Please correct me if I'm wrong on this but isn't a pull down shoulder harness best if you are dressing yourself (driver tightening his own belt) easier to get tighter while a pull up is better if you have a crew member to tighten it when you are in the car?

 

Yes.

 

H&N for DE is a personal choice, but if you think you are going to get a HANS, get the seat and belt setup that works with it (personally, I use an Isaac, but that is another discussion). Think of safety stuff as a system of parts that all have to work together. Stock seats, belts and airbags work extremely well together, the only drawback being they don't support you well enough for the g forces you experience on the track. Racing seats with stock belts and airbags might work fine, but may not depending upon your body size and shape. Racing seats, racing harnesses and H&N restraints together work as well if not better than the OEM stuff and provide the type of support you want in a track environment. Racing harnesses don't work with stock seats and really require a H&N restraint to be fully effective.

Bro

 

Wow, thanks for all of the replies!!! First of all, the car is getting a roll bar fabbed and installed in 2 weeks. The fab shop is also going to install my Ultrashield seats at the same time, and Id like for them to mount the harnesses while they are at it. I dont know that I trust myself enough with something that important. I am repalcing seats/harnesses for both driver and passenger. The club I generally run with also requires equivalence in safety gear so Ive got that covered. I plan on getting 6 point harnesses for both sides. I never felt very comfy with the sub stra for a 5 pt, the 6 pt looks a lot better. As far as brands, my local supplier sells Sparco, Simpson, and G Force. The expired belts are Simpsons. I plan on going by later in the week to look at everything first hand so at least now I have a few more things to look for. As far as the H&N goes I am not currently running one. I had my drivers seat custom made and had they are moving the shoulder belts up slighlty so I have the option of running a HANS in the future. H&N is next on the list after I get the roll bar/seats/harnesses taken care of. Thanks again for all the help!!!

 

J;

If you are intent on buying from your local shop, then the Simpson Platinum DSL is by far your best choice. These will provide excellent protection with good comfort as well. The next choice would be the Platinum Camlock, with slightly lower sub/lap belt performance, but equal comfort. None of the other choices will perform as well in either regard. The DSL is latch & link, but that is a small price to pay for the highest performance.

 

Stock seats with harnesses will be a moot point soon from what I am getting from above. This is not any kind official word, see National for that. This is only what I have been hearing.

Potomac region for one had long banned 4 point systems and will be banning stock seats with harnesses as well in order to comply with National.

4 point systems and or sternum straps are to be avoided. The shoulder straps can be crossed behind the seat in order to have them stay in place during an impact in a stock Porsche high back seat but the sub belt and seat strength are still in question. A cradle 6 point system would overcome most of the problems with stock high back seats and harnesses but most systems I see in DE are not of this format.

DE can present special problems for safety as the cars are often dual use and need to be safe on the street as well las on the track.

 

IIRC, the 'integrated' sternum strap, part of the TeamTech RamPac harness
http://www.teamtechmotorsports.com/r...ss/rampac.html
(which I ran before changing to the Schroth Hybrid II's) is allowed and is HANS compatible (due to the position of the strap).

Perhaps 'bruinbro' could confirm this?

 

To reiterate/clarify for those reading along;

- Sternum straps are not a good idea in the extreme. I used to think they were a good idea, and they can provide a usefull function, especially to those trying to use harnesses with stock seats. However, when I studied crash dynamics more seriously, I could see that in the extreme they were not a good idea. When you consider that the torso can project forward - sliding down the shoulder straps - as much as 15-18", it becomes clear that having a cross strap that could garrotte you is not a very good idea!

- 4-point systems will not generally be looked upon favorably by proactive driving groups. There is no way to really get the lap belt tight enough not to have it pulled up into your abdomen when you draw down the shoulder straps. I've worn them on the track before. Don't go there.

 

You're getting some good advice here. If one day you want to spring for a very high end harness system, give some thought to Hooker. For years they never even had their racing products on their Web site; it was aerospace only and you had to call and ask for the racing products, but the site's been updated recently: http://www.hookerharness.com/index.php

The lap belt uses a ratchet mechanism, and cannot loosen. We like Hookers for crash testing.