I have noticed that the seatbelts in my new VSpec '5 don't hug against you properly. They "lock" correctly given a sharp tug to simulate an accident but in normal driving they slowly slacken until there is about 3 inches of slack instead of staying tight against you like the old car's did. Where's the best place to source a new set in tan - Jay or KA Yu perhaps? (5/00)
This describes my V Spec seatbelts exactly. Either we both have Friday afternoon V Specs or it's a "feature" of them. Do any other V Spec owners recognise this description before someone spends hard earned lucre on an identical set? (5/00)
My old 92 Silver Roadster was like this as well; maybe this is a "feature" (5/00)
Mine too - must be normal. (5/00)
Same again here! (5/00)
Yep EXACTLY the same for me ... '92 Black V'Spec I'm used to it now so I constantly pull up the slack and retighten, but it could prove a little more dangerous. (5/00)
Yes, that's pretty much it for mine too. (late '93 1.8 model) (5/00)
Same here (same model/colour as well - conspiracy theory time!)....but only the passenger one. Ho hum.... I was thinking this MUST be an MOT failure (ought to be??) but thinking about it the guy just connects the seatbelt and yanks....he doesn't check out whether they sit snugly on Joe Passenger. This must be potentially dangerous though as you say. (5/00)

My roadster has some weird and wonderful modification to the passenger seatbelt....at least, that's what I'm led to believe as no one has yet been able to tell me what the heck it is....

Basically, when the engine is switched off (not at any other time really), the passenger seat belt contracts noticeably against the body of my surprised (and sometimes thrilled) passenger. The same does NOT happen to the drivers belt. I've checked the belt etc but the only thing different I can see, and don't shout at me if this is totally standard and I'm being stupid! But the 'floor mounted seatbelt faster' has some wiring outside the main plastic casing with a connector half way down the wire (not doing a very good job of explaining this am I?)...

I know that there is probably some wiring inside the catch so the seatbelt warning flashes on the dashboard at the appropriate times, but this piece of wiring is outside the casing and definitely looks like a cowboy job to me. If it helps, I am 99% sure the car was raced before being imported (due to several tell tale signs). As racing harness 'hooks' are still in place, it occurred to me that the seatbelt fastener may have been removed and later replaced, and the wiring not finished properly, but, why is it only showing on the passenger side and why the contraction only on the passenger side?

If the contraction itself was due to a racing measure, surely it would be on the drivers side? (6/00)

You asked for theories, so here's mine.

Some Roadsters have seat belt retractors. These are designed to tighten the belts in the event of a crash. I'm not sure if they're supposed to tighten when you switch off - it's possible that they should be permanently live, and someone has changed the supply to ignition controlled. Look at your auxiliary fusebox (on the right of the footwell, hidden up inside the trim)

If you have a fuse box with "N035" on the lid, and imagine it aligned so that the fuse ratings are the right way up, you will see that you have 3 columns of fuses. In the middle column (3 up from the bottom) there is one fuse rated 10A. Is that fuse present? It is the fuse that protects the retractors. Try removing it, and see if you still get the effect. (You may have a completely different fuse box lid, in which case this will get us nowhere) If you don't, mystery partly solved. I can then only assume that the drivers was removed either because the owner didn't like it, or the retractor failed, or it was disconnected for some reason in connection with fitting the racing kit. Wonder if that was street racing in Tokyo? :-) (6/00)
Is there an electronic tensioner for the Roadster seat belts and can it be disabled? I'm asking because the belts on my car always seem to be slightly loose and the only way to tension them is either to pull the belt away from the body then let go, or turn the ignition off. Pulling the belt away tensions them for a short while, but they soon become loose again. The belts do lock properly, but I find the looseness quite irratating. I presume others have this problem (is it a problem)? (11/00)
Yes, information passed onto me indicates there is an electric tensioner (pre-tensioner??), with a fuse located the interior fusebox (quite obvious when you look at Graingers Workshop Manual, and the fuse box cover, and see the extra fuse). Removing the fuse disables the tensioner. My fuse box was marked NA07, and the car is a late 1991 Roadster. Not sure how many other cars have this fitted. (11/00)

Yep - it appears to be a "tension releaser".

Removing the fuse disables it - I haven't got it (N001 fuse box), but if you have a fuse box labelled N007 or N035 (and possibly others) you have. Actually this fuse box label may refer to a wiring spec - you will see the same number (I think) on the main fuse box under the bonnet. The fuse is located in the auxiliary fuse box (By your right leg, behind the trim).

I haven't had full feedback on what the full effect of removing this fuse is - I suspect it is fail safe and simply removes the detensioning function, leaving the seat belt as a normal inertia reel belt (ie unlocked normally, with spring pressure holding the belt against your body, but locks up when the car is subject to G-forces - - cornering, hard braking, --- or crashing!)

Why a detensioner?

I speculate that it is for people who don't like wearing seat belts - eg in USA and Japan? Maybe it's supposed to make it more comfortable. I guess it's just unnerving for us.

It is certainly not the same thing as a seat belt pre-tensioner - eg as used (once?) by Saab and Audi - these contain an explosive charge which fires when a sensor detects you've just crashed. The gas released spins the belt reels up tight. At least - I don't think the Roadster ones contain such a charge. (11/00)

Apologies for rich text format: this says 'belt'

If you pull the fuse with this script (it's a 10A one, in the auxiliary fuse box) it will disable the seat belt detensioner. Not fitted to cars with the N001 fusebox. (11/00)

Anyone know what the thread size is on the seatbelt bolts and the seat bolts? Can you get harness eye-bolts easily enough in a metric size. The only ones I've seen are from Demontweeks in a 7/16" imperial thread. I want to use either the seatbelt lower seat-belt mounting points or the seat bolt-in points to fit the lap-belt and crotch straps of a 6-point TRS harness. Its either that or drill even more holes into my floorpan (in for a penny....).

There a few specialist eyebolt suppliers I've come across, but I wouldn't know exactly which eyebolt is the right one in an automotive application. (2/02)
Seatbelt component bolts are all the same 'standard' which means that seatbelt components are mostly interchangeable between cars. I had no problems fitting Sparco harness eye-bolts in place of OEM seatbelt units. (2/02)