Quote:
Originally Posted by VictorH
Just a few items of note as I'm one of the early adopters.
I just installed my Quick-fit Pro set (driver and passenger) this afternoon. I ordered the Pro because I have a head and neck restraint (Simpson rage). Installation is fine but a couple of notes.
1) It's possible to bend the outside front seat brackets so that it conforms to the stock seat bracket and comes out in the same location as the stock belt. It's a bit of a twisted Z bend but it's doable (mild bends, not extreme) and fits nice, with no interference with the seat bolster.
2) The stock outside seat bracket mount uses a hook (hooks onto a bar) and rear tab (you have to look at the mount to see what I'm talking about) which makes the seat belt mount bolt a minimal to low stress item in the event of an accident, as it's really just a fulcrum or pivot point if anything happens (though there would not be any appreciable movement of the bracket). The mount is also a beefy steel unit. The hook at the front will take most of the force. The Schroth bracket doesn't have this provision and consequently, for any impact the force through the Schroth belt will be completely taken by the stock bolt. I assume this is probably okay since the Mini mounts the same way.
3) The way the outside rear seat belt bracket mounts with the Schroth unit is such that in the event of an accident the forces are directed such that the only thing the bracket can do is bend back on itself. This is not ideal as you would like to have the forces directed in the longitudinal axis. The stock BMW bracket doesn't address this either, so maybe it's not a big deal, however, the BMW bracket is "beefy," i.e. it's not going to bend anyway. The Schroth bracket you can bend by hand when it's held in a vice. Since it's only one of the 4 mounting points maybe it's not that big a deal.
4) The last item is the most troubling for me as I can deal with the things noted above. Just as a prelude this this issue, since it's relevant, I'm 6'2" and 178 lbs. Now, the problem, with the seat properly adjusted for me, or if you follow the Schroth instructions and move the seat back a bit more than you would use, adjust the belts and then move the seat forward to tighten them up, I have a problem with the lap-belt portion of the system.
I am able to tighten the lap-belts, left and right all the way until there is no adjustment left (the double sewn ends interfere and allow no more adjustment) and they are still a bit loose (maybe snug is a better word, but certainly not tight) on me. The instructions say the lap belts should be tight across the thighs and ride between the thighs and upper iliac crest (I know where that is). Then when I then adjust the shoulder belts it pulls the seat belt release to about the level of my belly button, which is too high and of course it just feels like the lap belt is riding across my lower abdomen. This is a problem for which I don't know what the solution is. Anyone else have this issue? Or, maybe I just need to eat more.
Otherwise, they look nice, but I need to make sure they function properly as this is the most important reason for having these belts. Any ideas are welcome.
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So is the mini belt a half ass fix, like my velcro seats, or is this a permanant solution? The rear mount point being easily bent doesn't sound too helpful in a crash.