dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 3, 2011 Hi all, my researches into various fabrics used in the construction of the seat covers for the 205 GTi and it's various incarnations has been going on for quite a while now and one of the outstanding questions I need to resolve is : What fabric is used to make the the 205 Rallye seats? This may seem a rather simplistic question, but for my own part I have only ever seen jpgs of them. Because the focus is never that good it is hard to see what the actual texture of the fabric is. I have long thought that it was a grey velour but as I have never seen a set - I don't know. Or is it the same as the Delcar needlecord fabric. I would be grateful for any information on this as it would be best to get it right. I have also had quite a few requests to supply my "Quintet" fabric on a per metre basis. I will not be doing this - sorry. The replacement covers are what I will be doing and as has been pointed out before (on this forum). Why dilute your market? I am also trying to source a supplier/manufacturer of the foam thigh bolsters. Tried the UK - but it costs so much I'd have to sell them at a ridiculously high price. I'm hoping to get quotes on these soon. Happy new year to you all regards Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allye 530 3 Cars Posted January 3, 2011 What ever the material of the original Rallye seats were I woundn't use the same! I believe it was some man made based material and as a result dried and cracked in direct sunlight after a stupidly short amount of time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 3, 2011 Hi there, My experience with Peugeot fabrics (of any kind) fitted to GTis is that you can't get them anymore anyway. So making them up out of original fabric isn't a viable option. If the original seats would all seem to have fallen to bits then what do people replace them with? I am seeking a best replacement fabric for this particular model. Exact reproduction is not possible in my view. I encountered exactly the same problem with the "Quartet" fabric but managed to find a good solution to that. So any relevant information (e.g. pictures,samples) would be appreciated. regards Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redtop 14 2 Cars Posted January 3, 2011 Alderidge trimming did my seats for me. They used as close a match as they could to the original, but it is a stronger material. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christopher 5 1 Cars Posted January 3, 2011 Alderidge trimming did my seats for me. They used as close a match as they could to the original, but it is a stronger material. What kind of price id you pay for those then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christopher 5 1 Cars Posted January 3, 2011 Hi all,my researches into various fabrics used in the construction of the seat covers for the 205 GTi and it's various incarnations has been going on for quite a while now and one of the outstanding questions I need to resolve is : What fabric is used to make the the 205 Rallye seats? This may seem a rather simplistic question, but for my own part I have only ever seen jpgs of them. Because the focus is never that good it is hard to see what the actual texture of the fabric is. I have long thought that it was a grey velour but as I have never seen a set - I don't know. Or is it the same as the Delcar needlecord fabric. I would be grateful for any information on this as it would be best to get it right. I have also had quite a few requests to supply my "Quintet" fabric on a per metre basis. I will not be doing this - sorry. The replacement covers are what I will be doing and as has been pointed out before (on this forum). Why dilute your market? I am also trying to source a supplier/manufacturer of the foam thigh bolsters. Tried the UK - but it costs so much I'd have to sell them at a ridiculously high price. I'm hoping to get quotes on these soon. Happy new year to you all regards Dave Dave what ballpark price would you selling these for you reckon? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 4, 2011 Hi all, From these (and other jpgs I have) it looks to be a velour (velvet) type fabric. This inevitably produces manufacturing problems as it just isn't strong enough for the job. Indeed I can see signs of puckering already due to fabric stretch and seam misalignment (sorry mate - but I immediately focus on things like that now). The nature of the front seat fit on the 205 means the fabric is under a fair bit of tension and this combined with "real use" - bums on seats - so to speak, leads to problems. It is for this same reason that the classic 1.6 cloth bolster cover and thigh bolster failure eventually (must) occur. I am looking to get a stronger/denser version of the thigh bolster made which will go someway to alleviating this particular problem. This year looks to be just as frenetic as last for me personally - so keep the faith guys. best regards and Happy New year from Dave Hickman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars Posted January 4, 2011 From a euro rallye brochure... I am not sure it is velour, but it is a synthetic fibre and is very thin, almost like velour without a decent backing. Though it does not have the velvety feel of velour. I think the main problem with Rallye seats is the fact the nature of the design means the material movers around on top of the foam so wears out from both sides. