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Thread: Seat Belt Extender

  1. #1
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    Seat Belt Extender

    For future reference and anyone who needs to know. I believe I finally found a seat belt extender that will fit after trying several times on Amazon. Our seatbelt sockets are narrower than most. I found a specialty company that markets extenders by car manufacturer and model, including the Z3. I ordered a rigid 8" extender but they have many options on length and both rigid and flexible. The site is https://www.seatbeltextenderpros.com...belt-extender/

    Back story, my wife and I spent a bit too much time at the feeding troughs during the course of our lives and got a bit too large. My wife complains that her belt keeps tightening as we drive so I've had to resort to a clamp-on device to prevent her belt from retracting. My belt acts up once in a while too. In my wife's case, the belt is almost fully extended and mine doesn't have to be, but it's close.

    On the Facebook BMW Z3 discussion page, there was a thread about this. One of the forum posters there said that when the belt is fully extended there is a failsafe that only allows it to retract and that's for child seats to maintain their position. This "mode" is only disengaged when the belt is fully contracted and sometimes one has to remove it from the guide to retract it enough to return it to normal operation. Now, I don't know if this is true, or just lore, but I do know the second part, about needing to fully retract the belt is true.

    So, we'll try it. For 24$, its worth a try and if it works for my wife, I'll get one for my side too since I hate asymmetry.
    Claude Berman, 96 Z3 Production Date 2/96 BMW CCA# 581686
    The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. Socrates, 469–399 B.C.E

  2. #2
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    I'm 6' and between 190 and 195lbs depending on the week. I do also feel the seat belt tightening at times. Maybe it locks up from "spirited turns" on the back roads? I do find myself sometimes coming to a stop and having to squish myself back in the seat to unlock it so I can lean and get a proper look to see if anyone is coming. Maybe they are temperamental?
    Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by CoconutPete View Post
    I'm 6' and between 190 and 195lbs depending on the week. I do also feel the seat belt tightening at times. Maybe it locks up from "spirited turns" on the back roads? I do find myself sometimes coming to a stop and having to squish myself back in the seat to unlock it so I can lean and get a proper look to see if anyone is coming. Maybe they are temperamental?
    I've been wondering that too. So, we'll see in a couple of weeks as I chose free shipping and god knows where they're located. They didn't charge tax, so who knows? For us, it may be helpful as I built up a "custom" elbow pad on top of the center console and that buried the seat belt socket a bit so it's a bit harder to locate and we don't twist as easily as we once did. I'm hoping the extender at least helps with that issue.

    But after some research, I uncovered this article: https://thecarseatlady.com/installation/lockingthebelt/ and it says that US cars made since 1996 have an automatic locking mode which is enabled by pulling the seatbelt all the way out and then releasing it slowly. So, it sounds like a plausible theory!

    That took some searching as it's not widely known.
    Claude Berman, 96 Z3 Production Date 2/96 BMW CCA# 581686
    The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. Socrates, 469–399 B.C.E

  4. #4
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    I double-checked and the AUTO-LOCK only works on the passenger side. When engaged, there is a ratcheting sound when allowing it to retract whereas no sound normally. So, it's definitely a real thing.
    Claude Berman, 96 Z3 Production Date 2/96 BMW CCA# 581686
    The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. Socrates, 469–399 B.C.E

  5. #5
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    Here is what the 8" seatbelt extender looks like. I've ordered another, for symmetry and why I didn't get the 7" is beyond me. I think I fell into the well if 7" is good, 8" must be better. You can see how the custom armrest makes it a deep dig to get to the original socket, so this should help with that.

    seatbelt-extender.jpg
    Claude Berman, 96 Z3 Production Date 2/96 BMW CCA# 581686
    The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. Socrates, 469–399 B.C.E

  6. #6
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    Bad news is that even with the 8" seatbelt extender on the passenger side, the damn thing goes into "only tighten, aka choke mode" after less than a quarter mile. Funny, the new price on passenger side seatbelts is around $400+ whereas the driver's side is around $275 (fcp euro). There are plenty on ebay for much less but who knows if they're good? The worst part of replacement is the labor, which looks pretty bad, especially since I have the aftermarket rollbar.


    I've got to wonder is I could somehow disable the choke mode if I did manage to get it out. Looking at some threads, it's obvious removing the assembly is a real pain.
    Claude Berman, 96 Z3 Production Date 2/96 BMW CCA# 581686
    The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. Socrates, 469–399 B.C.E

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