question about 4/5/6 point harnesses (legality)
NO, of course not. The stock seatbelt doesn't keep you locked upright like a harness. I'm sure you've seen videos of crash dummies in slow motion where they push way forward, then sling back (or hit the airbag). A harness keeps you locked upright with your head exposed to the roof crushing down. Having a harness does not protect you more, and they're designed to be used with a helmet.
The stock seatbelt allows you to lay down/fall over while the roof caves in. A harness keeps you pinned upright as your head gets smashed in.
I do not live in the US so my reply will be on topic but somewhat offtopic. I have been using FIA approved street harnesses since the early 90's and the safest setup is to install a full or semi bucket set along with a rollbar (4/6 point) or rollcage (6 or more points) along with the 4/5pt harness. Thanks to my love of Japanese rollcages I have walked away from 2 major wrecks without life threatening injuries.
As mentioned previously, there is a greater chance of being crushed during rollover when using a 4/5pt harness without a cage and the same applies to a full bucket seat.
I'll cut to the chase and post some pics.
Got t-boned by an idiot that ran a redlight @80kph (~50mph). Car should have crumbled down to the center console but thanks to the bolt-in Safety21 bolt-in 6pt cage and no-name Fiberglass bucket seat I limped away with a severely bruised hip, a sore sternum and three cracked ribs. Without the cage and bucket I would have been at least a paraplegic. Yes, I had my TRD 4pt harness in the car but it was laying in the rear floorboard because I prefer to use the OEM harness while cruising the streets. With the harness the only thing you can do is touch the steering wheel and shifter..... no radio, no climate control, no picking your ***.... NOTHING!!
My old Turbo Honda Integra
The door is touching the steering wheel.
The bucket seat save my leg and hip from being seriously injured.
More than half of the rear wheel can be seen.
I was really lucky because the other car's frontend could not fit between the A and B pillar legs of the cage.
New car and bolt-in Safety21 Works cage (with streetlegal high impact padding that does not consume outrageous amounts of space).
Thru-dash instead of around-dash like the old cage.
There is a stay on the A and B pillars. The lower part of rear section is boxed for chasis ridigity. Night and day differences in the suspensions (20kg/16kg) feedback with and without the cage.
Cage looks like this:
What's my point? If you are going to use a harness you might as well get a cage too. Cages in the US cost 1/4 of the price of bolt-in cages in Japan. Just be prepared to give up your rear seats so you do not have to worry about killing any passengers
. Oh yeah, this also dispels the belief that Japanese bolt-in cages are show items
The EVO will be getting a cage and CF bucket sometime before summer.
As mentioned previously, there is a greater chance of being crushed during rollover when using a 4/5pt harness without a cage and the same applies to a full bucket seat.
I'll cut to the chase and post some pics.
Got t-boned by an idiot that ran a redlight @80kph (~50mph). Car should have crumbled down to the center console but thanks to the bolt-in Safety21 bolt-in 6pt cage and no-name Fiberglass bucket seat I limped away with a severely bruised hip, a sore sternum and three cracked ribs. Without the cage and bucket I would have been at least a paraplegic. Yes, I had my TRD 4pt harness in the car but it was laying in the rear floorboard because I prefer to use the OEM harness while cruising the streets. With the harness the only thing you can do is touch the steering wheel and shifter..... no radio, no climate control, no picking your ***.... NOTHING!!
My old Turbo Honda Integra
The door is touching the steering wheel.
The bucket seat save my leg and hip from being seriously injured.
More than half of the rear wheel can be seen.
I was really lucky because the other car's frontend could not fit between the A and B pillar legs of the cage.
New car and bolt-in Safety21 Works cage (with streetlegal high impact padding that does not consume outrageous amounts of space).
Thru-dash instead of around-dash like the old cage.
There is a stay on the A and B pillars. The lower part of rear section is boxed for chasis ridigity. Night and day differences in the suspensions (20kg/16kg) feedback with and without the cage.
Cage looks like this:
What's my point? If you are going to use a harness you might as well get a cage too. Cages in the US cost 1/4 of the price of bolt-in cages in Japan. Just be prepared to give up your rear seats so you do not have to worry about killing any passengers
. Oh yeah, this also dispels the belief that Japanese bolt-in cages are show items The EVO will be getting a cage and CF bucket sometime before summer.
