Attention Racers: Safety Harness Discussion

I'm about to (finally) order my 5-point safety harness (SFI 16.1). My car is not going to be a rocket ship. I'll probably do high 6's in the 8th, maybe mid 10's in the 1/4).

I understand the "Y" belts are being faded out by NHRA beginning next season (anyone else heard this rumor?)

I am going with:

a) A Cam-lock design (not budging on that one)
b) Pull down to tighten
c) Either G-Force, RCI, or Corbeau (it appears). I think Simpson believes they are allowed to raise their price because of their name (of which Mr. Simpson himself is no longer asssociated with) which puts them out of the running for me. Impact Racing are over-priced also (yes, I understand the question, "what's your life worth" but there's a limit - we wouldn't pay $1,000 for a restraint system that goes way above and beyond 16.1 rating when a $140.00 will do the same job 99.9999999 % of the time and is 16.1 rated.

Another question comes in to the mounting.

d) Do I mount the shoulder straps to the roll bar (requires welding a tab on the bar).
e) Do I use the style that passes the shoulder straps over the roll-bar and down to the floor behind the seat?
f) I know I have to have the lap belt at a 45^ (Thanks #3 - RIP) to the floor, but what type of mounting should I use? I've seen they type that use the eyebolt and big washer that goes underneath the floorboard. I've seen 1/4" plates welded to the top side of the floor board (never understood that one) and a loop welded to it.
g) Do I stay away from the latch type ends (at the mounting points)?


Also, there is the re-certification issue
h) Which brand does free re-certification (seems there was one that did every two years)

I) What brand do you use and why?
J) Would you choose another brand/style if you had it to do over?


I don't expect any one person to answer all the above (although that'd be nice of you), but any input from experienced racers would be appreciated. You could save a life - MINE!


Thanks,

Rick

 

phew! thats alot of stuff....lol
If you can, grab a S&W catalog, it answers alot of those questions....
d)mount it to the roll bar w/ the weld on tabs.
e) no, see above
f) eyebolt and big washer...(see S&W catalog...) preference, really.
i&j) RCI's, but to me, seriously, the overall design of your cage, racing seat, frame/subframe assembly will have a much bigger impact upon you in a crash than the label on the belts. Install them via NHRA specs, and then move on the the next item.

Then again, I've never hit a wall @ 150 mph, so go figure...

 

check m&r products in nj. reasonable prices & they recert.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll check into your references - and will probably weld the tab (although I only have a chitty flux-core MIG welder - hmmm.. I might rethink that one. I have a buddy with a Argon setup who I might get to come over if he can fit it in his schedule).

 

I second the suggestion to chat with the guys over at S&W. Call or email...Don Scholl is the VP of marketing, and his son Kevin is also smart as a whip. I've talked to both a couple times and those guys know their stuff!

dscholl@swracecars.com

Don's a regular over at http://www.brackettalk.com

 

I have RCI 5 point. I went with the regular latch because I think it comes off just as fast as the cam-lock...one pull instead of one turn.

I heard from NMRA tech guy that the y-style is going to be faded out, but still just a rumor.

My harness came with 5 mounts. I used 3 of them for the side and crotch mounts. I mounted the sides to the floor at the original seat belt mounting holes with my original bolts. The angle is perfect. I wrapped the shoulder belts around the roll bar cross bar with the rear seat to cross bar attachment in the middle of the two belts, which serves as the retaining tab and should be legal (I think). My seat to cross bar attachment isn't welded but is firmly attached to the cross bar. The crotch mount I bolted to the floor with two 3x3" plates on top and bottom for more support to the floor. Remember, the crotch belt is supposed to be mounted rearward of the driver's chest.

Only passed tech once though, so I don't know if I'm fully legal or not, but I think I am. The NMRA tech guy that works at Fontana, FFW, and World Ford Challenge said my mounts are OK.

 

Good.

Good.

I use G-Force. Dad uses RCI. Wouldn't recommend Corbeau. Simpson-only if you win the lottery. Impact is Bill Simpson's new company so naturally it's overpriced too.

YES!!!

No way in hell.

I always add a tube or square bar from the subframe connector across to the rocker panel. Then, I weld a mounting tab to the bar/tube for the lap belt to bolt onto. Floor plates rip out. Don't do it.

As far as you can possibly get.

Don't bother. It's a pain in the butt. Just buy new ones. Simpson had a recert program and it was $50 but it has to be a Simpson harness.

G-Force. Quality, price, availability. Great stuff.

Sure....if I won the lottery I'd have Simpson Platinum series. But hey.....that's just me.

 

Great info guys. Thanks!

 

Rick as best I can tell Nascar uses a brand called Willans...their are recerts on Ebay at very reasonable prices...if their good enough for them I'd think they would be good enuf for drag racing.

 

rick, the phasing out of the y belt is not a rumor. nhra general regulations state y-type belts dated through 12/04 will be accepted through the belts 2 year serviceperiod only. sorry to take so long to get back to you.

 

i run sparcos... http://sparco-usa.com/harness_comp.asp sorry cheap shameless plug.... good enought for NASCAR, WRC and CART.. plus they give me good deals!

but this has some good info on safety mounting etc.... http://sparco-usa.com/resourceFiles/16.pdf

one thing i never understood at the track is if i have my stock 30 year old lap belts they let it go though tech and never say anything. but if i have my 3 inch 4 pointers they always look at them and say things like are they current? makes no sence to me what so ever.

 

well, i put a 6 point roll bar in. because of that i am required to use the 3" belts and renew every 2 years. if i didn't add the roll bar i could still use the original 71 belts. 35 years old????? what????

 

ok at least i know i'm not the only one... thats just

 

No, but you're still .

 

well then that makes two of us!