club.liberty.asn.au

Im curious to know if anyone has re trimmed their seats in their lib ??
If so maybe we can have this as a dedicated thread.
Im curious as i dont think i can recall reading anywhere that anyone has done it.
People have swapped out fabric seats for leather ones but i dont think ive heard of anyone taking it to a motor trimmer and getting the seats re trimmed in leather or whatever.
If you have can you post some photos.
Im considering doing it myself ( im a furniture upholsterer by trade ) but im a bit worried about legalitites of the stitching when you have side air bags that come out the seats like mine does ( 05 Safety Pack )
Do i need to have a specific thread, i havent heard otherwise. I havent called any motor trimmers as yet to find out the answer.
I do know however in USA there are laws about it. Motor trimmers there make their clients sign waivers so if the car is involved in an accident and somehow the client gets injured when the airbag is deployed they obviously cant get taken to court for whatever legal term they call it.
Anyways cheers

I got a quote from Doyle's for $1400 to reupholster my 2 front leather seats. '05 Outback Premium.
I didn't ask about the airbags & they didn't mention it, so can't answer that one sorry.
I rung a few places that day & Doyle's seemed to know what they were on about. Cheapest too.
I'd start there.

how do you know if the airbags will deploy correctly if you retrim/mod the seat.....just saying, best to check out very thoroughly

I dont Jslayz this is exactly what Im saying !I dont know if they will deploy correctly if they get retrimmed ive been trying to find info online but havent been able to find any info thats related to the libertys in particular.
Not to mention anything australian relevant as yet !

a side airbag, placed underneath a full-sized hardwood pallet http://www.chep.com/assets/1078.jpg
will lift it off the ground when you set it off.
half a dozen stitches into thin leather won't hold it back

watch it shake the seats in this prius
http://youtu.be/v9hyetRoJuw?t=56s

BigBadBenny has done it - he said very frustrating but a well earned mod.

I'll PM him to chime in...

Often when speccing leather option, the seats are trimmed locally.
Iirc the local business is in Geelong, Morabbin etc as featured recently in unique cars.
http://blackmansleather.com.au/locations

So they will be airbag certified trimmers plus have most patterns on hand.
Custom eg deeper bolsters would cost extra.

Failing that you could strip the seat, take patterns and reuse the stock clips and stays in custom made seat covers.
Just go for a certified trimmer for the stitching or DIY at your own risk.

Anyhow the best option is to get leather seats from a wreck due to price, choice, compatibility and ease.

Around $500-600 full set ex cond...
Deep or shallower bolstering, pre/post
Black or cream
Full electric
Airbag and power ready
Etc

I've swapped front and rear seats my07 for 08, and swapped out a seat base cover.
The ultimate choices are airbag equipped Sti recaros of varying rarity

I'd love to add more bolstering to the front seat as the stockies don't offer enough lateral support. Hmm, Blackmans.

Yeah I've used Blackman and sons on previous cars they do good work I order from them over the phone and install myself but now I have the skill and knowledge that I can do it myself

Aside from the obvious potential safety issue (which in itself seems to be a non-issue), be wary of what your insurance policy allows. At its simplest, some insurance companies won't honour claims where safety features have been removed, eg: airbag seats replaced with non-airbag seats. Not sure how they would react to re-trimming an existing air-bag seat, but best to check first. With any luck they simply need them to be done by certified guys only and that's it.

HyRax wrote:Aside from the obvious potential safety issue (which in itself seems to be a non-issue), be wary of what your insurance policy allows. At its simplest, some insurance companies won't honour claims where safety features have been removed, eg: airbag seats replaced with non-airbag seats. Not sure how they would react to re-trimming an existing air-bag seat, but best to check first. With any luck they simply need them to be done by certified guys only and that's it.

Why would that void insurance if it played no part in a accident?? If it were ABS or something similar disconnected then I can understand, but something that goes off post accident?? Not having a go just curious.

You'd have to read the fine print, but yes...

Or no?

The point is to not give an easy option to void your insurance, especially when legal modification alternative exist (airbag certified upholsterers).

norbs wrote:thing similar disconnected then I can understand, but something that goes off post accident?? Not having a go just curious.

Simple - Insurance companies will do anything to avoid a payout. Less likely if you're not the party at fault, but that won't stop the other insurance company trying to find an angle to argue it either.

Your policy payout could be denied simply because you replaced your airbag-equipped steering wheel with a non-airbag steering wheel, or because you disabled ABS or your airbag system because you had some high and mighty opinion that you didn't need it, etc (it's against the law to remove any factory-supplied safety system in a registered road-going vehicle). Law aside, insurance companies take modification to safety systems very seriously.

My brother had his insurance policy abruptly cancelled when he advised them out of the goodness of his heart that he put WRX calipers on his Impreza RS. Why? The perception was that he intended to speed more, thereby increasing his risk of a speed-related accident. Forget the fact that the factory Impreza RS brakes are woeful and that he did not have any at-fault history. He's now with another insurance company who actually has the sense to understand that a mod does not constitute an intent to hoon and the calipers are fully disclosed on the policy, but the primary concern is that had he had an accident under the old policy without advising them of the new calipers, he could have been left high and dry with no payout and no car. Even worse was that he was not told about the cancellation over the phone when he added the calipers to the policy, he was advised of the cancellation by post, and it was backdated. He was literally driving uninsured for just over a week as a result. Complaints were lodged with no apology given in return.

Which insurer was this (the one who cancelled the policy)?

PM me if you do not t want to disclose publicly.