I had someone ask me a while ago if I had any photos of the two fabrics side by side and how close they were. I just picked up a full set of m-texture door cards for $60 which seemed like a good deal even though I don't need them but I thought they would make for an interesting comparison with the ASC fabric given they are in average/decent condition. The ASC Fabrics material I have is from mid 2020 when I did my recaros so it's possible more recent batches are a closer match. I would be curious to see if someone with a more recent batch of ASC stuff can post a comparison as well.
When seen at an angle the alcantara portion seems to be a really good match. But when seen straight on and up-close there are definitely some differences.
I think the biggest difference is the colour of the backing on the reproduction fabric is too light, almost has a blue-ish hue to it, while the OEM stuff is a dark grey. The thickness of the thread is also different so the texture underneath is obvious up close. The colour difference in the alcantara is largely due to age and sun exposure I think since under the correct light they are very similar.
Would be really interesting to source some new OEM material to compare to the ASC stuff to see how much of the darker backing is as a result of age as well. But fundamentally is seems like the weave underneath is wrong.
All that being said, when just using the material to do a bucket seat as I have the differences end up being not so significant since you pretty much always see the fabric perpendicular to the OEM stuff or from a distance (front to backseat for instance). Photo below is my ASC fabric recaros next to an OEM door card. But those differences become more obvious on cars that have had a full retrim which never look OEM imo.
When seen at an angle the alcantara portion seems to be a really good match. But when seen straight on and up-close there are definitely some differences.
I think the biggest difference is the colour of the backing on the reproduction fabric is too light, almost has a blue-ish hue to it, while the OEM stuff is a dark grey. The thickness of the thread is also different so the texture underneath is obvious up close. The colour difference in the alcantara is largely due to age and sun exposure I think since under the correct light they are very similar.
Would be really interesting to source some new OEM material to compare to the ASC stuff to see how much of the darker backing is as a result of age as well. But fundamentally is seems like the weave underneath is wrong.
All that being said, when just using the material to do a bucket seat as I have the differences end up being not so significant since you pretty much always see the fabric perpendicular to the OEM stuff or from a distance (front to backseat for instance). Photo below is my ASC fabric recaros next to an OEM door card. But those differences become more obvious on cars that have had a full retrim which never look OEM imo.
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