QUOTE(rjames @ Aug 24 2013, 10:39 PM)
So I bought a new seat belt from here
Gotbelts.com and got it installed today. It fits, (mostly) but took a lot of playing with different combinations of the stock washers and the ones they sent with the belts to get everything installed correctly/safely.
I had to remove some of the plastic from the takeup real cover to get the cover to fit properly as the curve of the firewall interferes with it. That being said, the takeup real itself fit perfectly. Other than that, there were no mods necessary to install the belts.
Minor annoyance: The belt 'receiver' that attaches to the long interferes with the center cushion just a bit, not a deal breaker though.
There are two things that make it a deal breaker for me though- The takeup real works only marginally better than my tired stock 914 belt!! I expected a lot more from a new belt- At least for the belt to retract completely on it's own! But the last 12" or so requires some coaxing.
Also, the latch mechanism doesn't slide very easy on the belt, (takes some serious pulling with both hands) and makes it a pain in the ass to pull across your chest/waste as you try and get it to reach towards the receiver.
I only bought one belt as I didn't want to commit to two of them without verifying I'd be happy with them. My search for a good replacement belt continues. Getting closer to going with a non-retractable belt and being done with it.
I would recommend this product only if you want the piece of mind of new webbing, but not to outperform your existing setup.
Some further developments in case someone comes across this thread....
You may recall that I purchased the seatbelt in question directly from Seatbeltplanet.com's website. I ended up calling them because in trying to figure out why the male portion of the latch mechanism wouldn't slide up and down the belt very easily, I broke the plastic cover. I sent an email asking if I could purchase a replacement part and quickly received an email back from Steve Pekrul who said he would send me the replacement part for free, even though I damaged it and offered to pay for it.
I relayed that I wasn't happy that it was so hard to move the male latch on the belt, and he explained that they have another model that works differently, but that the retractor had to be mounted vertically and that they couldn't sell it on the web in case someone purchased it for a car where it wouldn't be mounted correctly. That belt sels for only a little more $. My only complaint is that the info about the vertically mounted retractor belts wasn't on the website.
I still have the original belt installed, and I'm happy to say that the take up reel performance actually has improved with use. And if the other vertical reel belt that I should have ordered is as described, then these are a very good alternatives to a NLA part. They actually look good in the car, too.
Steve provided great customer service and I let him know I would pass on his contact info. He also answers the phone, which seems to be a rarity these days!
Contact info:
Steve Pekrul <askus@seatbeltplanet.com>
Senior Sales Manger
SeatbeltPlanet.com
Toll Free 877-435-6363