Racing harness

[azndan2]

hi guysi just sat in my friend's miata with a racing harness and man did i feel secure in iti was wondering what i have to do to put a racing harness into my vert?

Thanks,Daniel

[krash]

theres a safe way to do it and there a retarded way to do it. the safe way includes a roll bar or cage as far as my knowledge. the dangerouse way is to mount the harness to the bottom of the seat

[madcowvert]

this is the right way 110octane

the wrong way me (madcowvert)

[wirelessalpha]

Then there is the cheapo, I'm waiting on my full cage way

[azndan2]

lol you guys are awesome hahahaha

[azndan2]

madcowvert, how do you like your harness set up? Does it hold you in securely? cuz.. i'd like to do that if its safe.

[madcowvert]

yes it dose hold me in place but no it's not safe at all i think your only soppose to go max 45 degrees..

[nismofly]

it should have some sort of roll protection in the form of a main hoop behind the seats there as well, the roll protection is the reason to do it that way, the harness bar is attached to the roll bar to provide a safe mounting point, but its still not the proper way

there are one or two people on here with proper roll bars in their verts that ive seen...but i dont spend enough time in here to remember who they are

[110octane]

Please clarify what you mean by "the roll protection is the reason to do it that way"?

My chassis brace/harness bar was built by one of the finest cage builders in the country and I am sure that the way the belts are run are identical to the way one would run them properly in a car with a full cage. If anything, my set up is more effective than a full cage set up in the fact that the harness bar is tied directly to the B pillar uprights instead of a bar that is connected to a main hoop. In a catastrophic accident my application is less likely to move in any way thus holding me securely in the seat.

To each his own I guess......

[nismofly]

by all means thats the proper way to mount the harness

but now if you were ever to rollover, youd be held firmly in your seat when the car went over, and your head and other stuff would be crushed when the car landed...with a roll bar your head would not contact anything, and in a stock car you theoretically could avoid contact because your body has room to move

basically a harness bar, while providing for proper harness mounting, pretty much eliminates your chance to survive a rollover

your setup just needs a hoop running up over the top of the harness bar for roll protection and then youd be set to go...im sure if anyone can LCON can put something together thatll still let you put the top up if you want...but right now youre still asking for it

[110octane]

You are correct regarding the roll over situation. However, This is not a full blown track car and I don't plan to ever be in a roll over situation with it. The most I ever do in this car is Drift Day type stuff and in my 4 years I have never seen any car roll over in an open parking lot. As you can see I over did everything on this build and if i felt a full cage was necessary I would have had L*CON install it in the first place as they are fully capable. The look and feel of the car would not be the same with a full cage in there...

Sorry if I'm taking offense to your comments but I cannot grasp why you think it's absolutely necessary for my car to have a rollbar? In my opinion 240 vert cages look booty and don't belong in the style of car that I built.

But anyway, azndan2: you can either make a harness bar set up, cage, or go the inexpensive route and run the harnesses to exiting seatbelt locations. IMO, the correct way is to make sure that the angle of the shoulder harness is no more than a 45 degree angle or the belt will not support you properly and can lead to further injury in a collision. The ultimate good cheap way of making it work is to mount the shoulder harnesses as wirelessalpha did to the rear shoulder mounts and hit up Sparco for there eyelets that thread into existing seatbelt bolt holes on the chassis and clip the lap belt to those. The clips and eyelet bolts are sold together and can be used with almost any brand belt and you can sleep easy at night knowing you are using stock seatbelt mount locations that are durable.

[AZhitman]

Roll bars in a vert are retarded... unfortunately, most tech inspectors won't let you within 10 miles of a damn track without a rollover hoop that looks like a damn pic-a-nic basket.

It has to be a few inches ABOVE a helmet. Well, when you're 6'1", that means the roll bar is higher than the original roofline.

I challenge someone to turn mine over...

The local dragstrip says I have to run "with the top up". WTF. Like that's gonna do a DAMN bit of good.

[110octane]

Don't have aim. Where did you leave the message?

Send me an email!

[AZhitman]

Office phone. Emailing j00.

