Inertia reel belts in quick cars
Discussion
My car isn't the quickest thing on the road by any means, but it does the 0-60 sprint in about 5 seconds. The one thing that really makes me 
is when I have to boot it up a short slip road to join an A road or motorway, after leaving some service stations etc, and the inertia reel belt locks me back into my seat so I can't check my blindspot properly. Has anyone else had this, or is it just me 
.
is when I have to boot it up a short slip road to join an A road or motorway, after leaving some service stations etc, and the inertia reel belt locks me back into my seat so I can't check my blindspot properly. Has anyone else had this, or is it just me .Gwagon111 said:
I'm not talking about leaning forward quickly and the belt locking, I mean the acceleration presumably forcing the little ball in the system to roll back and lock the belt against you, preventing you from moving forward at all.
Sounds like it's broken. I think the lock is basically a locking centrifugal clutch, so it shouldn't engage unless the belt is unwinding, regardless of the overall forces it's put under. john_p said:
Never had this. What car is it?
It's an impreza GB270 with a few extra engine mods, it also used to happen in a scoob STI I had. The mechanism seems to be working as it should, it's only really hard acceleration that seems to trigger it. I was under the impression the system uses a rolling ball in a cup type arrangement when the ball rolls out of the cup it locks the belt, be it due to hard braking or acceleration. The scoobs are the first cars I've owned that can accelerate quickly enough to cause this locking on pull away.Robb F said:
I get this, under hard braking you can lean forward at all.
I'm guessing same with acceleration too, but couldn't say as my car is too slow to make it happen :P
Under braking, the reel is extending and it should lock.I'm guessing same with acceleration too, but couldn't say as my car is too slow to make it happen :P
Under accelleration it is not extending and should not lock. Sounds faulty. What car?
When does it release?
Its a pointy thing that sits above a cone shaped cup on a flexible support, the rachet releases the belt as the pointed part of the mechanism lowers into the cone. Significant G in any direction moves the cone from centre such the the point will not lower into the cone and hence the rachet wont rellease the belt.
Ugh!! Facts...
The belt mechanism as OP understands will lock upon either fast pull-out of the belt, &/OR under hard enough braking or acceleration. The logic is that it also locks without the need for belt extension - under hard braking or 'harsh' manoeuvering.
Because it's a ball atop a stick - it can sometimes also tilt and lock the mechanism on a slope - often meaning belts can't be done up if you live on a sloped driveway, having to wait until you're level again.
While we're on it - on many cars - if you fully extend the belt to its stop, it will enter a 'one-way' mode - whereby the belt will only reel back in - but not out. The only way to reset is by reeling fully in again. This is designed for baby car-seat attachment. Point being, if you're loading up fat-granny in the back seat, and help her put her belt on by extending it fully - fat granny will be trapped with no movement once it reels back in to her actual size.
The belt mechanism as OP understands will lock upon either fast pull-out of the belt, &/OR under hard enough braking or acceleration. The logic is that it also locks without the need for belt extension - under hard braking or 'harsh' manoeuvering.
Because it's a ball atop a stick - it can sometimes also tilt and lock the mechanism on a slope - often meaning belts can't be done up if you live on a sloped driveway, having to wait until you're level again.
While we're on it - on many cars - if you fully extend the belt to its stop, it will enter a 'one-way' mode - whereby the belt will only reel back in - but not out. The only way to reset is by reeling fully in again. This is designed for baby car-seat attachment. Point being, if you're loading up fat-granny in the back seat, and help her put her belt on by extending it fully - fat granny will be trapped with no movement once it reels back in to her actual size.
Inertia reel seatbelts are for girls, get some harnesses, pull them so tight you can feel the frame in the back of the seat then try checking your blind spot.....
or lean forwards as your accelerating, you will build up a nice 6 pack and not get squashed under the truck you didn't see....
or lean forwards as your accelerating, you will build up a nice 6 pack and not get squashed under the truck you didn't see....
Petrolhead_Rich said:
Inertia reel seatbelts are for girls, get some harnesses, pull them so tight you can feel the frame in the back of the seat then try checking your blind spot.....
or lean forwards as your accelerating, you will build up a nice 6 pack and not get squashed under the truck you didn't see....
or lean forwards as your accelerating, you will build up a nice 6 pack and not get squashed under the truck you didn't see....
I can't use harnesses anymore. I broke my neck and collar bone a few years back, harnesses cause me agony now. That is also a deciding factor in which cars I buy. They either have to have the Recaro / Sparco high back type seats, or must be able to take such a seat as replacement. Normal seats with a seat and separate headrest are no good for me.
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