Seatbelts loose or tight

[obi_waynne]

Do you prefer a nice tight seatbelt that holds you in your seat or would you rather not feel it at all and have a really loose seatbelt.

Has anyone tried those seatbelt tensioners? They are meant to promote a good driving position.

I guess if you don't know what I'm talking about you can try locking your seatbelt with a sharp jab and then move your seat forwards a little so it doesn't recoil and see how you get on with that? Be careful that you don't jam yourself in your car though

Are harnesses better than belts? What are your preferances and who has those shoulder pads on their seatbelts?

 

[lutonmatt]

loose is for me

 

[MasterAuron]

Loose generally for chilling on the road and stuff, but for hard driving seatbelts are beyond rubbish for holding you into the seat compared to harnesses.

 

[HDi fun]

I'm not a track enthusiast but you do need deeply bolstered racing seats and a 5 pt harness to have a chance of staying put in track conditions.

I think sometimes this what surprises people who are unfamiliar with track cars. They're not necessarily all that much faster in a straight line than a performance road car but the cornering forces and braking forces are unbelievably high!

I drove a fully track prepared Cosworth 500 in 1989 and the brakes were silly. Useless from cold but once warmed up they felt like they'd pop your eyeballs out of their sockets. Short and very stiff pedal, but jeez-#!#!#!#!in'-bastard-us did it stop!!!

No need for ABS, you couldn't generate enough retardation against the soft tyres and warm tarmac to cause a wheel lockup.

This can all be achieved as comfort take a very low rank, and tracks are generally much better maintained than the public highway.

On the road I like to be aware that the belt is there but don't want it tight, as such.

I think as long as it's close enough to the body that you can't slide under it or around it sideways then the pre-tensioners and force limiting equipment will look after you very well indeed. Most belts retract quite gently when you let go of 'em anyway so it's quite hard to get a road car belt to hug you tightly.

 

[stamford]

I prefer tight, I have a Sabelt harness coupled to a Cobra bucket seat in my MG, it's a quick release type so I can still use the car as 5 seater if need be. I took it out the other day and used the inertia seatbelt, I did not feel safe at all. Strange as I didn't think I would be like that, but I actually preferred being snug in my seat with the harness.

 

[turbonutter69]

I prefer a bit inbetween. Not too loose but not too tight. My focus' seatbelts retract really fast. If I forget myself and just undo and let it go it bangs the door really hard.

 

[dpsubaru]

I prefer a tight belt, although would like to have 5 point harnesses as we have these in the Sunbeam and it just feels safer

 

[MasterAuron]

The biggest problem with harnesses on the road (apart from comfort) is that you can't bloody lean forwards at junctions and stuff!

 

[pgarner]

Loose for me in general.

but if im passenger on a long journey tight - thn i gan lean into the belt and use it as a pillow

 

[Twamgl3]

I usually pull it tight to check I've clipped it in properly, and well, its just more comfortable for me that way. Certainly with my older Fiesta and my Panda you sat on the seat so pulling the seatbelt tight stopped me sliding off the seat on roundabouts.