[wirelessalpha]

damn! everyone got opinions! Just remember we are all family...(right?). Here is my 2 cents:

1. Eh - I used to think full cages were the wackness in a vert, but the more track time I did/do - I come to see the worth in it. My god man...doing 70+ and causing your backend to breakloose can get pretty scary (and yes, I have seen convertibles rollover - but only in videos) so having the cage not only gives you the safety, but the added confidence (then again...if you aint got the balls...then you probably shouldnt be out there).

2. For those of you who actually read my crapola once in a while - you know how I feel about my vert, why I bought it...etc. CMON! If I wanted a pure sport/track car, I wouldn't have bought this thing. I bought it to be different...and to pimp it out once in a while (literally, in my dreams though...). That said, the p.i.m.p. in me tells me that the cage is the wackness - but the speed addict in me tells me its the shizzat. I'm conflicted...I know.

3. Lately, I've grown fond of looking at cages in verts (perhaps b/c I waste my days with one-minded, track whores)....it gets my balls tingling (what> like you don't know the feeling...). So, I am opting to go the cage route.

Oh and some other opinions:

1. The other guys you mention...are Chris Orso - powerzam crew (Dirty Jerz in the house!), DukeBoy - powerzam again (holla NJ!), and I believe dude from FRSports....(did I miss anyone?).

2. Greg - you are right about the top up bullsh*t. I still can't get a tech inspector to explain the logic on that one.

3. Dont listen to Greg/Octane! Just cuz their rides are the pimpshi*ts doesn't mean they can have meaningful opinions. Who died and made them gods. Sheesh...I tell yah...a little ceo power and magazine spreads can get to some peoples heads...They are nico nazi's I tell yah! Don't listen to a word they say kids! (er...NOT)

No seriously though, my Jerry Springeresque final thought on cages in verts:

1. Most people will think its retarded. When I say people, I mean - your girlfriend, your mom, the postman...uh, pretty much anybody in the free world. Except for the aformentioned, one-minded, can't think of anything else besides driving a rust bucket, track whores who I hang out with. Me? well...again, I'm conflicted. I understand where the track whores are coming from...and I understand where the pimpers are coming from...so, I'm sorta in the middle on this.

2. I still think the "look" of a full cage is "general" wack for a vert, and the concept of applying one is a bit on the tacky side when you really think about it (kinda like white socks with shoes...just doesn't seem to be right)....HOWEVER, if you are in a predicament, where you often track your car...and by the poor chance that your "track monster" is a vert, b/c your @ss is short on resources...well then, it's all good. Chassis stiffening? Safety? Thats awesometown man.

So I guess that was more than 2 cents....

[azndan2]

hey guys, thanks for all your help

nice setup 110octane it looks sweet

[naed240sx]

I challenge someone to turn mine over...

Anything will roll if you slide off the track fast enough.

That picture madcowvert posted is worthless as well. If you don't have a well supported hoop over your head you are as good as dead if it ever flips.

While I don't agree with the top up logic, I think that it might be to prevent large debris from contacting the driver in the case of an off-track run off. It's silly either way.

[AZhitman]

Both tracks here are "fenced" and "walled".... But I see what you're saying.

Either way, life's gonna suck if you lose it in a vert at high speeds.

[nismofly]

i guess i just have murphys law in the back of my mind when planning stuff, i wouldnt take the chance

ive seen enough **** at tracks that roll protection is something i dont even think twice about anymore

[azndan2]

So... which harness should i get??

[naed240sx]

So... which harness should i get??

Unless you have a cage..... nothing.

[wirelessalpha]

serious - don't waste your time or money dude. My excuse is that I chopped my pillars off and didn't want to reroute my seatbelt like AZ did. Others do it b/c they have proper harness bar, cage...etc setup.

Save your money for suspension - like, harnesses should only be used when you really are trying to get to that level...other wise, it reeks of poser status.

[madcowvert]

That picture madcowvert posted is worthless as well. If you don't have a well supported hoop over your head you are as good as dead if it ever flips.

