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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

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Napaboy
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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Napaboy » Mon Apr 25, 2022 11:29 pm

I have a 2016 Z4, and for as long as I have had it, the seat belt has been leaving a black mark on the top of the seat shoulder. The reason for this is that there is no bracket to hold the belt off of the seat. Do you know where I can get an after mark bracket to solve this problem. The belt is starting to wear through the beading on the seat. Thanks!

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obelix54
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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by obelix54 » Thu May 19, 2022 9:56 pm

I had a similar problem with the belt leaving a black mark on the beige seats as it they are suede at the point the belt crosses. I have been using seat belt pads similar to the link below. Don't particularly like them but it stop the seat edges getting wrecked.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Sh ... =8-13&th=1
2009 BMW Z4 3.0
2014 BMW X3 (F25)
2023 Mini Electric

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Smartbear
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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Smartbear » Thu May 19, 2022 9:58 pm

I fastened seat belt covers to the bar where the belt exits the trim, the belt now slides in/out of the cover instead of burning the leather seat.
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by flybobbie » Thu May 19, 2022 10:03 pm

I use the ones from Wilco £2 a pair.

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Napaboy » Sat May 21, 2022 2:12 am

Thanks everyone! I do have seatbelt covers but they are black and just resting on the seat still turns black. I am very careful to make sure the belt doesn’t touch the seat when I’m pulling it out. Still leaves a mark maybe I should try white pads. Miatas have a bracket that holds it away from the seat I can’t believe BMW has this design flaw

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by flybobbie » Sat May 21, 2022 7:15 am

Latest Z as gone back to having seat belt guide.

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Busterboo » Sat May 21, 2022 11:51 pm

If your seats have Alcantara sections just where the belts mark them, 'Essential Waitrose Biodegradable Baby Wipes', used gently, will remove much of the muck. They're good on leather, too.
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Napaboy
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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Napaboy » Sun May 22, 2022 7:49 am

Thank you!

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Napaboy » Sun May 22, 2022 7:52 am

Smartbear wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 9:58 pm I fastened seat belt covers to the bar where the belt exits the trim, the belt now slides in/out of the cover instead of burning the leather seat.
Rob
Thanks, that's a great idea. How did you fasten them to the bar?

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Napaboy » Sun May 22, 2022 7:55 am

flybobbie wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 7:15 am Latest Z as gone back to having seat belt guide.
Hmmmm I wonder if they would fit mine. Thanks

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Napaboy » Sun May 22, 2022 7:55 am

Busterboo wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 11:51 pm If your seats have Alcantara sections just where the belts mark them, 'Essential Waitrose Biodegradable Baby Wipes', used gently, will remove much of the muck. They're good on leather, too.
Thank You!

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by Smartbear » Sun May 22, 2022 9:33 am

Napaboy wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 7:52 am
Smartbear wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 9:58 pm I fastened seat belt covers to the bar where the belt exits the trim, the belt now slides in/out of the cover instead of burning the leather seat.
Rob
Thanks, that's a great idea. How did you fasten them to the bar?
Cable ties.
Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by flybobbie » Mon May 23, 2022 9:20 am

Crude drawing, been 35 years since i left a drawing office, but i often thought something like this that can slot behind the headrest.
belt.jpg
belt.jpg (27.84 KiB) Viewed 523 times

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by acm » Mon May 23, 2022 11:48 am

It's a pity that the headrest isn't mounted on the seat with metal posts like standard car seats to make the headrest adjustable, There are plentry of "universal seat belt guides" that mount on these posts with a slot for the seat belt that holds it off the seat.

An alternative would be something like that which is retrofitted to classic British sports cars. Basically a rigid section that is attached to where the belt is fixed to the car body and presents the belt by the side of the seat rather than resting on the rear bulkhead like it is on the Z4. I've seen something similar for the MX5 but I didn't investigate further.

There are also some dodgy designs out there with guides that appear to not have smooth and rounded edges that would rub and fray the belt, or hold the belt too high or low across the shoulder. Beware of these and the potential for an MoT failure if used.

Cheers!
Andy

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Bracket to hold seatbelt away from upholstery

Post by flybobbie » Mon May 23, 2022 1:11 pm

I had some nice polished stainless on the MGTF.
CIMG3078.JPG
CIMG3078.JPG (176.69 KiB) Viewed 497 times
Note the home made wind deflector.
Took a lot of card board prototypes to come up with that design.
Often thought the Zed might need similar, but seems ok.

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