Member
My guide broke at the tab and I glued it back together with black epoxy and then used the aluminum clips to hold it together.. Looks good. I have a pair of OEM guides but in 3 years plus I see no need to even attempt to replace.
DO IT YOURSELF.
Maybe I'm the only one who takes his seats out a couple times a year, but most of those solutions look like they would have to be destroyed in order to take the seat out of the car.
Member
Heh.. Removing the belt would be an issue at least with the shrink.. I'm not sure about using the aluminum clips. That is the same reason I want the leather strap, it still has an easy removal option via a button.
-Adam
Member
Did you have yours custom made or did you buy it from some place? The picture I stole was from a forum member who bought his car and it already had it in it.Originally Posted by thomas88162
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Most can actually be removed. The Z clip unscrews. The nylon wrap is velcroed together. The nylon anchors obviously work the same as stock. The metal clips unclip. Just the CF wrap and heatshrink tubing would need to be cut/replaced when removing the seats.
My wheel bolts require more torque than your honda makes.
Member
When the seat belt clip on the Geo Metro broke, a nice wrapped piece of *choose your material* worked great.
When the clip broke in the BMW, it was replaced with a new OEM clip
-Todd
Member
With the CNC guys here on the forum, someone could make an aluminum guide shaped like the original. I need my seats recovered or repaired, and that would be a great time to install an aluminum version of the guide.
Hello. I like you.
Thread Killa
Maybe if there was enough interest someone would do it. I'd be interested in a set to replace the broken passenger one, & the driver's side that may break at any time.
Member
It's come up in the past and here's why nothing ever came of it:
1. To really do it right, one would need to take the factory part and have it 3d scanned to get the CAD data—expensive and not readily accessible technology.
2. To manufacture is not as easy as you think—CNC shops charge a lot of money and it's only cost effective per unit if a large quantity order is made.
3. Typical of grass roots efforts, you end up with disagreement over what the final product should be like. From overall design to minute details. Everyone wants something different and no one can be pleased... while the reality doesn't support having more than 1 variant made, if any at all.
4. Always have people saying they want one, and everyone waiting for someone else to step-up and actually do something about it.
Best chance of having anything happen is to just have one made for yourself, that way all the ground work is done, then see if others would be interested in duplicates.
Lastly, CNC billet would be a poor choice of material for this application. BMW used plastic for a reason. The part needs to be pliable for easy seatbelt insertion and removal. It also needs to have some give in case the belt is in tension. And, it needs to allow the belt to pass freely without risk of chaffing the belt material. If it is to be made out of billet, all surfaces that touches the belt would need to be a high mirror polish or at least coated with some medium so that it has a smooth surface. This means more cost. It also needs to be light as there is nothing supporting it other than the leather seat cover. This means it will need to be hollowed—more expensive CNC time.
Carbon would be awesome. But, again, cost prohibitive.
Last edited by felonious monk; 09-18-2014 at 06:26 PM.
2001 S54 LSB/NAPA. 1 of 7.
Member
Works for me and looks good too.
Sent from my iPhone using BF.com
Member
Glad you piped up graham. hopefully we can make something happen here. (Though I kind of had another thread for that discussion)
Okay, in the mean time, does anyone else have some fixes/repairs ? (I like the duct tape fix! ::
My wheel bolts require more torque than your honda makes.
Member
I know youre looking for non-cover removing options, but in reality it really isnt hard. Esp if you toss the metal hog rings, and use good quality zip ties in place.
It literally is a zip.
I also agree with Vinci... I want to be able remove the seats easily if need be.
Kurb-Hopper
I modified a long gasket scraper to hold the metal spring lock rings that secure the seatbelt guides from the backside. This allowed me to fish them up under the upper seat cover and press them onto the guides without totally removing the seat cover. Saving a little bit of time and work.
Z3M Racer '99 M Roadster
Member
I had the opportunity to replace the broken guides while installing seat heaters in the Z3. I found that the backing "plate" under the seat material is thin plastic. About as thin and flexible as milk jug plastic. It doesn't help to stiffen the guide at all. I used the plastic plate as a template to make new plates out of sheet metal. So far so good!
Member
I replaced one guide following Vinci's excellent DIY post. It was a lot easier than I expected and it only took about 2 hours start to finish. I did buy new hog rings and pliers and that probably made it easier than trying to reuse the old ones. Maybe even easier than zip ties.
I've also repaired another guide with gel superglue. So far it is holding fine and you can't even see the break.
Member
If you choose zip ties over the hog rings be sure to get super high quality ones. Cheap / thin ties will become brittle and snap quickly. Even the better black ones can snap after a month or so in cold weather. They do make stainless steel ties that are quite strong but I haven't used them on seats. IMHO hog rings are the way to go. They are easy to install and very secure. You just have to pop for the tool.
Member
The metal Z that screws to the guide can be bought. It may take a while because of where they come from. There is a guy on a UK site that makes them. He lives in New Zealand.
I bought my seat tilt kit from him. Very nice kit and it is only 10mm lift.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post links on here? If I can post up a link, someone let me know. If not, send me a pm and I will let you know. I'm not on here every day, so be patient I will respond as soon as I can.
Member
I'd be happy to add sourcing links to the original post if someone were to provide them.
My wheel bolts require more torque than your honda makes.
Member
http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewt...p?f=11&t=43225
Southernboy is his name on the boards. His health isn't great so he is selling what he has and may not produce it again.
Member
updated. Sucks about his health. his stuff seemed really good quality.
My wheel bolts require more torque than your honda makes.
Member
Agreed about his health. The seat tilt kit is just enough tilt. Did anyone see his armrest that didnt mount where the factory one does? Very nice. Flip it up and you still have the storage area. His arm rest pads cover the entire rest. I was hoping to be able to purchase more of his stuff later on. Hopefully i still can at some point.
Member
No open seat needed.
Member
that made my dayimage-2376305301.jpg
Last edited by dklay; 09-14-2015 at 07:04 PM.
Member
Would it be possible to just remove the seat belt guides and plug the holes with something plastic?
Member
It's really not that hard to fix the seat belt guides the proper way. It is intimidating to peel the seat cover partially off, once you get over that it's easy. Just get a set of hog ring pliers and hog rings from amazon and you are good to go.
Member
I believe you but based on time, and other constraints I do not think that job is in my near future so I'm just looking for a simpler way to make it look better.
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