Blog

I have been designing, manufacturing and selling cupholders for the BMW Z3 for over 20 years. The question I get is usually something along the lines of: Why can't I get a bigger cupholder in my car?  There are quite a few factors limiting the size of the cupholder. But first, let's go back in time a bit. While the Z3 was released as a 1996 model, it was designed in the early 1990's. If the internet is to be believed, the design was locked in 1993. At the time, BMW was a much different carmaker than they are today....

At some point in 2000, BMW started including a 2 Cupholder console option in Z3 coupes and roadsters. This brought the total number of console options up to a whopping 6!! The new Cupholder had three slots in the front to hold quarters, nickels and dimes. It had 2 cupholders, with the forward one containing a removable ring that would allow for those mega cups we Americans love. In addition, the console had a nice storage area to keep things in the cabin tidy.   When Jon and I saw the console, we knew it presented a great opportunity to...

For over 15 years LeatherZ has offered made-to-order custom Shift and Emergency Brake Boots. We have offered boots for the most popular BMW models and each boot has been built as if it were going into one of our personal cars. All of the boots we have made have been personally built by JonM, the founder of LeatherZ.  Jon has built all of the boots in his free time, only during evenings and weekends. In May 2018, Jon accepted a position with his full-time, day-to-day company that is moving him outside of the United States. While this is a temporary move, it means...

The most common mistake people make when taking care of leather is using too much conditioner. Leather comes with surfactants (protection) from the tannery. BMW leathers are all very well protected when new. If you apply too much leather chemicals and/or too often, you will strip off the protection the tannery applied. Your leather will begin to crack and wear prematurely. The best analogy for this is like the enamel on your teeth. Once the enamel is gone, your teeth have no defense. The best thing you can do for leather, to keep it soft, supple and preserve the matte-finish,...

After close to 10 years, we thought it was time for a little refresh. Welcome to the all new LeatherZ website! We are still working out the bugs of building a site from scratch, so please bear with us. We have switched to a new hosting company which will allow us to offer a lot of new features. If you created an account (before 7-1-16) on the old site, you will need to create a new account. As always, feel free to shop as a guest.   - Andy Maddux