mikew968

I just got my Hans and reading the info and test fitting. I notice right away that my belts are about 4.5" apart where they attach to the cage and the opening in the recaro pole postiion are about 4" apart (min). I understand this is not ideal. I can't get the belts any closer than 4" as the seat back brace is 4" wide let alone the belt holes in the seat. What do I do at this point? Is this a problem?

Thanks, Mike

richard glickel.

mike,

just cinch everything up nice & tight. and, I will keep checking the belts during the run, just to make sure neither belt slips off the yolk. haven't exprienced a problem yet after 11 months of use.

Richard

ceboyd

we used a 'zip tie on the bar to keep them closer together (and made it all tight)..

mooty

zip tie may not always work. i use split collar locking rings.

fatbillybob

NO zipties! Tight now does not equal tight in a crash. HANS says the belt space is 3" maximum from inner edge to inner edge and 1-2" below hortizontal at the mount . If you don't have that at the mount then you need to change your mounts to fit the HANS. There is no other HANS approved option. Your HANS instructions list those specs. HANS does not specify the distance of the belts going though holes but the seat holes need to be close enough together so that the belts bulge around the back of the HANS yoke like in your instruction pictures. Having improperly mounted belts will ignite the dreaded "HANS belt slip issue" again and we don't want to go there.

Regards

Dave in Chicago

I second the split-collar locking rings. I am using them to locate my belts on the cage and they seem to do the trick nicely. These were recommended as THE way to go by the cage builders (they build a lot of race cars).

RedlineMan

Hey;

Note that HANS does not mention the seat in the equation. That is likely on purpose, and they must realize this is a sticky wicket. The 3" recommendation probably should have an asterisk after it. Of course, the seat is going to effect this, and I'm sure they realize that 3" is not always "possible."

You should always mount the belts a bit narrower than the seat openning. I tend to think that 4-4.5" is fairly common and will work fairly well, as it is still narrower than the yoke's belt surface as it goes around the neck. Perhaps it is not the ideal 3" mentioned by HANS, but it still should work well enough. The only other thing you can do is cut the seat and change seat braces.

Get as close to HANS specs as you can. I would NOT exceed 2" drop from yoke to belt mount, and you'll find it much more effective and comfortable to get to 1" max. NEVER have the belts running parallel or wider at the mount point than the seat holes. If you can't get the belts mounted narrower than the seat holes, you need to think about making some changes to your belt bar.

The simplest acceptable solution is to pad the entire free length of the belt bar with SFI tube padding, held in place by hose clamps. I'm not sure what the split collar locking rings are, but they are probably great as long as they are not over tightened to deform the tube.

Phokaioglaukos

I'd like to know what split collar locking rings are, and where they can be found, also. I did a google search, but I came up with a male chastity device web site, and I could look no further....

kurt M

try McMaster Carr or Grangers. split rings are 2 half rings that bolt together around a shaft with the intent of keeping something from sliding past the ring. Often used in HVAC on blowers and the like.
Sounds like someone has found an alt use on a diferent kind of "blower" (or is that "blowhim")

swftiii

Chris - I guess you posted faster than me...

Can these locking rings be found at a Home Depot/Lowes?

Thanks,

-Skip

Dave in Chicago

Belts are attached to the cage in this photo, but not threaded through the seat. The shiney little things on the outboard side of each belt at the cage mounting point are the units I have in my car. Hope this helps.

gbaker

...and if you google "lock ring", make sure you don't misspell the first word.

swftiii

Dave,

Great picture and idea. Where can I get my hands on a couple of them?

Thanks,

Skip

Phokaioglaukos

McMaster-Carr calls them Two-Piece Clamp-On Shaft Collars. I don't see a way to get the URL for the page with these guys, but it looks like page 1035 at http://www.mcmaster.com/. I think Schroth suggests using SFI tube padding, held in place by hose clamps, just as John suggests, but I like these collars. They will NOT move if properly sized, and they look good. I really don't need padding on my bar, so far as I can tell.

Dave in Chicago

Not sure where to get them as these were supplied by the cage-maker during the belt install. They appear to be aluminum with approx 6mm allen head bolts. They are marked "RULAND 1 3/4" on the top.