Car: 2001 SS Camaro
Auto-X, future track days

Since im on a budget I am welding in just a 2 point, (maybe full 6 point if the price doesnt change much) and installing just the driver racing seat and 5 point harness. I know that the harness has to run over the bar behind the seat that is also part of the main hoop, and that the belt can attach to the floor, but I want to make sure i do this correctly and according to spec.

Also has anyone ran the Corbeau Forza in an SS? Opinions of daily driving a fixed back seat?

 

what 'spec' are you worrying about. unless youre actually racing wheel-to-wheel, there are no 'specs' for mounting belts. 'professionals' will chime in with more wrong advice then youll know what to do with. its NOT a race car, it -for now- does NOT have a full cage. im not sure about your area, but no track or autox ive been to here has ever checked how my belts were attached. as long as its not obviously unsafe, ie: zip tied to the bar, its fine.

there are no 'specs' for track days/autox and belt mountings. its your own responsibility to install them correctly. thats why nearly every track will have you do your own car checklist beforehand.

i have mine clipped in with eyehooks from saferacer.

these:
http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-sna...?productid=881

and these:
http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-eye...?productid=883

i used the stock belt locations, with a 90 deg. angle bracket i got from work. theyre meant to hold up air handlers, heavy equipment, and such. for the door side, i used the stock torx to fasten the bracket to the floor, then the eyebolt through the other hole. for the passenger side/inboard side, i used the longer 50mm eyebolt and threaded it through the stock hole. its NOT the same thread pitch......what it is, is the bolt is half the pitch of the hole, so youll have 2 threads going into 1. i backed it up with the supplied nut and lockwasher, attached underneath the car. there is plenty of thread left to safely tighten it up. the load is on the bolt and nut, not really on the floor pan with the off size threads. you can conceivable drill out the threads and just have a hole there if you want, but this does the same thing.

also keep in mind that any 5/6pt harness is illegal for street use, and youll need to keep your stock belts. i think there is only ONE 5pnt harness thats DOT certified, possible made by schroth, but dont quote me.

as far as DD a fixed back, its up to your comfort level. my arizen is plenty comfortable, lumbar/recline adjustable, 5pt compatible, and holds you in almost as good as any $1K race seat.

 

Schroth has a very good installation guideline. The majority of harnesses I see at the track are installed wrong.

http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/2...structions.pdf

 

so these brackets will work in conjunction with stock seat belts?
http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro...p?Product=2388

Im a weekend road course racer. Im keeping stock belts but want a 5pt harness

 

Watch out for "hack" advice. Safety harnesses are not eye candy as some obviously believe.

There are "spec" procedures for attaching harnesses so that the harnesses will indeed work and work properly if needed.

It's the same amount of time and effort to do it wrong and do it right. Some times, if you do it wrong, you don't get a second chance to correct the problem.

The Schroth link posted above is some very good reading.

Corbeau Forza seats are tube frames with webbing. Not very strong and don't allow for a seat back brace. A solid aluminum like a Kirley or Ultra-Lite are very good, budget minded seats.

But, just about any seat made for stability in the seat isn't going to be very comfortable for daily use. You can get lumbar and gel seat bottoms to help be more comfortable. But they can only do so much.

Instead of draping the shoulder harness over the harness bar and attaching to the floor, loop the shoulder harness around the bar, as shown in the Schroth link. Long runs of shoulder harness webbing will yield more stretch upon impact. Not good.

I've had good luck attaching eye-bolts through the floor pan of the car.
http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro....asp?RecID=630
A dab of silicone will seal the hole if waaether is a concern.

and then using clip in lap belts.

 

Also to add onto what Mitch said (I haven't read the Schroth link), you want the angle of the height of the harness bar to your shoulders to be less than 15*. The point of harnesses is to hold you back and in the seat, not push/hold you down to the seat. If you are being pushed down and into the seat bottom, in a crash or rollover you are more likely to have a compression spinal injury than if you had the proper harness bar elevation holding you straight back into the seat.

In my racecar I too use eyes to connect the lap belts to + a pin to ensure if it comes unhooked somehow, it's not coming off.

 

The Schroth directions are linked above are pretty good. Follow those and you're install will most likely be fine.

 

Whats the bolt diameter? 3/8" or 1/2" Im gonna order bent brackets from pegasus

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro...p?Product=2388

 

Has no one pointed out an issue w/ a "2 point" cage?

At the minimum, you should have a 4 point. That would include the main hoop and 2 rear down bars. Otherwise, dont install any cage or 5 pts.

 

I have a question on mounting the sub belt. After reading the Schoth info it states to run the sub belt back under the seat. I have mine through the sub hole in the seat (Kirkey) and then mounted to a bar that attaches to the front stock seat mounts. Is this wrong? Should I run it to the back mounts?

 

IIRC, if you draw an imaginary line down your spine and project it all the way to the floor pan, the sub mounts should be mounted on the plane.

Are mine? No. Mine are mounted about 6" behind the front edge of the seat.

 

Bringing this thread back from the dead (no rhyming intended), can anyone explain to me how a harness such as the Rallye 3 or Rallye 4 from Schroth (Sorry if they aren't a sponsor) is DOT approved, but the 5 pt harnesses are not? What freaking gives? I don't know about anyone else but my car is DD as well as raced and I really want the submarine strap. Am I doomed to have to keep the OEM seatbelt in as well as the harness?

 

I don't think the racing stuff is submitted for DOT testing.

 

2 Point? Really? Dude, that won't do squat if the you really wad it up. Get at least a 4-point or it's not worth the bother.


It's a matter of submitting the stuff for testing. Some manufacturers do, some don't.

 

DOT belts must have a single push button to release the clasp. Latch and link and cam lock belts won't pass DOT standards even though they're just as good.