force limiter 18 according to the invention in order to reach the same belt webbing withdrawal x cf double arrow in fig2 a torsion rod 19 with a diameter of 10 7 mm was used for the characteristic 26 of the force limiter 18 according to the invention and a torsion rod 19 with a diameter of 12 0 mm was used for the characteristic 28 of a conventional force limiter 18 therefore in addition to an improvement in performance a saving on material can be made whereby the weight of the force limiter 18 is also reduced the level of the characteristic can be influenced here by means of the diameter of the torsion rod 19 the form or pattern of the characteristic 26 performance can be influenced by means of the choice of material a method for manufacturing a force limiter 18 for the belt retractor 8 includes the steps schematically shown in fig3 a 3 c in a first step fig3 a a steel blank 30 is provided this steel blank 30 is transformed into a torsion rod 19 during a shaping process illustrated in fig3 b finally a thermal treatment for the torsion rod 19 is provided by a heating device 32 fig3 c the thermal treatment of the torsion rod 19 in particular an annealing treatment providing temperatures of minimum 500 u00b0 c for at least 30 minutes preferably for.