Masher

I am thinking of fitting 4 point harnesses to my car along with Recaro Pole position seats. I am looking for advise and the questions in my mind currently are:
1. What harness to buy? Bearing in mind the straps need to be long enough based on the answer to point 2 below.
2. What mounting points to use?
3. Will it all be street legal when I am finished (it needs to be)?
4. Tips ref fitting
5. What have I not thought of!

I have also noted cars with full harnesses having a cross brace fitted on the old upper b post seatbelt mounts. Is this truly functional or just adding to the look.

Any help much appreciated.

boxsey911

Lots of good questions there!

Street/MOT legal harnesses need to have the normal red push button release. I tried a set of these and was never happy with them. Felt flimsy and the lap belt used to ride up which can cause 'submarining' in an accident (you slide under the belt). They looked like this (you can see the normal buckle):



So I fitted Schroth Clubman II 4 points. These are anti-submarine belts because they have a fold stitched into one shoulder straps that breaks on heavy impact to stop you sliding under. They have the normal motorsport quick release buckle which is technically not MOT legal but I've retained the normal 3 point belts aswell to cover that problem (and it's much more convenient to use those for non-track driving). They also look good:



The shoulder straps connect to eyebolts in the rear seat belt mounting points (nb. the eyebolts are supplied with the harnesses):



These route over the brace (guide bar) you mention. It's not for show. It's to ensure the force of an impact is applied correctly. Without it the belts would pull down on your spine in an impact. Alternatively, you can fit a harness truss to the B pillars (but it's a lot more expensive). And of course you could fit a cage and attach them to that.

The outside lap belts are fixed to an eyebolt in the lower B pillar mounting point:



The inside lap belts are fitted to eyebolts that have been put in the transmission tunnel (there are threaded spreader plates that has been fixed to the inside of the tunnel):



Alternatively you can get a bracket that fits to the side of the seat on the inside but there's not a lot of room for it to fit because of the transmission tunnel. I also think the fixed eyebolt is safer.

IanR

Further to Boxseys post, Schroth do produce a road legal version with a push-button buckle - I have these in my cup car. This one - http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motors...fe-asm-harness - the buckle also has a socket for a crotch strap if you want to add one.

Masher

Plenty of good advice as always Boxsey and pics too. Cheers.
With your weight loss programme I'm surprised you retained the standard belts too though I get your point that if nipping in and out of the car on a daily basis full harnesses would be a pain. I had found the Schroth Profi III-FE ASM harness on Demon Tweeks http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motors...fe-asm-harness which looked OK and met with road use legislation ... Thoughts?

I had envisaged losing the back seats (because you couldn't get out quickly in an emergency with fixed back seats) and was hoping to keep the original interior for now. Seeing your post I realise I will need to butcher the transmission tunnel carpet - not what I had hoped for. I had assumed the inside lap belt would bolt directly to the seat mount.

Talking of seat mounts - the Pole Position seats I bought came with the Recaro side mounts but I understand the Southbound side mounts might be preferred by some. Anyone got a strong opinion? At 6'3" I am looking to gain all the headroom I can in case that has some bearing on seat mount choice.

Masher

We posted at the same time! You've answered my question. Cheers.

h_____

Think carefully about fitting harnesses if you don't have a cage.........

boxsey911

No butchering of the carpet required. Just a hole drilled into each side of the tunnel to put the eyebolt in. My carpet wasn't removed to do that.

According to Southbound their mounts get you lower than Recaro ones (not sure how true that is). However they are nice because they have a welded in nut to fit the seat belt receiver to. I have their mounts. BTW you will also need sliders because you can't use the ones from standard seats. Southbound also supply these ready drilled to take their mounts.

As you can see, recaros and harnesses are a bigger job than it first appears but the results are well worth it.

Masher

Very enigmatic... What's your thinking?

Rephlex

With a fixed back seat and a harness you would be held in an upright position in the event of a rollover, and without a cage, the roof could collapse, leaving your body nowhere to go. I believe that is the conventional wisdom.

Masher

Thanks for explaining. Always trying to stay rubber side down but that's a good point.

boxsey911

Masher, some would have you believe that you should not take to the track unless you have full cage, six point harnesses, plumbed in fire extinguisher, are wearing fire proof clothing and a HANS device. That's usually because they race cars and all of these things are required/advised. Especially when driving at ten tenths. For those of us that drive at seven tenths at best, we're far more likely to roll a car in a field when driving on the road than we are on the track. We weigh up the risks and decide accordingly. Personally I feel that quality harnesses will serve me better in a high speed shunt than a normal 3 point belt would.

Strega(UK)

This is my install. No mods to actual body made, so completely reversible, and no extra holes.
I used TRS road legal harnesses from Demon Tweaks, Recaro subframes with RS receiver bracket and Recaro runners on Pole positions.
The rear mount I fabricated to use factory holes on the rear parcel shelf.

Masher

Strega - not sure if it's just me but I'm not able to access your pics. Any chance of retrying? Ta.

Strega(UK)

Not sure what went on there, will simply place the hyperlink which you can drag and drop, hang on!!
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...K/DSC05897.jpg

Strega(UK)

Picture sucks actually, but hopefully what I said might be of use!!