I like to live on the edge . It's going to be really hard for me to die if my car has no motor in it. But i do have plans to get it done and since i'm a short guy i won't need it that tall.

[azndan2]

the reason i am getting the harness is because i am putting on coupe doors.

I would prefer to have a racing harness over moving my seat belt assembly.

I have been looking at the Sparco 4 point Clubman racing harness for 125$what do you guys think?

SPARCO

4604BMRS


Modified by azndan2 at 1:24 AM 5/23/2007

[wirelessalpha]

1. Don't buy the clubman harnesses. I've owned 2 pairs of them (one I actually bought and another I have on temporary loan). They are a waste of money. Look into getting something cheaper but still SFI approved.

When I bought my first pair, it was way back in HS - and I honestly told others it was to keep my hugged, but the reality was that I was just posing (hey, we all start somewhere). When you start getting serious about tracking your car, performance driving...etc you will come to realize that the money would have been well spent elsewhere. Like, on actual performance.

2. You said you were going to run coupe doors? If so, I guess your option is to: fabricate a harness bar, get a cage, or do my mod.

I'll tell you right now - if you do my mod - it won't be NEARLY as safe or secure as you might think. First off, with a 4 point - the lab belt will keep riding up and it won't be secure. DONT THINK FOR A SECOND that I believe my harness setup hugs me in - b/c it doesn't. Its loose as hell and you can't really tighten it the way you want it to be. Also, I am running a 4-point harness - but have the two back strips going into 1 slot. Again, this is ghetto - as I had to make it work.

The ideal harness would have been a 5-point, but all I had at the time was the 4point. My ONLY REASON for even having this harness is b/c it gives me somewhat a sense of safety - vs not having a belt at all. Note that I said "sense" and thats it. Again, this a temp setup for now and I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT UNLESS you are in a peculiar circumstance like me.

3. Is your car making big power or is your driving skill to the point where you feel you really need a harness setup? If not, then don't even think about this crap. I'm telling you - big waste of money. Sure it looks good and all in photo shoots...etc but the reality is that "real" (I couldnt think of a better word...sorry, my vocab is limited...but you get what I mean) peeps clown this type of sh#t everyday.

Naed240sx wasn't trying to be negative - just helpful. Basically, helping you to save face man and I agree with him.

That said, it's still your car - and you should have the right to do whatever you want. But in MHO - only do this type of mod if it is absolutely necessary.

If I could have turned back time - I would have went wit AZ's setup. I really regret cutting my pillars off so early....should have waited till at least I had the money to get a cage or harness bar.

[azndan2]

good pointshowever, i'm not good at custom work, and while i've never sat in a car with azhitman's setup, i THINK that a harness would be safer, especially with a harness belt attached to the rear factory seatbelt bolting points

and to answer your question no my car is not putting out too much power, just stock SR swap.

thanks for the advice guys

[wirelessalpha]

1. Madcow already has the same setup you mentioned and confirmed it isn't safe and mad cow is right about the 45 degrees comment. If anything, my setup is safer than that.

If you must do it, make sure you buy a 5-point harness with 3 inch width. The sparco's you mentioned are only for club racing. I got a set of Crow's waiting I got a super cheap price and they are worth it. Or you can run with Weapon-R's. As ricey they have become lately, they 5-point they sell is still SFI.

Don't waste your money on Takata's.

[azndan2]

How did you setup a 4 point harness to run in your car?

[wirelessalpha]

This weekend, I finally got 1 sparco seat in my car. I had a pair of them for over a year now..practically new...anyways....I snagged some sh|tty phone cam pics of my harness setup so you can see. As you already know, for the rear 2, I used the existing rear seat belt slot and bolt (see earlier pic I posted). I basically had to thread them both into one slot...so this is ghetto.

For the seats, I had a set of Williams Harnesses (like, the hotshizzat in UK) that had the hardware for the seats so that they clip on. They clip onto this small ring/plate thing (see pic). In order to use that, I had to cut away at the bottom of my seats, and use an existing bolt located on the seat to mount the ring. The harness then clips onto the ring. See the pics:

[azndan2]

ah, thanks man