Safety issue: S14 seat belts on S13
Re: (BGdude)
No problem. I took those pictures a while back when I did the conversion: I intended to do a write-up, but just never got around to doing it.
Glad I could help.
Glad I could help.
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bryanmenard
- Posts: 247
- Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2002 5:45 am
- Car: 1993 Nissan 240SX SE Fastback
2001 Infiniti QX4 4X4
2003 Infiniti QX4 4X4 - Contact:
Re: (slipnfall)
zerothread?id=129440
Been there, done that. And those seatbelts ARE warranted for life. That thread has a direct quotation from the warranty manual. Call 1-800-NISSAN-1 if the dealer refuses to cooperate. The dealer gets paid by Nissan to do the work...they have no incentive to refuse to honor the warranty.
There is no recall to replace the auto belts with manual belts. When these cars were made, passive restraint was required. Carmakers could choose between airbags, door mounted belts, or motorized belts. Nissan achieved that by putting motorized belts in the coupe/hatchback and door-mounted belts in the convertible. There will be no recall removing what, at the time, was a federally mandated safety item.
And the S14 seatbelt mods should be safe as long as you aren't using spacers. With OEM S13 manual belts, the upper belt-loop is BEHIND the side panel and uses the same length of bolt as the S14...
There's a "how-to" on here telling people to use a longer bolt and spacers to bring the belt loop outside the panel...this is NOT safe as it creates leverage with the longer bolt that increases the likelihood of failure of the bolts. Use the shorter bolt with no spacers and keep that loop tight against the car frame and it will be fine.
Personally, I wouldn't touch anything pertaining to seat belts...if I get killed, I want someone to be accountable other than myself.
Been there, done that. And those seatbelts ARE warranted for life. That thread has a direct quotation from the warranty manual. Call 1-800-NISSAN-1 if the dealer refuses to cooperate. The dealer gets paid by Nissan to do the work...they have no incentive to refuse to honor the warranty.
There is no recall to replace the auto belts with manual belts. When these cars were made, passive restraint was required. Carmakers could choose between airbags, door mounted belts, or motorized belts. Nissan achieved that by putting motorized belts in the coupe/hatchback and door-mounted belts in the convertible. There will be no recall removing what, at the time, was a federally mandated safety item.
And the S14 seatbelt mods should be safe as long as you aren't using spacers. With OEM S13 manual belts, the upper belt-loop is BEHIND the side panel and uses the same length of bolt as the S14...
There's a "how-to" on here telling people to use a longer bolt and spacers to bring the belt loop outside the panel...this is NOT safe as it creates leverage with the longer bolt that increases the likelihood of failure of the bolts. Use the shorter bolt with no spacers and keep that loop tight against the car frame and it will be fine.
Personally, I wouldn't touch anything pertaining to seat belts...if I get killed, I want someone to be accountable other than myself.
Re: (bryanmenard)
I agree entirely: that's why I left the pillar cover off. It's really not noticable at all, esp with the paint being the same color as the door jams(a dark gray in my case). I'm sure most do it for aestetic reasons, but I'd rather err on the safe side.bryanmenard wrote:There's a "how-to" on here telling people to use a longer bolt and spacers to bring the belt loop outside the panel...this is NOT safe as it creates leverage with the longer bolt that increases the likelihood of failure of the bolts. Use the shorter bolt with no spacers and keep that loop tight against the car frame and it will be fine.
I mainly removed my auto belts because I constantly hit my head on them(being 6'1"). Also I have wrung my neck once or twice leaning in through the window, and pressing the door[more] shut in the process.
I was aware of the warranty: same with my old Accord... and no of coarse they will not remove them in place of manuals: the law is grandfathered so they would have to make up for(like put an airbag in or something). It's just cheaper for them to maintain the auto's.