How about unbolting the end of the seat belt connected to the seat and pass it through the hole on the right as shown on the picture, then re-install the bolt ? :shrug:

 

That's exactly what I've been doing for the past 6 months with my new seats - works great!

 

Through the seat is a great idea! It would also help to protect the paint on the door panels from being hit by the buckle.

 

I thought about that, but those holes are for the harness belts which are sitting in my garage. Those holes are not designed for seat belts... if they were, Lotus would've put them though the hole.
I didn't want to do something that may or may not compromise my safety.

 

I thought about that, but those holes are for the harness belts which are sitting in my garage. Those holes are not designed for seat belts... if they were, Lotus would've put them though the hole.
I didn't want to do something that may or may not compromise my safety.

Here's my half baked speculation: Lotus engineers know cars and safety. If routing the strap through the harness gap was a good idea, they would have done it.

I see you like to paraphrase my words-poke-

 

For the 1.5" difference I don't really see what difference there would be in a crash - the actual anchor points are still in the same places - if anything the seat belt doesn't have to wrap AROUND the seat to brace you - it's always in the same place.

Certainly "feels" safer anyway

 

I don't leave anything to "looks ok" when it comes to safety.:shrug:

 

I agree, with iambatman, i wouldnt route through that hole either.

 

Can I ask why. It's my engineering curiosity. Don't see how it's a negative thing when I think of force diagrams in my head.
Well, as long as the belt isn't touching or being affected while it goes thru the loop.

 

there are lots of competent mechanical engineers on this forum. Most of us know what we are talking about when it comes to our specific fields (for me, its semiconductor equipment, high throughput chemistry research equipment and medical device design), but I'm not going to pretend that I know jack squat about designing safety restraints.:shrug:

Here is my half-baked speculation on why its not a good idea: In the factory setup, the seat belt point straight out from the top anchor, then angles down over the shoulder. If you put it through the loop, it has to point down (90degrees from the factory intent), then out then down over the shoulder. 1. it changes the designed load direction of the anchor point. 2. As the belt tensions during a collision, the seat can deflect, causing excessive belt slack.anic:..

anyway, thats my half a cent worth of speculation.:shrug:

like I said.. it may be fine, or it may be not.
anybody want to volunteer their car and their own body for testing?

 

...but I'm not going to pretend that I know jack squat about designing safety restraints.:shrug:

Here is my half-baked speculation on why its not a good idea...blah blah blah

Here's my half baked speculation: Lotus engineers know cars and safety. If routing the strap through the harness gap was a good idea, they would have done it.

 

I agree with you on the sense of the belt changing direction, but that all depends on where the occupants shoulder height falls and where they have the seat position (forward or back). That's why I said if the belt doesn't touch the loop when being worn, I can't see how it's any different. (But I'm sure there is a narrow range of people this would occur for). Personally, I wouldn't do it if the belt touched anything or changed angle dramatically when wearing. Just wanted to know if the people who said "no" had a valid reason for saying no other then just saying no b/c it was different or the "directions said so" (because that seems to happen a lot). We all thought lap belts alone were safe back in the day, now you don't even see them in the middle back seat of new cars anymore.

As for the belt coming out of the guide at different angle, I would imagine this wouldn't matter b/c I assume it's meant to be at different angle for different height people. I know other cars have adjustable heights, but I don't believe it affects safety that much as it's more of a comfort thing. And that won't affect the tension/retractor device at all which is down buried below the plastic back wall of the car and is always being pulled at the same angle.

And if the seat did break, I would hope the tension/retractor would have already "locked" in place by the time the seat and you started moving in any direction and you both in place. Just my thoughts. But just you, I'm not a seat belt designer although I did work with GM when in school and did see some of there safety and seat testing/design. Let's just say I didn't want to work with them in my career after graduating as I did want to get into automotive design, but they killed that dream for me. Went into medical instrument / robotic design instead.

