Do your shoulder seat belts get some slack after a short time?

[kz098123]

In my '90, I find myself frequently pulling out the shoulder belt a bit to snap it back into my torso for a snug fit. It stays snug for a little while, but after an enthusiastic gear shift or heavy braking, the shoulder belt has slack and I don't feel like I'm being securely restrained anymore.

I know there's a recall out there for 1990 seat belts, but I've read it is mainly for belts getting stuck and not releasing. Kinda the opposite of what I experience.

Just curious if this is normal for you all too?

[dredgeguy]

My 92 stays snug all the time. I know about the recall but do not know if mine was done or not in the past. Thankfully it is not an issue for my car.

[jw63]

Yes, I experience the same thing in my 90. Also don't know if the recall was ever performed or not.

If I'm thinking correctly, the passenger seat belt in my car is better at staying tight than the driver side, so maybe it's just a usage issue.

[aafc]

Most belts (stock) will have some slack. Because I drag race my ZR-1 I
have stock belts and 5-point racing harness, 4-point roll bar with swing out
door bar( per NHRA good for 11.49 et (I have gone as quick as 11.54) .
But cannot use my racing belts on
public roads because they are not DOT approved and they have to rechecked
every 2 years. Stock belts are ok because they are DOT approved.
So 30+ year old stock belts are ok just a little slack some times. You can do
what you like with stock belts or replace them for newer seat belts.
Either way sit down and enjoy the ride!

John
1990 white/black # 2546
on of a few 4l8OE EQ ZR-1's

[WARP TEN]

On my two ZR-1s, '93 and '95, the normal operation of the seatbelts was fine. Additionally, as I recall, if you wanted to be held in tightly, you got in the car and pulled the seatbelt all the way out until it stopped, then let it go back in, and it would be fixed in place until you released it. When I did any drag racing I would move the seat all the way back, pull the seatbelt all the way out then let it back in, check that it was snug and would not move, then move the seat forward a half an inch or so to tighten it on me. Worked great. Works the same way on my 2016 as well. --Bob

[DRM500RUBYZR-1]

Question:

After you are seated and buckled, are you depressing the "CINCH" button on your belt?

If not, that could very well be your issue.

The cinch feature is to remove the slack from the belt which then allows the retractor to be more effective than when the feature has not been invoked.

If the feature makes no noticeable change then you have a more than one problem.

If you have not been routinely using this feature, you do not know what you have been missing as it significantly lets you snug the belt by pulling it and keeps it and you there, especially if you enjoy taking exit ramps at 75.

Marty

[WARP TEN]

Originally Posted by DRM500RUBYZR-1

Question:

After you are seated and buckled, are you depressing the "CINCH" button on your belt?

If not, that could very well be your issue.

The cinch feature is to remove the slack from the belt which then allows the retractor to be more effective than when the feature has not been invoked.

If the feature makes no noticeable change then you have a more than one problem.

If you have not been routinely using this feature, you do not know what you have been missing as it significantly lets you snug the belt by pulling it and keeps it and you there, especially if you enjoy taking exit ramps at 75.

Marty

Marty you may be right that what I was thinking of is the Cinch button rather than pulling the belt all the way out to set. The cinch button is for the lap belt portion of the belt only. Do you know if the shoulder belt portion works the way I described? That is, you pull it out all the way then let it back in and it stays tight? I am pretty sure I remember that it did in my ZR-1s, but I may be mistaken. My memory is fading a bit I think and I haven't been in one for a few years.

BTW, I was looking around for cinch button info and came across this pdf version of a 1995 Owner's manual. Has this been posted before? I had not seen it before, but it was fun to read a bit of it. --Bob

https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmowne...tte_owners.pdf

[kz098123]

Originally Posted by DRM500RUBYZR-1

Question:



After you are seated and buckled, are you depressing the "CINCH" button on your belt?



If not, that could very well be your issue.



The cinch feature is to remove the slack from the belt which then allows the retractor to be more effective than when the feature has not been invoked.



If the feature makes no noticeable change then you have a more than one problem.



If you have not been routinely using this feature, you do not know what you have been missing as it significantly lets you snug the belt by pulling it and keeps it and you there, especially if you enjoy taking exit ramps at 75.



Marty

Did some further testing. My driver side belt will not lock if I yank the shoulder belt out quickly, simulating a sudden stop. My passenger side WILL lock if I do the same test.

The Cinch button works on driver belt, but it only locks the lap portion. My shoulder belt is still free to move about.

Sounds like a lock or stop mechanism in my driver side belt is broken.

From reading past threads it sounds like these parts are no longer available and not reproduced. Bummer...




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[Mystic ZR-1]

Used belts are readily available