I installed the rest.

fireman591

How much was the cover install from the shop?

steveblonde

blacksedan87

This is really unfair to VE - VE skins fit great, but the results totally depend on the installer. I've seen botched installs and I've seen great results. You live in Auburn Michigan, you owe to yourself to go to see VE in Rochester Hills. Matt and Sandy will install your new custom interior, and I guarantee that the fit will be outstanding.

The quality of the materials used hardly compares to the stuff coming out of the other vendors. VE skins are all leather...the whole seat, not just the seating surface unlike the cheaper solutions. The color match is dead nuts right on, also unlike the others. If you want Millenium Yellow, the yellow is a perfect match, not just close.

This is also a GM licensed product, which adds considerably to the cost of the product.

RayCE

Great quality

yelloyello

I have noticed that there are some people trying to bad mouth or put down VE. If you don't want to pay for quality, then don't bad mouth people, just spend your money elsewhere. I for one am glad I went with their interior. Being local certainly didn't hurt either. Sandy and Matt are great people and customer service is always #1 with them. Sandy helped me install my seats and did a great job on them. She wanted me to use more yellow. I think they turned out great. The fit is great these pics were taken right after the install, they warmed up and the wrinkles are now gone. Everything I wanted and more. Plus I have peace of mind knowing I went with the best, and as someone mentioned, they are Licensed by GM that is why the can use the logo.
You don't have to have the Logo on the headrest of the seat. I didn't:





Stitching on the steering wheel

blacksedan87

Paul - your interior is beautiful, understated and classy. I love the subtle hint of MY in the stitching on the otherwise black interior.

I am very proud of my interior by VE. I was one of the lucky ones to deal with Ken. He set the standard for customer service and caring about turning out a high quality product. Ken was one of a kind, and his passing was a big loss to the Corvette community. I'm glad that Sandy and Matt have done his memory proud by maintaining those same standards for quality and customer service.

Let the detractors have their say - their entitled to their opinions. Those of us who have the good fortune of owning a a VE product know what we have, and don't have to justify it to anyone. The quality shows through and speaks for itself.

Choreo

"Installation" is a big factor. I took my time and it really paid off in the final result, but I can see where if someone just threw them on, they may not be very happy with the result (true of ANY cover) or maybe their foam underneath was worn out and needed to be replaced first.

$2,000 was a stretch for me back when I ordered my seat covers. I never questioned their price or value, just whether or not I really thought MY car was worth investing that extra difference into. At no point have I ever been sorry that I made the decision to go with VE. In fact, now if I bought another Corvette, that would be the first mod on the list! You notice it EVERY TIME you get in or out of the car!

MSG C5

For us VE "virgins" , can someone recommend a good installer for the seats?* I live in the Tampa/Sarasota Fl area and I plan to perform most of the VE install myself but plan to farm out the steering wheel and seat upgrade to a pro.* I've seen many great VE installs, however I have seen a couple seat installs they ended up looking worse than stock (not due to VE quality) but due to a poor installation that caused the leather to look loose and wrinkled.*
Also - per my earlier post, does anyone have pics of the VE leather visors?* I don't see pics of those on their website.

fireman591

I agree about the install somewhat, but for $2000.00 I would not be happy with one wrinkle what so ever. I was just trying to share what I have learned by looking at and talking to many corvette owners who have installed VE covers and others who went with another vender.

The rule you get what you pay for does not always apply to vette owners. I have seen many products of the same or lesser quality get marked up through the roof just because a vette owner has this reputation of being rich. If you disagree then that is your god given right. I won't put my head in the sand like others pretending that a corvette tax does not exist. If I offended anyone then I am sorry for that but the purpose of a forum is to give ideas and share knowledge.
Just my .02

Choreo

Since I live in Texas, I have no experience with any installers in Florida.

For the Steering Wheel, most dealerships will do the install for between $50-$80 (mine charged $80). Even VE recommends having a dealer do that swap since both the air bag is involved as well as many pulling units break an arm during removal (mine broke two of their arms before it came loose). Since my dealer used Snap-On they replaced the tools at no charge to the dealer.

As far as seat installation, of course you can always have someone else do it, but I would not hesitate to try it yourself. VE has great detailed instructions. In my case, I just used plenty of steam and took it slow. Don't be afraid to reposition velcro, etc. until it looks right. Other than just not paying attention, there are only two ways a VE interior will have wrinkles IMO, (1) not replacing old worn out foam pads and (2) not pulling everything progressively tight (using steam if needed).

