DenisMc Posted October 12, 2023 Report Share Posted October 12, 2023 Hi All. My TR5 is fitted with three point inertia reel seat belts. The reel assembly is bolted to the face of the wheel arch where it meets the rear floor, there is a belt guide fitted to the top of the wheel arch and then it is connected to the sill. It works fine as a seat belt but annoyingly doesn’t retract well due to friction between the belt and the leather upholstery that is on the vertical face of the wheel arch. Obviously, the return spring force is at its weakest when parking the belts. The belts date from 2000 when the car was restored. Other than replacing the belts, which may not help, does anyone have any ideas to improve this? One suggestion I did find was to spray the surface of the belts with silicon spray… Thanks, Denis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drewmotty Posted October 12, 2023 Report Share Posted October 12, 2023 Things can be improved by shortening the webbing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted October 12, 2023 Report Share Posted October 12, 2023 4 hours ago, Drewmotty said: Things can be improved by shortening the webbing. Only if done by an approved dealer. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MilesA Posted October 14, 2023 Report Share Posted October 14, 2023 I have the same set up (apart from having a vinyl interior) and problem with a belt on my 6. Passenger side OK but driver's side leaves about 8" of belt unretracted. Tried the silicon suggestion with no obvious improvement - perhaps I didn't use enough. Washing the webbing has also been suggested and I have seen some brave fellows dismantling the unit and increasing the spring tension. Not sure I am up for that, so living with it in the meantime. Interested in any other suggestions though. Miles Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jerrytr5 Posted October 14, 2023 Report Share Posted October 14, 2023 Reduce the friction on the webbing by using a spacer behind the reel and/or the top mount so the belt does not rub the trim. Jerry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DenisMc Posted October 15, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 Thank you for your suggestions. I am relieved to read that I am not the only person with this problem! I thought that a slightly longer belt guide might help to stop the belt dragging so much on the vertical face of the wheel arch. I did source some from a company that makes motorsport safety restraints, but couldn’t remove the original guides without undoing the stitching so returned them for a refund. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Harbottle Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 Exactly the same on my TR5. Put a belt guide on the headrest of both passenger and drivers seat, don't think it helped much with the retraction but makes finding the belt to put on much easier without contorting my body too much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robert Sackley Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 Ref. Post by MilesA concerning trying to increase the seat belt retraction tension. I have a similar problem of slow retraction of the driver's side belt and asked the suppliers, Securon, if the tension could be increased. This was the reply: 'No! Please do NOT remove the cover. There is no way to increase the spring tension by removing the cover. Under no circumstances should the cover be removed, the spring is under load and is likely to completely unravel and potentially cause injury. I heeded the warning! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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