Harness install ?
01-12-2002, 10:49 AM
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Harness install ?
I'm looking at installing the Schroth Rally 3 or 4 harness' in my 87 944s. My question is... Can these be installed using the factory seats / mounting points?? The info I've found so far is not real clear. The purpose of the install would be for autox..Is a harness bar a necessity? What I've read does not recomend utilizing the stock seats due to the intergal headrest. I would not want to change the seats..Prefer to keep the stock ones. Any advice / or alternatives?? Thanks in advance!!
01-12-2002, 07:39 PM
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I'll bite...
In my street/autocross car I also have 5-points without a race seat or roll bar. The first thing is a warning: Being strapped to the seat so well in a rollover could be risky. If the roof buckles, the seat belts don't allow your body to bend the way the OE 3-point would. That said... in autocross it is very unlikely you'll roll a car, especially a Porsche. I use the belts to get that "strapped-in" feel in tight cornering (what autocross is all about)... I think it makes a huge difference, and allows me to concentrate on the course and car.
Depending on your preference, there are a few options. You mention Scroth, so I assume you have a belt set already, or have settled on them? The specific design of the Scroth Rallye series is to mount without a harness bar to either the rear-passenger shoulder point (Rallye-3), or the rear-passenger lower points (Rallye-4). Both of these harnesses are specifically designed to go through the headrest of a convention seat (tie together behind the driver's head)... Porsches do not have convention headrests, but rather the integrated type. For this reason, you would be better off with a more conventional dual strap system... there are many to choose from.
Unlike the Scroth Rallye (Sparco and Momo also sell these “street tuner” type belts), most other harness options are designed for use with a roll bar or harness bar. There are basically 3 choices: 1. Short Dual Straps (<48"); these hook directly to the harness bar, route around the seat then over the shoulders and down to the buckle. For this type you must use a B-pillar harness bar (directly behind seat) approved for direct attaching or a roll bar. An example of this is a Brey-Krause stainless harness bar. 2. Long H-type Dual Straps (48-75”); these are designed to attach to the rear-passenger lower seat belt when looped over the B-pillar harness bar or roll bar… or, can be attached directly to a C-pillar harness bar like a Weltmeister (this is not optimal for safety reasons, but we are talking Autocross, so the likelihood of this being needed for impact protection is minimal… also, you may choose to wear the OE 3-point belt to feel even more secure with this). The H-type implies that the longer shoulder harnesses are tied together behind the driver’s seat. This would help prevent the belts from sliding off the shoulders when used on a non-slotted seat. 3. The third option is using either of these shoulder-strapping methods with a sternum strap. The sternum strap ties the two belts together across the chest of the driver. This provides further protection from slipping out of the harness. Sternum straps can usually be added to any shoulder set, and may be stitched on or slipped on.
BTW, I don’t mean to imply that the Scroth Rallye or other “street tuner” harnesses will_not work in a Porsche… it more depends on the driver’s seating position and size. One more thing to consider is that most “street_tuner” harnesses are 2” wide, vice the 3” or normal race harnesses. I would strongly recommend the use of shoulder strap pads with the 2” type… they also make sense on a 3” set, though not nearly as necessary.
Whatever you do, be sure to use either factory provided seat belt mounting points, or properly reinforced custom installed points. I’ve seen several “tuner” cars with seat belt mounts lag-screwed into the sheet metal. This is irresponsible behavior, and not really saving any time or money over the proper method (reinforcing plates, grade 8 or higher bolts or eyes).
There’s so much more to it, but I’ve used up the credits on this calling card. Feel free to ask direct questions, contradict, or otherwise agree/disagree with anything
Good Luck!
In my street/autocross car I also have 5-points without a race seat or roll bar. The first thing is a warning: Being strapped to the seat so well in a rollover could be risky. If the roof buckles, the seat belts don't allow your body to bend the way the OE 3-point would. That said... in autocross it is very unlikely you'll roll a car, especially a Porsche. I use the belts to get that "strapped-in" feel in tight cornering (what autocross is all about)... I think it makes a huge difference, and allows me to concentrate on the course and car.
Depending on your preference, there are a few options. You mention Scroth, so I assume you have a belt set already, or have settled on them? The specific design of the Scroth Rallye series is to mount without a harness bar to either the rear-passenger shoulder point (Rallye-3), or the rear-passenger lower points (Rallye-4). Both of these harnesses are specifically designed to go through the headrest of a convention seat (tie together behind the driver's head)... Porsches do not have convention headrests, but rather the integrated type. For this reason, you would be better off with a more conventional dual strap system... there are many to choose from.
Unlike the Scroth Rallye (Sparco and Momo also sell these “street tuner” type belts), most other harness options are designed for use with a roll bar or harness bar. There are basically 3 choices: 1. Short Dual Straps (<48"); these hook directly to the harness bar, route around the seat then over the shoulders and down to the buckle. For this type you must use a B-pillar harness bar (directly behind seat) approved for direct attaching or a roll bar. An example of this is a Brey-Krause stainless harness bar. 2. Long H-type Dual Straps (48-75”); these are designed to attach to the rear-passenger lower seat belt when looped over the B-pillar harness bar or roll bar… or, can be attached directly to a C-pillar harness bar like a Weltmeister (this is not optimal for safety reasons, but we are talking Autocross, so the likelihood of this being needed for impact protection is minimal… also, you may choose to wear the OE 3-point belt to feel even more secure with this). The H-type implies that the longer shoulder harnesses are tied together behind the driver’s seat. This would help prevent the belts from sliding off the shoulders when used on a non-slotted seat. 3. The third option is using either of these shoulder-strapping methods with a sternum strap. The sternum strap ties the two belts together across the chest of the driver. This provides further protection from slipping out of the harness. Sternum straps can usually be added to any shoulder set, and may be stitched on or slipped on.
BTW, I don’t mean to imply that the Scroth Rallye or other “street tuner” harnesses will_not work in a Porsche… it more depends on the driver’s seating position and size. One more thing to consider is that most “street_tuner” harnesses are 2” wide, vice the 3” or normal race harnesses. I would strongly recommend the use of shoulder strap pads with the 2” type… they also make sense on a 3” set, though not nearly as necessary.
Whatever you do, be sure to use either factory provided seat belt mounting points, or properly reinforced custom installed points. I’ve seen several “tuner” cars with seat belt mounts lag-screwed into the sheet metal. This is irresponsible behavior, and not really saving any time or money over the proper method (reinforcing plates, grade 8 or higher bolts or eyes).
There’s so much more to it, but I’ve used up the credits on this calling card. Feel free to ask direct questions, contradict, or otherwise agree/disagree with anything
Good Luck!
