what seat belts to get

Post by **callyspoy** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:50 am

hi folks, i was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some seat belts. the ones on ESM have long 'necks' on them as if they were designed for a van and i don't much like the look of them(dad has them in his) so i was curious of anyone knew of standard seatbelts that didnt have quite so long 'necks'.
may i just add that it is late and i am feeling ill, and because of this i have completely forgotten the correct word for the 'necks', so don't take the mick!
thanks in advance.
*C*

Post by **simmitc** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:55 am

Securon make exactly the same belt but with shorter "necks" (buckles?). I agree with you entirely about the long bits being too wavy and that they get in the way. The part number has something like /600 at the end which means that the bucklt is 600mm or 2 feet long. The same belt with a /300 part number gives you a 1 foot buckle, and I think that there is even a shorter one still. The shorter buckle then bolts neatly to the tunnel between the seats and doesn't trip up people getting in and out of the rear seats.

One other thing to watch is that the webbing on the reel is also available in different lengths, and I'd go for the longets possible that you can get. ESM did have the longer webbing at one time.

The problem is that Securon list the Minor belt as being a short webbing with long stalk. I've written to them about this, and tried to buy the short stalks but they clam up saying that they sell only complete kits for "health and safety" reasons, even though the actual clips are exactly the same fixings, and they can't / won't say why they recommend the long buckle.

Basically, hunt around for Securon belts and compare the webbing and buckle lengths to get what you need. Good luck.

Post by **mike.perry** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:21 pm

The long buckle section is ok if you have the mountings in the floor behind the front seats, especially if you are short in the leg department and have the seat well forward. I will agree that the buckle section can be too long if you have it mounted to the prop shaft tunnel.
I had a different problem. I fitted rear seat belts to my Traveller and found that they did not extend far enough. I have probably fitted saloon instead of estate car belts.

Post by **alex_holden** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:27 pm

mike.perry wrote:I fitted rear seat belts to my Traveller and found that they did not extend far enough. I have probably fitted saloon instead of estate car belts.

I have the same problem. It's annoying because they were sold as suitable for both saloon and traveller. An adult can just about use them on full extension but they are tight and uncomfortable, and you can't lean forwards.

Post by **mike.perry** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:18 pm

Adults can't use mine at all. Even if I moved them well forward on the rear wheel arches they would only just fit.
Legal point. I suppose that as they are fitted they must be used even if the age of the car exempts them.

Post by **simmitc** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:45 pm

The problem with short rear belts comes back to Securon recommending the wrong size here as well. They specify model 254, which is what the dealers therefore stock. However, the model 264 is exactly the same, but with longer webbing and therefore better suited to both the Traveller and the saloon.

For the front beltsd, Securon state 500/45, but you can use a 514/30. This will give a short buckle and a longer webbing. The only thing is that the reel is intended for rear mounting, and thus has an adjustment for orientation. However, it can be adjusted to operate vertically for conventional front mounting, so all is well. On some cars I've found that the mounting in the sill is too close the the rear seat base to allow this reel to bolt straight in, but the kit comes with a bracket to allow mounting through the floor, so again OK. At least you get the freedom of movement.

Could I ask that everyone who has a problem with short belts writes to Securon. If enough people do, then perhaps they;ll get the message. The product is good, the problem is simply that they recommend the wrong model.

For more info, see: http://www.securon.co.uk/seatbelts_layouts.htm

Post by **les** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:24 pm

I don't know how many types esm sell, I thought it was just the one, I bought a securon set 6 months back and had to reposition the lower fixing point by the cill for them to fit a van, other than that quite nice.