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Fitting harnesses with seatbelts


Guest Budz86
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Just wondering if it's possible to keep the stock seatbelts and fit harnesses too? I use the car as a daily and it would be a right PITA to mess around with them all the time, but would be nice to have them there for those spirited drives [COOL][/COOL] Do all harnesses attach to the stock seatbelt mounting points? If so, would it be possible to have both seatbelt and harness attached to the same mounting point? :search:

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I always believe you shouldn't really be using harnesses unless you have a full cage.

 

The cage protects the drivers area and the harnesses make sure you stay in that area while a helmet obviously protects your head.

 

Imagine a harness worn properly, ie you cannot move, your fixed up right, you lose control and roll the car and the roof caves in.

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what is stated above is totally correct......... but i'd assume that if despite that you still wanted to, it is possible. i've done that very thing on a 79 celica, 93 celica and 99 yaris so far. hoping to do the same on my mk4 over the winter. only the '79 had a cage :blush:

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Thanks guys, the whole roof thing didn't occur to me. Il have a look at all the mounting points when I get some light at the weekend and see what can be done. Whatever the case, it's got to be practical for daily use

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I have a cage and harnesses in mine. For the first 12 months or so that i had it, it was only harnesses.

 

The front seat belts were installed with the harness but had to be removed when the bolt in cage was installed as there was not enough clearance.

 

As previously mentioned you can get eye bolts for the side fixings so no issues there.

 

The only compromise might be the fixing points for the shoulder belts. They should be (ideally) as near to the same height as your shoulders. Mine initially were installed to an eye bolt in the rear inboard seat belt fixing. This worked of course but not ideal. Now attached to the cage.

 

If you are worried about road legality and if you don't have a friendly MOT tester you either need to get non FIA approved harnesses with push button release mechanism or very expensive FIA approved push button belts if you remove the stock seat belts. The normal twist to release mechanisms are not MOT compliant.

 

Hope that helps?

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Imagine a harness worn properly, ie you cannot move, your fixed up right, you lose control and roll the car and the roof caves in.

 

Wouldn't a seatbelt do the same in a collision? It would lock to hold you in the seat, or does a seatbelt work differently in that situation?

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A seat belt will stop forward motion of your right or left shoulder and your waist. It does not stop lateral movement of your shoulders and you could easily bend sideways.

 

With a full harness you do not have the ability of lateral movement as your neck will get in the way!

 

In a roll over accident the distortion of the roof could push your head and therefore your upper body to one side. With a std seatbelt your body could move.

 

It's extreme and I drove my car with harnesses for 18 months without a cage and never once gave it a second thought. Would still be doing it now if a cage had not come up at the right price.

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ha ha i do a little track work and still prefer a harness even without a cage. please note i am NOT recommending this, and it evidently has safety problems, i'm just a strange fellow with a preference thats all. i find the best thing about a harness is the feel of the car moving beneath you- i dont know if its a placebo effect but it gives me more confidence as i believe in my head that the car tells me what its doing sooner!

 

as for the push button release that's a very good point- IF you remove the stock belt then you will need a proper clasp with a push button release. If you keep your stock belt in place (can be tricky with fixed buckets at the solid end, no problems with recliners) then your car should pass an MOT on that, no problem. My yaris has had a sparco aircraft buckle 4 point in it for years with the stock belt and its never been queried come MOT time.

 

For the record I've been using a CG lock on teh stock belt in my supra this year, its a great halfway house to a harness. It locks the lap part of the belt so you get more feedback but not as much as a harness. Best thing is you can still lean forwards at tight junctions etc- thats the worst thing for me about using a harness on the road! The only problem I have is if I forget to get my fags out of my pocket when I buckle up- another reason not to smoke I suppose ;)

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