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 4, 2011 From a euro rallye brochure... I am not sure it is velour, but it is a synthetic fibre and is very thin, almost like velour without a decent backing. Though it does not have the velvety feel of velour. I think the main problem with Rallye seats is the fact the nature of the design means the material movers around on top of the foam so wears out from both sides. Hi Henry - nice to hear from you. I don't think so - I know so (re- wear of Rallye seats) Any half decent trimmer will fit a a foam back to gain extra adhesion. But if the fit is poor then this also contributes to the dreaded "puckering" and slip movement. So we conclude it's a very thin, synthetic fibre - no foam backing (or even scrim). Does it have a brushable pile (in the velour/velvet style) though? My interest has moved from master pattern digitisation and verification back to fabric research, though interest is putting it rather mildly (let's say total obsession with ...!) hence my attempt to kick start this topic best regards Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trogboy 17 Posted January 4, 2011 Hi Dave, If you pm me your address then I can send you a small piece of the original fabric used on the Rallye. It was produced by Delcar and is very thin. It does have a scrim though this is only ~ 1.6mm. The fabric was quickly degraded by UV light so tops of the rear seats would crumble away and the fabric fades to a very dark grey with time. Anyhow you'll soon be able to see for yourself. Adam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 5, 2011 Hi Dave, If you pm me your address then I can send you a small piece of the original fabric used on the Rallye. It was produced by Delcar and is very thin. It does have a scrim though this is only ~ 1.6mm. The fabric was quickly degraded by UV light so tops of the rear seats would crumble away and the fabric fades to a very dark grey with time. Anyhow you'll soon be able to see for yourself. Adam Thanks Adam, very helpful. I managed to locate Delcar SA, just before Xmas. They don't have much of a website though and they really don't seem to use it (for anything!). They don't check site generated e-mail, or if they do they don't reply to my 3 requests to them. I found this with each of the french firms I have contacted about seat fabrics etc, they just ignore me. Most frustrating - a simple yes or no would be sufficient but seems to escape most of our French "allies". Ah well. regards Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mhyphenl 10 1 Cars Posted January 5, 2011 Thanks Adam,very helpful. I managed to locate Delcar SA, just before Xmas. They don't have much of a website though and they really don't seem to use it (for anything!). They don't check site generated e-mail, or if they do they don't reply to my 3 requests to them. I found this with each of the french firms I have contacted about seat fabrics etc, they just ignore me. Most frustrating - a simple yes or no would be sufficient but seems to escape most of our French "allies". Ah well. regards Dave Hi dave, Hope your well, still obsessing about the right things though which is important!! Have you written the email in french, on my carpet research I emailed a french firm in English with no result but then in French and got a response in French!! Google translator to the rescue!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 5, 2011 Hi dave, Hope your well, still obsessing about the right things though which is important!! Have you written the email in french, on my carpet research I emailed a french firm in English with no result but then in French and got a response in French!! Google translator to the rescue!! Hi mate, it's very patronising though don't you think. I deal with PRC all the time (recently at least) and whilst I know the odd few phrases in Mandarin I always deal with them in English no problem really. Remember Crecy - that's what I say. Equally logic dictates that if they actually had this fabric (Quartet or the bolster material) to hand the french Gti club would have it by now and be selling it some inflated price to their members only, or only French born betwen june and october with an R as middle initial - silly - but you get the drift. They haven't and they don't. Therefore whilst I acknowledge that emailing in French might be more "correct" - I don't think they actually have anything I want. Certainly nothing to help my researches on producing my covers. Business is business at the end of the day - not just French only! How are your carpets coming on then? regards Dave PS even more of a piss take when they have an English version button on the site. D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fenham Dave 0 Posted January 13, 2011 Hi This is a discussion of the same question on the French 205 Rallye site. It seems that the fabric is Roby 4030. Looks like a supplier link too. http://www.205rallye.net/forum/viewtopic.p...20&start=16 If you do get hold of the material I would definitely be interested in getting my seats redone properly. Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Hi This is a discussion of the same question on the French 205 Rallye site. It seems that the fabric is Roby 4030. Looks like a supplier link too. http://www.205rallye.net/forum/viewtopic.p...20&start=16 If you do get hold of the material I would definitely be interested in getting my seats redone properly. Dave This fabric is the same as the Delcar 2149 - on casual inspection at least. Henry (Yorke) pointed out that the rallye material didn't have a foam/scrim backing though. My somewhat rusty French tells me this is a one-off order and the guy is trying to get as many people interested as possible. One off's always worry me as it implies no continuity of supply. He's selling (marketing) this at 54 Euros per linear metre (absolute con!!). If people are really looking for this fabric I found a UK supplier last year. What I didn't know was what fabric was fitted to the Rallye -- now I know (from the piccys on this french site) and the fabric I have is a lot cheaper and also readily available. I have been researching all the 205 fabrics for nearly 12 months now and this was the last link in the chain. Thanks a lot for your help guys. regards Dave T/A 205 Gti covers and trim Edited January 13, 2011 by dch1950 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 16, 2011 (edited) Hi all, just to finalise the detail of Dave Fenham's link. The french firm is an upholsterers called ASCI, they were spotted on ebay by myself (and others) last year. They are currently selling this Delcar 2149 lookalike fabric at 47 Euros - current ad says it's for Reanult 5 GT turbos (may well be of course - I don't know). They don't make it though. The 54 Euros per metre variant is being sold by the president of the Rallye Club de France ( the once in a lifetime offer!) as he's had it treated with an anti fade spray. Interesting concept! Usual French restrictions on purchase apply, of course. regards Dave Edited January 16, 2011 by dch1950 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gentrix 2 1 Cars Posted January 16, 2011 anti fade spray Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 16, 2011 anti fade spray Hi G I think it's an anti UV barrier spray of some sort. Protects the fabric against lengthy sunlight exposure (I suppose) It's this guy's reasoning not mine. Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MerlinGTI 3 Posted January 16, 2011 Alderidge trimming did my seats for me. They used as close a match as they could to the original, but it is a stronger material. They did a mighty fine job by the look of it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 17, 2011 They did a mighty fine job by the look of it Hi mate, you see my point though - in this photo it looks like a velour/velvet fabric - n'est-ce-pas Dave PS - I was contacted by Aldridge last year about Gti bolster fabric. The girl who does their 205 work for them was very helpful - until I said I was going to be doing covers myself. It all went strangely quiet after that and the samples she was going to send me never materialised (so to speak). I am not knocking their workmanship though - which does look good. D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 24, 2011 Hi all, I've re-opened this thread as I've just got some Rallye fabric samples from Dave Fenham - along with a load of pictures of the offending items. The fabric I have will be a better replacement for the Rallye standard fabric - it is foam backed and I won't be charging €52 a metre when I make up my covers. The one question that has been niggling me for a while is now resolved. Cheers Dave. Next item for this week is getting the "flamme" machine embroidered into the seat backrest insert - I know it can be done, but I want the best price possible. regards Dave H Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muddatrucker 125 Posted January 24, 2011 Hi all,I've re-opened this thread as I've just got some Rallye fabric samples from Dave Fenham - along with a load of pictures of the offending items. The fabric I have will be a better replacement for the Rallye standard fabric - it is foam backed and I won't be charging €52 a metre when I make up my covers. The one question that has been niggling me for a while is now resolved. Cheers Dave. Next item for this week is getting the "flamme" machine embroidered into the seat backrest insert - I know it can be done, but I want the best price possible. regards Dave H Jonny Goodhand has previously had some of these made up (http://www.goodhand.co.uk/pts-decals/) he's probably worth messaging directly though. And here are some actual rallye seats on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...T#ht_500wt_1156 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dch1950 37 1 Cars Posted January 24, 2011 Jonny Goodhand has previously had some of these made up (http://www.goodhand.co.uk/pts-decals/) he's probably worth messaging directly though. And here are some actual rallye seats on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...T#ht_500wt_1156 hi thanx for your kind input, Johnny and I have already been in touch. He will , of course get a special discount. regards Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
