Re: 90q Seat Belt Question

[Chris Newbold <cnewbold@transarc.com>]

KSMITH1@mailgw.sanders.lockheed.com wrote:
> Having spent a considerable time this past weekend hugging the front
> differential of my wife's 90q in order to install a new "automatic"
> seatbelt, I came to question the efficacy of Audi's design.  The seat
> belt assembly includes a cable that starts at the take-up reel,
> travels forward along the edge of the passenger compartment,
> ...

What model year is this 90?

Anyway, what I think you're referring to is the ProconTEN system.
It is not used for locking the belt retractors, but for actually
tensioning the betls in a serious crash. It was Audi's design answer
to other pyrotechnic implementations which used small explosives
(a la airbags) to retract and tension belts in a crash.

I think the idea behind Audi's system is that in a serious crash,
the deformation of the body and the rearward shift of the engine
and transmission will pull on the cables and tighten the belts
around the passengers.

-Chris