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How do you protect your driver's seat bolster?

7K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  Road Ripper 
#1 ·
As said: "How do you protect your driver's seat bolster?"

I'm talking to the guys/ladies who want to preserve their car while driving it occasionally. Not the guys who "drive it to the MAX and then fix it"

Do you use a seat covers? (which ones) I'm concerned about the driver's side bolster - looking for suggestions.

I tend to move the seat all the way back when entering /exiting and try not to touch the seat at all (no rips currenlty and prefer to keep it that way)

Thks
 
#2 ·
Tom,

This one is a doozy & it's a lesson that I learned over a 6 year period.

To begin with, I don't have seat covers on either my MKI (Black/Gray Cloth MKI seats), or my MKII (Maroon Leather P-Type seats).

For the guys out there... One of the things I discovered "the hard way", is to "be careful of what you are wearing". In this case, Men's fashion accessories, specifically: pants belts!!!!

About 10 - 11 years ago, I got one of these belts for Christmas....



Wore it for about 5 - 7 years in a row w/ my jeans... Notice the serrated design???

About 3 - 4 years in, I then noticed that the wear on the drivers seat side bolster was getting worse. Lots of scratches & wear marks in the usual place(s) & a hole was developing in 1 specific location.

One day after I got in the MKII, I happened to be looking for something on the left side & was feeling around on the left side of the seat. And it suddenly dawned on me that the spot where the hole was on the side bolster, ALSO happened to match where my pants belt was, when I was sitting in seat!!!! LOVELY!!!! The serrated design, was chewing away the leather everytime I got in/out of the car Immediately, I switched to another pants belt & the wear on the side bolster decreased immediately. No more chewed up leather. My replacement bolster has "some" wear, but it's not as bad as before when I had the other pants belt.

Food for thought.
 
#4 ·
Hmm, that resembles the belt I wear and really like the most. My bolster is going to get recovered due to some nifty head rest fabric another CS member sold me. The headrest covers are the right size to replace both pieces and they are in a location that doesn't typically get much wear or sun fading. Two headrest covers = 1 left driver's side bolster.

A nice t-shirt over the seat back would be lovely and solve the problem. I also plan to get my windows tinted to solve any UV issues and fading due to sun.
 
#8 ·
Really does not want to see Beaker, Muppet or Human, driving naked. Prof Melonhead is locking you back up in the lab.
 
#6 ·
My problem is the part that holds the headrest, its leather is really hard from the seat belt rubbing against it, its not like the seats all the way forward...
 
#7 ·
I think that protecting the driver's left bolster is an impossible task long term. The wear of you getting in and out of the car does it in. However, it is interchangeable with the passenger side bolster, so I've grabbed a couple of them from the junk yards , easy to remove. Some have also had them recovered, easier if you have a spare.

I expect there is a difference between fabric and leather. The fabric ones split at the seam.
 
#9 ·
I expect there is a difference between fabric and leather. The fabric ones split at the seam.
Yep, they tend to wear at the outer most edge & slightly towards the inside. The seam is just on the outside facing the door & I've never seen it split there.
 
#10 ·
I cleaned and restored my cloth seats, but put covers on them anyway. After a year or two of dogs jumping in the car and driving it everyday, I pulled the covers off....looked just as good as when I first redid them.
 
#15 ·
^^^LOL!!!

Yeah, over the years I've kinda developed my own method for entering/exiting my car. I push the steering wheel up, grab the top of it and use it to pull myself clear of the seat bolster while getting up/out. I only weigh 160lbs so it's not too hard on the wheel/column. Getting in is kind of the same deal. My seat bolster is still perfect, I've never used seat covers, and I've been driving this Supra for about 7 or 8 years now. So far so good!
 
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