There are some pic of VE CF Leather visors in my original response in this thread - however, as a general rule VE does not actually offer visors on their site. They made an exception in my case since I had them do everything else, but you would just have to ask them if they have time. They CAN do them, but apparently do not want to do them as a regular offering.

yelloyello

Thanks for the compliment! I was also one of the lucky ones to meet Ken and hang out with him at many of our local events, it is nice to see that he along with Sandy did set the bar, and even raised it! Now Matt carries that tradition with him as well.

fireman591

Look at post #10 on the link below

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...s-options.html

Now compare that fit to most of the VE seats on this thread and be honest.Post #13 on this thread is the only one with a almost wrinkle free fit.

Post #10 has a great fit with little wrinkles, while most of the seats on this thread have a very loose fit. Is this because of bad foam,bad install or just bad luck? let me know because I will be doing my seats soon and want a wrinkle free fit like the post#10 on the above link. And that set is less than $1000.00 http://www.alknochinteriors.com/welcome.htm

blacksedan87

There is no need to get defensive - no one is offended by your opinion, certainly not me. I agree that there are products made available to the Corvette community that don't measure up to the quality expectations, unfortunately there are too many of them that fit this description.

Those of us that are satisfied with the VE products are simply stating that these products are worth the money. I saved my money for 18 months until I was able to afford the VE interior. I am certainly not rich by any measure. I have been out of work for nearly 8 months, so I wouldn't describe my situation as being rich. But I'm not complaining, and I don't compare my situation to that of anyone else.

I know a quality product when I see it, and along with the others in this thread are simply stating that VE offers a quality product. I personally installed a set of skins for a good friend that he bought from West Coast Corvette that were made by Mid America. The fit was outstanding and looks great.

The bottom line is that we are all fortunate to have several vendors offering products at different levels of quality and price. I didn't read your comments as an insult to those of us who have chosen VE, nor was it taken as an insult to VE itself. We were simply sharing our experiences and thoughts on the product as requested by the OP.

Bottom line - no offense taken. Peace my brother.......

fireman591

Choreo

I was the #13 post.

A couple things to consider. The first shot that I posted was before I hit the halo section with some additional steam (that shot was taken in my studio under strobes which show every flaw). With additional adjustments and letting them cure a couple days with use, there were no appreciable wrinkles left (you can probably get a better idea from the other shots after they were installed in the car).

The link you referred to in the other post indeed looks wrinkle-free in the halo and bolster areas (that is all I can really see). I am sure these are great covers as well. I am just taking a guess that they maybe used a heavier backing padding on their leather (the foam that comes sewn into the back of the covers themselves). The reason I am guessing that is because they actually look slightly bulged out somewhat over the stock silhouette?

Because of the Corvette seat design and the limitations of the stock padding, getting a 100% wrinkle-free install is pretty hard to achieve and harder to maintain. Just have to consider where wrinkles come from:

(1) DOA - if the leather has wrinkles/creases as soon as you take it out of the box - not much you can do.

(2) If the leather looks wrinkled after installation...
(a) It was not installed right (not pulled tight enough, etc. - using steam where needed)
(b) The stock foam was worn out and should have been replaced
(c) The cutting/sewing pattern was off at the factory (no fix).

(3) If wrinkles appear after use...
(a) Foam padding was not dense enough (this is an area I really wish that a 3rd party had tackled years ago as the stock foam really does need to be denser, but such is life - I added padding to mine where I could).
(b) Physique of the driver and driving habits that put localized strain on the leather.
(c) Method of entering and exiting vehicle.
(d) Not maintained with a regular leather treatment product.

On the other side wrinkled leather seats are generally more comfortable to sit in. I rode in a Mercedes the other day with absolutely wrinkle-free leather seats and it was like riding in a truck. The only way leather can stay wrinkle-free is for it not to move when you sit on it - that means YOU will be doing the moving.

I have only had my VE seats installed for about 8 months so far, but they are unbelievably comfortable and so far actually look better than the first week they were installed and I drive the car every day.

Whichever way you go, I am sure you will be pleased with the upgrade over stock skins!

JETZ

VERY nice, tasteful!

JETZ

...and YOU know what I think of your interior/seats!

fireman591

Great info on a great install