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Help needed on Willans harness install - with an Elda rollbar
Hello,
A few weekends ago I've put in the bar and now I have to install the harness.
Before I will start though, I'd like to get more info on how to do it best - kind of like watching Elda's DVD a couple of times before attempting the bar install.
Any pics would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
George
PS: I plan to lower my OEM seat at the same time - anyone that might find anything wrong with using a lowered OEM seat with this harness?
Here are two threads on harness and seat mounting. Shoulder strap arttachment should be easy with the Elda bar, just wrap the straps around the harness bar. There was a thread posted a while back on "reengineering" the seat pan mounting points and removing some foam to gain about 3/4". Getting a lot lower with a custom seat may involve some fabrication, but if you're only looking for a modest drop it can be done more easily if the height reduction is not extreme. Another advantage is greater stability in extreme maneuvers and better compatibility with harnesses. Though not optimal for me, I'm currently using a Sparco Roadster seat on taitec rails.
George, I have the Willans and Eldabar also. What seat are you using? I live close by in Encinitas if you wanted to see it close up, and I can give you details. Basically the left lap eyebolt goes into where the stock belt is bolted, the right lap eyebolt goes into a hole drilled in the transmission wall, with backing washer, and the crotch belts attach to a crossbar on the rear of the Taitec seat rail. I still keep the stock right-side receptacle so I can use the stock belt on the street. It attaches to the Taitec seat rail.
I worry about impacting the diagonal in a street collision. I also want to take the harnesses out to avoid UV damage to the webbing. I need to find some better padding than what I received from Elda. If for no other reason, than that it has already faded to a greyish purple, and the tape only stuck for about 10 minutes.
Hadn't thought about what would happen in a street accident, but still seems low probability that you would contact the diagonal which is behind the seat, and so still safer overall. There is a greater chance of contacting the rollbar itself in a rollover, but then are you better off with the rollbar or not in that situation. Padding the rollbar sounds like a good thing to do though. I've seen the half-pads in a raceshop.
Okay, back to your regularly scheduled thread topic (sorry for the diversion).
With the eyebolt on the left-side seatbelt mounting point, you lose 2 or 3 clicks of seat travel with the OEM seat. You also cannot adjust the belt lengths without getting out of the car and moving the seat. Forget using the harness for more than one driver. It takes at least 15 minutes to adjust the harness, once you become familiar with it. My trick is to slide the seat all the way back, hook up the lap belts and sub straps, then slide as far forward as I can. Then, I loosen the shoulder belts, click them in, then tighten them down again. This way, I can get in the harness in about 30 seconds, and it is as tight and low as possible.
The stock seat is too far to the left, and the harness cannot make a straight path from the harness bar to your shoulder. It must route around the headrest. This could lead to premature wearing of the belts.
I ran my sub straps through the gap between the seatback and the seat cushion to the lap belt mounting points. This works better than expected, although it is pretty sore for the butt-cheeks when set to the proper length. The only drawback is this means the already-tight fit for the eyebolts is even tighter and more cluttered.
Thanks for all the answers...
I'm afraid though that I'm the "visual" type, so Richard, let me know if I could drop by and check your setup. Do you mind if I bring my camera?
I live in Penasquitos and work in Sorrento Valley.
What would be a good day/time for you?
Regards,
George
PS: My bars were removed easily by hitting (light!) with a hammer after I wrapped the bars in some shop cloth. No WD40 or something like that was req'd.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by payneinthe
[B]The stock seat is too far to the left, and the harness cannot make a straight path from the harness bar to your shoulder.
09-14-2003, 10:59 AM
Help needed on Willans harness install - with an Elda rollbar
