Where is a good place to mount shoulderstraps for a 5pt harness that is easy and convienient to use. I saw the child safety seat mounts on the rear decklid where the rear speakers are. I dont know if that is strong enough to use. There are also the child seat mounts in the seats below the back cushion. That is kind of hard to get to though. Does anyone have a good setup that they would like to share to clip in the harnesses??

 

I don't like harnesses because of you need to mount them somewhere and they never look good in my opinion. Looks good from the front though. When I get my Sparcos I'm just going to use the seatbelt!

 

To the roll cage, otherwise there is no good place.
I won't even go there but search the posts as for the reason not to put harnesses in without a cage.

 

i doubt i'll ever be in a situation on the track where the car is going to flip over and the roof will be crushed in. I dont need a rollbar and cant stand all the people that preach it!

 

You can't fit 5 point on the recaros....you will have to use 4

 

Are you using this for autox or for the track? If it's for the track and you don't feel you need a rollbar along w/ the5pt harness, then good luck to you and any poor soul in your car on the track because anything can happen and it would be a shame to risk your life over a small preference such as that.

I can understand not wanting to move around in your seat, but is it really worth risking your life (or a passenger's life) for?

Since you've probably heard this time and time again, you can ignore the rest, but for those who are also interested in running 5pt harnesses on the track (not autoxing), keep in mind you are running a hefty risk w/o a rollbar or cage.

In the event of a rollover you will not be able to move because you are strapped in with the harness. Unlike the standard stock 3pt harness, a 5 pt setup will prevent any movement of your body. Essentially, all you can do is move your arms, legs, and head. If the roof of the car were to cave in, you could very easily be crushed or your spine could be crushed.

A vehicle w/o safety protection such as a rollbar or cage should only use the standard 3pt belts to allow a generous amount of movement of the body in the event of a rollover.

Just to put this situation into pictures, here's an M3 that ended up rolling over at Summit Point a few years ago:



They were pinched sideways in the car as the roof completely caved in and forced them into contorted positions. Luckily, they had stock seat belts and were able to move around into those positions. Had they been wearing 5pt harnesses, they very likely would have died or crushed their spines because they would not have been able to move around as they needed to.

Mark

 

Don't and I repeat don't use a harness without the proper geometry in how the straps attach. A harness will injur you more if it is installed correctly. Get a copy of the SCCA spec rules and see what the requirements are. You can't just screw it in somwhere and go. There is a definitive angle that the shoulders need to hit the seat, which IS typically the seat support bar from the roll bar/cage. There are also VERY serious hardware and attach point requirements that you can't ignore or the belts will simply rip out on impact. Do it right or don't do it otherwise someone may get hurt and it may not be you. My mom (a nurse) used to say ther are worse things than dieing in a car accident.

 

I use a Scroth Rallye 4 harness for autocross and absolutely nothing else. Its rear section V mounts to each of the rear seatbelt lower anchors. The front belt strap mounts to the driver seatbelt anchor and then one of a few diferent other side points (my mazdaspeed has it on the back right rail bolt). When you autocross it makes a huge difference. But when you are done autocrossing the front section and the rear section pop apart and the whole thing gets rolled up under my seat out of the way.

I never use the Schroth at the track. I never use it on the street. I personally don't take much stock in the safety concerns people have with a harness on the street though. The real reason I don't wear it on the street is I cannot effectively move my head to check my blindspots. Your chance of roll over in day to day driving is virtually nill.

On the track however... I'm definately afraid of roll overs. Without the supporting roll cage my neck would be meeting the top of my skull in no time.

We've been debating however if the Schroth Rallye 4 can fit through the strap holes in the Evo's seat. Anyone try it yet?

 

Mounting through the holes in the recaro's and then attaching directly down to the seat posts will pull you (i.e. crush you) down into the seat on impact, even a low speed impact. It's your spine but I wouldn't do it even in an autocross. I've seen people hurt in autocrosses too.

 

Thats not how a schroth harness attatches. Head over to http://www.soloracer.com/harnschrothfaq.html for details. It won't crush your spine... its freak'n DOT approved and crash tested.

 

No... I was describing what they have a big red X over on the web site you mentioned.

 

Oh yeah! Mount any harness like that an even a speed bump taken too fast can cause injury.

 

Hey why doesn't everyone let him do what he wants to do. It's his spine. He wants to put one in and is asking a question. give him an answer, don't lecture him.

 

DistantTea has it right....and yes you can use a 5 point harness with the standard Recarco just fine....you either just have the seat "slit" and stiched by a local upolstery place to accept the crotch strap through the seat, or you can run with it over the seat cushion as well.

Both my GVR4 and ZX are equipped with harnesses (Galant has Wiilans 4 point, ZX has Sparcos, though I am swapping in Takata's), as does our RX7...they work great for street or track IMHO, and I ahve run them for years now without incident.

 

that car rolled a few years ago and it still has green grass growing on it! wow...