Damn, I need to fix my sub belt. It's bolted under the front seat bolts. Maybe that back would be a bit better, but I think even then it'll be above 20*. But I can see that in a hard collision it would just rip through the fiberglass, no bueno.

I was thinking If I ever got another seat for the passenger side, I'd buy a cheap latch-link harness, who cares if it takes the instructor a little longer to buckle up, my job is easy.

To the OP: As always, I have to stress the importance of NOT using a harness when:

1. It's not FIA certified or the certification has expired.

2. Using a harness without a 5th/6th point.

3. Using a harness with a stock seat.

I used to be guilty of those last two, but made a smart move by buying an FIA certified Momo Start.

Curly,

http://assets0.saferacer.com/images/P/109L_1_lg.jpg

One of these eyebolts through the floorpan for a 5 pt. Two of them for a 6pt. $5.99 at saferacer but available from any local racing shop or race gear website. I know you'd hate to add the extra 4 ounces though.

Just over a week to our next track day! Yeehaw...

My belts are expired. They've been in storage for about five years. While I understand expired belts are not allowed in competition, they are allowed for most HPDEs and auto-x's. I don't buy that my barely used, though expired, belts are less safe than my 14 year old stock seatbelts.

Why? '95M seats have headrests

Bryan, you can have old belts recertified.

Really? where?

How about helmets? I have a carbon fiber Bell vortex that is seriously out of cert. Circa 1991.

Thanks for the info, I'll be buying two of those, along with the two 2" latch style ends I'll need to connect the sub belt to. Grrr you're just trying to slow me down with all this hardware....Thankfully I still have a rear bumper to gut and cut, and there's always more wiring to strip out of the harness :winner:


All miata's have headrests. That's not the reason you shouldn't use harnesses with stock seats.

Lets look at the shoulder harness for starters. Instead of going through proper harness holes, they go around the seat, and over your shoulder. When you tighten them down, instead of the force pushing you into the back of your seat, they will slip down the side of the seat, resting finally on your shoulder, pushing you down and compressing your spine. This force is multiplied greatly during an impact and will damage said spine.

Generally the expiration of harness is due to UV damage, if they've been in storage for 5 years, that's a lot better than 5 years of wear and tear from use and sun installed in a race car. And although auto-x and HPDE's will allow the use of expired belts, that doesn't make them safe. They also pass eBay style bars without drilling any test holes for wall thickness, let alone proper mounting methods or looking for proper welds.

It's your body and your car, do whatever you'd like with it, I just had to put that warning out there. If you become injured due to improper use of a harness, I don't want to feel guilty for not saying anything

Bryan -

Use another eye bolt like this:


Instead of a tab like:

...even for the side belts.

You they aren't available from your hardness manufacturer, Saferacer, NAPA, CarQuest and the like will have hardened bolts of an appropriate size.

- L

nice to see the safety police show up.

How are you guys mounting the shoulder belts? I've been shopping for some mounting bars but the only one's I can find are the Beat Rush "C-pillar" bar and the Harddog Bar, I have the Deuce roll bar fwiw. The Beat Rush bar has bolt holes for that but I don't think there's anything stopping you from wrapping it.

Mine are wrapped around the harness bar on my hard dog. Should be some pics in my build thread. You dont want them mounted too far back or down low - do read instructions or have it done.