Of course the harness bar is safer due to harness angle. However according to research As long as it isnt steeper than 40 degress you are good. This is going by a SFI installation diagram. See picture of mounting below. (Per SFI standards you need to cross the harnesses if it extends past a certain amount, I am 110% positive these need crossed) Does anyone have a picture of these mounting points, without the seats in place? Does anyone a measure of seatbelt angle from the harnesses hanging through the STi seat holes? I got a harness in a box in my garage, no sense in not using it if it can be safely installed without spending another $400 on a harness bar. Before anyone says it, You cant put a price tag on safty.
Huh I never knew those safety rules. I have a cage, so my harness meets all the safety requirements. As for the mounting points. I think this is what you are looking for. Most harness like Takata come with eye bolt that screw into where the stock seatbelts bolt in. From there the harness locks into the eyebolt. Hope that helped answer your questions.
I have yet to install my harness into my car via harness bar. However, my brother in-law linked my this for what he used to figure out the harness in his autox car. http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/2009_Competition_Instructions.pdf
This was the link I used to install my harness in my miata, it has some really instructions on how to wrap slide bars correctly. My harness is the bolt in type without the clips, I am going to go go pull out all of the mounting hardware and see what I got. I am thinking that mounting the stock rear seat belts with the harness shoulder straps are doable, I just need to make sure I have a long enough bolt to go with the stacking hardware. I need to get back there and measure the angles, because if it ends up being this steep that looks like back compression on impact. hnoes: My shoulders are just a hair higher than the seat holes, so that may make the angle worse.
Ah cool, well if you get a chance to, take some pictures while you are doing the install, I'm definitely curious to see how it looks with photos versus drawings Also, thanks for taking the plunge before me
I gotta do some measurements first. I have to measure that angle from the top of my shoulders to where the mounts are. If its more than 40 degress, I am not going to do it. Since I have a hatch, I wonder if the angle measurements are any different compared to the sedan.
So I measured the angle at which the harness comes off my shoulders last night and it came out to be about 55 degrees... I guess harness bar it is...
If you're going to do track days, the the higher mounting point is needed. If you're only going to auto-x, any mounting point is fine. The higher mounting point is in case you flip the car. It won't compress your spine. With the mounting points down in the OEM rear seatbelt mount locations, there's a risk of spinal damage. But, again, it's only an issue on track at speeds not auto-x. Saturday, check out my set up. See if you like it. You can mount it like I have, then get a bar if you're going to do a track day soon. This is what I'm running. http://www.schrothracing.com/tuning/rallye/rallye-4
It's not just the angle. You need a harness bar if you are running the stock seats. The stock reclinable seats can not handle the load if they are just strapped back to the child restraints (which your picture was attached to). When I did mine...I called Sparco and Schroth to verify the setup and they said it was fine as long as I wasn't using the stock seats. Otherwise, I would need a harness bar.
I didn't either until I really jumped into it with mine. According to both companies, in the event of a crash the stock seat will actually break when the straps are pulling the seat essentially down. That won't be good for your back. Preferably...they want fixed back only seats using that setup. Sparco said the seats I had were fine though.
Or you can add these clippy things to the end of any harness. Then use an eye hole bolt to bolt in the stock seatbeats instead of the hex head bolt. Then clip the harness on to the eye holes. If you are like me and already have a harness laying around. I wish there was a way to install an anti-submarining strap(s) without drilling a hole in the floor pan and replacing the seat.
so i guess its safer to say. it's worth setting up a harness bar to be extra safe as long as the bar doesn't bother your functionality on the daily life basis.
To daily with the stock seat belt and have the harness always ready to go...I put these on the stock seatbelt bolts. http://www.schrothracing.com/competition/hardware/snap-in-hardware and clipped these ends to the child restraint bars in the back seat and to those brackets above in the stock seat belt locations. Also...keep in mind. You will not legal for road driving. The only belts that are legal for road driving have a red button. It is the universal "press this to get the person out" code for first responders. Cam locks are not legal.
One more thing...if you get a harness bar...people should actually be wearing a helmet if they ever ride in your backseat. Same is true if you do a cage that has bars in the forward cabin and a pillars. You would need to drive your car on the street with a helmet on. The last thing you want to do is wreck and slam your head against steel.
One LAST thing. I ran the 4 point as well because my seats didn't accept a 5 or 6 (there are kits you can get though)...just keep in mind that you do have the ability to slide out of a 4 point through the bottom in a wreck unlike a 3, 5 or 6 that has a strap that either goes through the arm or in between the legs. If the seat fails, it is a likely event that would have you smashed under the dash. Just something to keep in mind with the overall setup as well. Most racing classes actually do not allow four points. They are great for Auto-X though and I believe they are legal in those classes.
True story. I know the harnesses arent legal on the street, but I know atleast 2 people that had their lives spared by wearing them, with the harness bar attached. Sutton you make me look like a dangerous SOB, and I thought I was the safty nazi. lol Also if the seat breaks, you are kinda SOL no matter what seat kinda of seat belt you are wearing.
haha! I am not normally like this but the harness project in my Subaru was something I was very careful about for some reason. Luckily I don't have to be the same way in the V. Just hook them up and go!
You said you had found anti-submarine kits for 5 & 6 point harness, are we talking cutting a hole in the seat or a work around for not having a hole? Of course the proper seat is always the best solution... but those heat seats in the winter... http://www.harrisonmotorsports.com/...ty-gear/harnesses-and-window-nets-page-4.html This shop in roswell has most of this saftey gear we are discussing in stock. Things like the eye bolts, 2 and 3 inch clips, back up plates, the lot.
I can't find the one I was originally looking at but the function is much like this. While a hole is ideal placement this kind of option is better than nothing.
What can I say, State Farm's version of IE doesnt include spell checker. I wonder if the seat mount measurements are similar enough on the vettes to be able to use one of the 5th point mounts on an STi...
I sent an email to a local guy to see how much it would be to make such a thing, if he has time for such a small project. If he cant do it, I am going to try to find someone that can. Its to simple of a project for someone not to be able to make one...
The only ones that I could find for sale were made for Corvettes, the ones sutton posted. Way way back in 2005ish I found a for sale thread from a shop that was making some, but their site is no longer up. The one in the picture is homeade though.