NASA Regulation 4 Point Seat Belt Setup

[freakyjason]

I have been to many events before, but for my next one, I'm going to be installing my new corbeau racing seats and Weapon R 4 point harnesses. I looked at the tech inspection forms on their website, and they are not very specific as to what they want in terms of seatbelt setup. I'd assume a harness bar is required, but what are the specs? It says seat belts must conform to FMVSS 209 regulations. I looked through the document online and it made no mention of 4 point seat belts.

[freakyjason]

In case anyone has a similar question and also cannot seem to find the answer, here is an email I recieved from one of the head NASA tech guys as well as a link to the official regulations book which he references.

"Harnesses: The only 4 point harness systems we allow are those that carry an “FIA B-xxx.T/98" certification. I could not find any info on the system you mentioned that states if they meet this requirement. I would also like to stress that we do not like the 4 point systems and may be banning them altogether in the future. We would much rather you run a 5 or 6 point system. If your Corbeau seats are FIA rated then they should have a cutout for the sub belt(s), so installing a 6 point system should not be a problem. For the shoulder belts you would need some type of harness bar. It is not acceptable to mount them to the rear seatbelt anchors. The distance is too far and the belts can stretch too much at that distance."


"Seats: For mounting the seat please see the following sections in our CCR 11.4.12 and 15.16.2. I've attached the CCR for you. Some manufacturers sell kits to mount it to the stock seat locations which is acceptable for HPDE. If you want to use the stock belts with the Corbeau seats you can do so, provided they meet the following requirement: The lap and shoulder belt must stay in contact with you. What I mean by this is that some of the race seats are very deep and the lap belt does not actually come in contact with the occupant, it just sits on top of the seat. This is not acceptable. As long as your seat allows the belt to stay in contact with you, you are good to go."

http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/ccr.pdf

Hope this helps anyone who's in the same boat as I was!

[the converted]

4 point belts do scare me. They really are pretty dangerous. If you are looking specifically for a set, Schroth makes the only set that I know of that are certified.

I've had some pretty janky set ups over the years, but safety is no place to skimp. I saw an accident earlier this year where a guy had a detached retina from all of the forces the car went through, but he lived to tell about it.

[freakyjason]

You know, I had never heard that 4 point seatbelts were dangerous before you and the NASA tech informed me of that. Really useful information considering safety is my number one priority for my build. Thanks for the input!

[the converted]

Yeah. What happens is as your torso goes forward, the lap belts are pulled up off your hips and end up digging into your soft tissues.

If you have any other technical questions like that, feel free to let me know. I spend a fair amount of time dealing with this stuff now.

[Bubba1]

You know, I had never heard that 4 point seatbelts were dangerous before you and the NASA tech informed me of that. Really useful information considering safety is my number one priority for my build. Thanks for the input!

Does you car already have a rollbar/rollcage? Harnesses (4 pt/5pt) are more dangerous if you use them without at least a rollbar. If you roll the car and the roof crushes, you're toast.