 

I guess if the seatbelt tensioner is locked in an accident and the seat portion where it was rubbing fails, the driver will move forward a little bit more. Probably not as much if the seat is more forward for shorter drivers.
If you are not comfortable, leave as is. Safety first.

 

yeah, that would've been a deal breaker from a manufacturing flow point of view.

anyway... back to the original topic. does anyone have a better solution or better material?

 

put a harness pad over your shoulder belt.
the dealers sell some cheap ones that say lotus on them.

also, the hole in the seats is for a shoulder harness to go through it freely, not to be routed at an angle.
the slots in the seats are not designed to be put under a lateral load from a belt. they are designed for a specific reason/purpose, and the usage descirbed does not fit the designed purpose.

it might work under certain circumstances, but i wouldnt do it with my body.

some of the stuff i see on this site is crazy as far as what people think is a safe solution to a "problem".
for me, its much easier/cheaper to repair a seat on occasion, than it is to repair my body.

i think some people are so nonchalant about their approach to safety that its due to ignorance; good intentions, but just ignorance to the forces involved in an accident.


stick to using belts as they were designed to be used.

 

Its funny to me that you're putting industrial strength adhesive on the seat to "protect" the leather. I'd just let it be and IF it started to wear THEN look for a solution. My seats have many miles on them and I've never noticed any wear. YMMV.

About the belt setup:

Why does the belt loop/coil positioning look like they're in completely different places between the two pictures? Is that seat position/camera angle distortion? or an Elise vs. Exige thing? Cant figure that out.

Although its a little tough to tell without an occupant in the seat wearing the belt, it appears that the belt path is more "torturous" in the outside the hole pic (normal arrangement) In the through the hole pic (darkSol) the path appears like it may be less obstructed. I think this may depend a lot on seat position.

I would think that direct, unobstructed paths with little or no slack would be ideal. Neither setup has that exactly. I agree that there could be other reasons that Lotus didnt put them there in the first place. But, until someone tests it for real (which we wont), who knows what is actually the safer method. So, probably best to default to stock.

I think I might try it with mine. Just the tip, just to see how it feels. I mean I have those holes, I ought to use them damn it!


For the record: I am not a safety engineer. Physics and Math BS

 

Its funny that you're putting industrial strength adhesive on the seat to "protect" the leather. I'd just let it be and IF it started to wear then look for a solution. My seats have many miles on them and I've never noticed any wear. YMMV.

I've removed it a few times (tried different iterations on the shape)... a little hair dryer heat and it comes off clean.

I think I might try it with mine. Just the tip, just to see how it feels. I mean I have those holes, I ought to use them damn it!

if you're still alive after the crash.. please post pics

 

ok, my last 2 cents on this. I would beleive (depending on how the belt sat due to occupant height and chair position) that the belt thru the loop would be no different in a front or rear end collision. But when looking at it from a side impact, seems like the belt thru the loop would cause some issues as it would be forced against the seat loop and rub against the chair.

Like I said, I probably wouldn't do it, but I don't think it's as bad as some make it out to be. Some people are so anal when it comes to safety over some simple stuff. Do you guys check your belts every day to ensure there's no wear on them and change them every year due to UV damage and stretching? I don't think so. You can only take safety to a certain level as unexpected circumstances come into play and no one or any pc simulation can really know what is gonna happen. Stuff can fail in one situation where it wouldn't the 2nd time around. That's life.

 

I'm new here. This has been the first problem I have noticed with my 72D Elise. I appreciate all the good ideas for a solution on this one. Thanks everyone.

 

Welcome #29!:wave:

 

I've done exactly the same as the OP, by using a strip of the cloth side of a velcro adhesive strip to put there. It will eventually just wear through that strip too, but when it does - certainly is cheap enough to just replace it, and a heck of a lot cheaper than otherwise damaging the seat itself!

It is not even noticable really otherwise at all. A perfectly good "solution" to the situation, as the OP has done as well, in my book! :up: