Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications General Mods Replacement seats??

95-97 SE leather seats. Far and away the most supportive seats to be found in our cars.

Barry...

Have you sampled any of the other Contour seats? Are the 95-97 SE seats really that good? If so, I'm gonna work on tracking some down. I have a line on an SVT leather seat, but if the early model SE seat is better, then I'll look.

Thanks,

--Dave

TARTANnot sure if you already knew this, but the seats aren't squeaking, it's the fact that it rubs on the door and the center console that makes those noises....

" Thank you! My sentiments exactly. The SVT leather sucks "

Must be sucky cows -ehh?
Leather is leather - it is what you make of it. Leather care makes all the difference. MB cars never see a day outside a garage so they may benefit from that.
I have seen alot of leather seats and I regard the SVTs highly (early SE better???? - In what way, Ive seen em). With minimal care, my seats still look and even smell new. Stiching seems very stout. The perforations are graet - allow much better breating than non-perforated styles. The lateral bolstering is decent (though not quite as good as my Recaro style special edition Scirocco) & the inflatable lumbar support is just perfect. 10 way positioning allows just about anyone to get comfortable. No seat squeeks or rattles (yet anyway). I can honastly say I have not sat in a better leather sport seat in an under 30K sedan (of course, non leather will always be gripier but not good for kids in the back seat).

Well, seats depend on your body. The 1995-97 SE seats are too narrow for my shoulders/rib cage to fit between the wing bolsters, I actually sit on them. IMHO, as a result, the SVT seats are by far the best. People with smaller builds prefer the older SE seat. The 10 way power seat is also better than the older SE's 6-way.

No squeak, rattle, or rocking issues.

On leather quality, I don't see what's so bad with the leather on the Contour. After 99,000 miles, mine looks great, except a few creases, which will be on any leather upholsetered car with these miles. Shopping in the near-luxury class, the C-class Mercedes has awful leather, more vinyl-like than their vinyl. The 3-series leather is a little better than the SVT, but not greatly so. The Lexus IS has wonderful suede, by far the best, though Jaguar has the best non-suede. Other makers are about where the SVT is.

If you need to see truly bad leather, look at an Oldsmobile Intrigue. The stuff is thin, hard, and even more vinyl-like than the C-class upholsetery.

When it comes down to it, the biggest thing that determines leather quality is the care you take of it. Clean it regularly, bathe it in conditioner, and you'll have great leather.

seat brackets and sliders are available for the contour. I bought my brackets from wedge engineering. They make the brackets for Recaro, Sparco, Momo, Tennzo, OBX, Cobra, Corbeau, etc. I had a 4 week wait to get them and they cost $165 for the pair shipped. I have the seats in my Cougar and love them. The seat brackets between Cougar and Contour are the same so I ordered 95+ Contour brackets. All this company does is make aftermarket seat brackets so everything lines up with the stock holes. The brackets were very nice and powdercoated black

I wonder if the seats from the new Jag. that they are making based on the mondeo will fit. I saw the picture of the interior and it looked so sweet. I also wonder if its production will open up more aftermarket parts for our cars??? Here's hopeing

No way. There are different ways of tanning and treating the leather before it goes on. Off the cow's back it's all the same, but from there everything changes and the quality all depends upon how it's tanned before it gets to you. There's even a leather grading system telling you about the quality of the leather.

Walk into a furniture store and feel the different types of leather couches. You can plainly feel that some of the leather is a bit more supple and softer feeling -- that's the high quality leather.

If all leather were the same, you'd sit on the super stiff stuff that barbers use to sharpen their razor blades.

im selling my midnight blue leather seats for 400$

I have sat in an SVT seat, and believe me, my 95 SE has better seats. Everyone who rides in my car says the seats are great. Trust me, pre-98 sport buckets rock.