I love the RX8, after checking out a lot of its pictures, I found something not very pleasing. But I may be wrong. Is the front seat belts attached to the rear door? If so, doesn't that means if there's rear passenger trying to get out, you need to unfasten your seat belt again? Can't they just make a safety belt something like the Mercedes CLK or BMW 3 series coupe where the belts are attached to the seat?

 

But if you think abt it, the front passenger for the 3 series coupe or the CLK will still need to unbuckle his seat belt, and get out of the car before the rear passenger can get out...whereas the front passenger in the RX-8 can probably remain in his seat but just need to unbuckle and throw the front door open for the rear passenger to exit :D

But you're right - they shld have attached the belt to the front seats.

 

I'd like to have a 3 point harness, I wonder how much that would cost

 

what's a three point harness? Isn't that just a normal seat belt?

I've sat in a Porsche at PIR in a five point harness. Talk about being strapped to a car. You definitely have to have a roll bar, or you risk getting your neck snapped if the car roles.

zoom zoom...

 

It is surprising, especially since earlier prototypes (Road and Track issue) had seat-mounted shoulder belts.

 

I notice that on the Saturn ION Quad Coupe, the seat belt is mounted to the body of the car, but not to the rear door.

 

It is still better to have the seat belt attached to the seat itself, considering that the car is four door. I hope to see something like this when they improved future RX8 versions.

 

DOH! yes I meant 5 point

MORON!

 

Don't forget, the front seat occupant will have to open his/her door out a bit so that the rear door can be opened anyway. The front seat occupant will have to unbuckle their seatbelt a good portion of the time to lean forward enough to get the front door open and closed anyway, so it's pretty much a moot point.

As far as being better on the seats than doors, what makes you say that?

---jps

 

Speaking of Seat Belts, I believe the seat belts are non-height adjustable right ?

 

oh that's not good. i haven't noticed any loops on the shoulder of the seat to hold it down either.

 

we need some pics of the seat belts and where they attach..

JSG, Yuhki?

 

either these are for the rear seats or the rear seats don't get 3 point seat belts which surprizes me since my econo mazda protege has all 5 seat belts as shoulder mounted.

 

Sporty GRAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the shoulder belt you can see there in Phil's pic is the front belt.
the bottom end it connected to the floor on steel bar which ( because of the tension) it slides back and out of the way when you open the rear door so anyone getting in the back doesn't trip over it.when you close the door the reverse happens, the belt slides forward on the bar putting it in position to be used by the person in the front seat.

 

I wonder why they didn't put a height adjustable seat belt in this model ?? I hope the 2005 model will have one.

 

Interesting.. I can see the mechanism getting gunked and jammed somewhere down the life of the car and passengers tripping and whacking their heads on the center beam...

hahaha

 

i can of dont like the way the seat belts is either...basically...if ur new 2 dis whole new seat belt system...it would b kind of confusing...

i was wondering if you can uninstall the seat belt and the seat...so dat u can get the sparco seat and get a 5 point harness seat belts...

i noe it would cost $$$...but if you want your car to be good or wanted your way...you gotta bust dose $$$ out of ur pocket...

 

To properly mount a 4 or 5 or 6 point harness setup, you will pretty much have to install a rollbar with a harness bar at the proper height. Otherwise, a 4, 5 or 6 point belt system with the shoulder belts mounted to the rear of a seat won't be any safer than the stock 3-point, and will actually introduce some problems.

---jps

 

Did you notice the rear leg room very small from the picture posted by Farsyde? If you look at the front seat, it's actually pushed quite much to the front too, and yet the rear leg space is so little. Is it just the angle of the picture (which I don't think so)? I hope it's not.

 

that's pretty slick. I didn't even notice that it was on a track and it did seem like the belt was anchored pretty far back too.

 

After having recently been in a side impact car accident, I don't understand why companys mount seat belts on the body of the car at all.

In a side impact, that mounting point is capable of moving. In my case it was pulled out of position, clamped down on my left shoulder and broke my collar bone. If the belt was mounted & secured to the seat I would have walked away with no injuries.

My 2c.

 

Because there is nothing in the car that will always stay in place in an accident. The hardware in most seats (with reclining, folding, etc) is not as strong as the points where belts are mounted to a car. Especially since in some cases, the seat is designed to deform slightly to protect the occupant. If there isn't much of a choice, then a company will have to try to upgrade those points and put the belts on the seat. But if there is the choice, the best place to put the belts is directly on the body of the car.

---jps

 

exactly. Look at crash tests. Generally, the seats bend just as easily as we do. So to mount the belts on the seats would allow way too much travel for the occupants. There are seats that are designed for this though. However, they are some of the most uncomfortable seats i've ever been in.

I feel your pain keeper but i just dont think there will be a seatbelt revolution anytime soon since most auto makers are well set in their choices and prolly consider walking away from a crash with just one broken bone to be a victory. BTW the collar bones suck breaking under only 25lbs of pressure and then having to put on that suit like cast. Out of curiousity, how fast was the other dude goin that hit you?

 

Wow! Is this the new English they are teaching in school these days?