Reviews? Katzkin Leather/Seat Warmer/Weather Tech Mats

[Bens08Tahoe]

Hello all,

I picked up a 2008 Tahoe LT that is immaculate on the inside, 192K highway miles with a flawless maintenance record for $8,000 from a family friend... I am very pleased! I have installed a 2" Rough Country Leveling Kit, swapped out the low beam, fogs, and all interiors for LED's, and a few other odds and ends.

I am contemplating Katzkin leather, factory match black. Does anyone have any reviews or pictures to show what this would look like? I would love to see the finished product.

Anyone have experience with the Katzkin seat warmers? I would love to have heated seats, but wanted to check to see if anyone had a review, good or bad, of their product.

Lastly, thoughts or pictures of Weather Tech Mats? Are they worth the money? Husky Liners seem to be the same but slightly cheaper? Would love to hear if someone liked one over the other.

Thanks in advance, everyone!

 

[Jason_S]

Never personally owned a vehicle with Katzkin leather and seat warmers, but I've done a few installs for customers. If I could fit it in the the budget, I would have no concerns with putting it in my Suburban. I cannot answer to how well it will age though. I would be careful about the shop that choose to do the install, as I've seen aftermarket shops butcher the vehicle'e wire harness and create tons of electrical gremlins that are costly and time consuming to chase down and correct.

It will cost more, but many dealerships will do an install like that for you. At most dealerships, the tech doing the install would be one of their trim and electrical guys and would be the best qualified person.

I only have a Weather Tech cargo mat since my Suburban has rubber floors. It's light, thin and feels flimsy, but I have beat the absolute crap out of it. I've dropped chains, trailer hitches, and tons of other things on it. I've used it as a slider for large furniture. It's been folded, rolled and twisted. I have yet to actually damage it. Unfold it and straighten the bigger kinks, and let it sit flat in the back and it goes right back to its proper shape. I haven't washed it in a while, so I do not know if the rust from my chain stained it yet, but if it did stain, that would be the only quality issue that I've had. I have had issues with it 'floating' up and blocking the back window, but that is a side effect of having all four windows rolled completely down, no carpet in the back, and going 80 down the highway.

 

[MichaelSE]

Firstly, you got a great deal on that Tahoe! I can't speak for Katzkin but I've heard their quality is top notch. I can however attest to the quality of Weathertech liners; I had them on my Nissan Armada. The fit was great and they're sturdy; they get scuffed easily but as long as it's not a deep scratch, taking them out and conditioning them with 303 will make them look nearly new again.

I'd love to get them for my Suburban, but I couldn't just do one or two rows, I'm **** and I'd have to have all 3 rows plus the cargo mat and that would run several hundred dollars

 

[dross99_si]

What LEDs did you go with for the low beams if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Bens08Tahoe]

What LEDs did you go with for the low beams if you don't mind me asking?

These are the ones I got...

OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit - H11 (H8, H9) - 60w 7,000Lm 6K Cool White CREE - 2 Yr Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VNBDWPK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0hTtybRKSFMFM

They are great... and even better after I put the 2" Rough Country leveling kit on. I'm a 31 year old with the eyes of a 65 year old due to some muscle issues I had as a kid. Good lighting is very important to me. The leveling kit brought the front end of the vehicle up and made a world of difference. With that said, the bulbs alone are great and were relatively easy to install. They come with a flux capacitor in case the lights blink, but I didn't have to use it.

 

[Bens08Tahoe]

Never personally owned a vehicle with Katzkin leather and seat warmers, but I've done a few installs for customers. If I could fit it in the the budget, I would have no concerns with putting it in my Suburban. I cannot answer to how well it will age though. I would be careful about the shop that choose to do the install, as I've seen aftermarket shops butcher the vehicle'e wire harness and create tons of electrical gremlins that are costly and time consuming to chase down and correct.

It will cost more, but many dealerships will do an install like that for you. At most dealerships, the tech doing the install would be one of their trim and electrical guys and would be the best qualified person.

I only have a Weather Tech cargo mat since my Suburban has rubber floors. It's light, thin and feels flimsy, but I have beat the absolute crap out of it. I've dropped chains, trailer hitches, and tons of other things on it. I've used it as a slider for large furniture. It's been folded, rolled and twisted. I have yet to actually damage it. Unfold it and straighten the bigger kinks, and let it sit flat in the back and it goes right back to its proper shape. I haven't washed it in a while, so I do not know if the rust from my chain stained it yet, but if it did stain, that would be the only quality issue that I've had. I have had issues with it 'floating' up and blocking the back window, but that is a side effect of having all four windows rolled completely down, no carpet in the back, and going 80 down the highway.

Sounds like we have similar driving habits. Haha. Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely ask several questions about how they plan to wire the seats.

I have really nice rubber floor mats that I had on my last vehicle that fit pretty well. I'm worried that since I would get Black to match my black interior that they would scuff easily. I am going to have to get the cargo/3rd row combo liner regardless, may go ahead and spring for the whole enchilada. Since I got a good deal, I don't mind sinking a little cash in it to make it last longer.... the problem is I could spend ALOT of money because these mods are addictive. Haha.

Thanks again buddy.

 

[Bens08Tahoe]

Firstly, you got a great deal on that Tahoe! I can't speak for Katzkin but I've heard their quality is top notch. I can however attest to the quality of Weathertech liners; I had them on my Nissan Armada. The fit was great and they're sturdy; they get scuffed easily but as long as it's not a deep scratch, taking them out and conditioning them with 303 will make them look nearly new again.

I'd love to get them for my Suburban, but I couldn't just do one or two rows, I'm **** and I'd have to have all 3 rows plus the cargo mat and that would run several hundred dollars

Thanks for the feedback. The scuffing was my main concern, since I would get Black to match black interior. The only custom mats I've seen were on a friends expedition and they were from Cabelas... they were constantly coming out of place and the channel would catch your foot when you got out... so annoying. It seems that weathertech may be better in that regard.

I'm like you, and would have to have everything match... its all or nothing. Haha. $300 for floor mats is quite a bit of money, but I'm sure they would be worth it in the long run.

 

[yates ™]

I installed Katzkin in a truck I had a few years ago and was very happy with the results and the leather, would do again in a heartbeat if I bought a vehicle needing leather. Also have used weathertechs on the last few vehicles and love them, they keep the carpet really clean in all weather situations.

 

[gat0r]

i installed Katzkin w/ new inserts in another truck i had... they held up well.
i didnt use the seat heaters.

 

[njracer]

These are the ones I got...

OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit - H11 (H8, H9) - 60w 7,000Lm 6K Cool White CREE - 2 Yr Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VNBDWPK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0hTtybRKSFMFM

They are great... and even better after I put the 2" Rough Country leveling kit on. I'm a 31 year old with the eyes of a 65 year old due to some muscle issues I had as a kid. Good lighting is very important to me. The leveling kit brought the front end of the vehicle up and made a world of difference. With that said, the bulbs alone are great and were relatively easy to install. They come with a flux capacitor in case the lights blink, but I didn't have to use it.

Any picture of the light output?