Harnesses w/o roll bar/cage?
 

I want to buy some race seats for my 1st gen - looking at Corbeau Forza's, and I want to add safety harnesses for driver's ed events.

I did not really want to mount a roll cage or roll bar since I still want to use this car on the street.

Are there any good ways to mount 5 pt harnesses w/o a roll bar? Can you attach eyebolts or something to the car body at the edge of the luggage area? Would this give acceptable belt angles for safety?

Has anybody used the 3 point harnesses that are offered? Are they worth the trouble?

I searched the forum, and did not find any threads for 1st gen's and no bar/cage.

Thanks,
N Gueldner

Took me 1 search and 2 minutes

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=101806


Read those over, this is a bad idea. If you want, I'll dig up pictures of guys at drivers events with no rooflines.
One memorable one of a Mustang Cobra coupe that suddenly looks like a convertible, the roof completely collapsed. Fortunately the driver and instructor were wearing 3 point seat belts, and survived relatively unscathed. A 4 point isn't a great thing for the street, but if you really want harnesses, you should invest in the right gear.

PaulC

I wouldn't use a 4-point under any circumstances. The cratch strap(s) are really important on a harness. They don't catch you by your crotch, what happens is in an accident your body tries to go forwards, this levers against the shoulder straps and pulls the lap bet upwards. The crotch strap's purpose in life is to keep the shoulder belts from pulling the lap belt upwards.

One famous racer was noted for saying that he'd NEVER wear his crotch strap, it was too uncomforable. A while later, he died when he was in a collision and the lap belt crushed his internal organs and wedged up under his ribcage.

I held off on installing a harness in my car until I got a roll bar based on the "harness not safe without bar" argument. It makes sense, but now that I have a bar, the "bar not safe without helmet" thing comes to mind. ;)

A harness frees you from much of the struggle to keep your body in the seat, which should help your driving efforts. I think it would be fine to use a harness for AutoX and then just use the stock belt when you drive on the street. You can mount a harness with eye bolts and plates in the hatch area.

-Max

PJ, I meant a 4 point roll bar.

PaulC

To add...

A friend that I autocross with uses a 5-point harness in his Mustang for autocrosses only. I asked him how he liked the set-up and he brought to my attention the "harness not safe without rollbar" scenario. He explained to me that if the car were to roll, the driver/passenger(s) would be held in an upright position while the roof would be crushed inwards. Needless to say, this is not a good thing. He, however, stated that he uses the 5-point harness for autocrosses, as he does not feel that his safety is compromised.

I can understand his view's as I have never seen, and/or heard of someone rolling their car at an autocross.

He attaches, at least the two shoulder straps, to the rear seat belt mounting point. I'm not sure if the others were attached there or not.

Kyle

I am not a regular autocrosser but rollovers at these events are not uncommon. rollovers in general don't happen at every event but if they do happen at a freak time I would hate for my head and neck to be my rollover protection. do it safely and correctly or don't do it at all.

Think you won't roll a car at an autocross?

Think again.

http://www.io.com/~jpphoto/drp/00eve...als/Saturn.jpg

no wonder its a saturn!!! :)

True, you can roll at an autoX. But it will probably be at relatively low speed (<80 MPH) on flat ground, with no other cars running into you, so hopefully the car wouldn't crush all that much. In the end you just have to make a decision for yourself. Roll bars, harnesses, and helmets seem to offer their safety when used as a complete set, but many people take their chances with a subset for practical reasons. I think about that when I drive my car on the street with a roll bar and no helmet.

-Max

Yeah, but uhmm.. do you really want to take that chance?
'cause I don't