What belts do you use with race seats on the street?
12-01-2003, 10:34 PM
#1
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What belts do you use with race seats on the street?
I'm buying another car as a dual use track / errands vehicle. Its seats are torn, so I figure that, rather than getting them repaired or replaced with OEM units, I'll just install race seats.
The problem I have is this: Race seats aren't designed for use with three-point belts. The edges of the seats protrude too far for stock belts to snug up against your body, and there's no way to get three-points through the belt holes:
Some of you guys must have race seats, so I'm wondering -- what do you do for belts when driving around town or to and from the track? Do you just strap into your harness but leave yourself some slack in the shoulder straps so that you can move around? Or is there some way to jury-rig the stock belts that I have yet to figure out?
Thanks,
Steve
The problem I have is this: Race seats aren't designed for use with three-point belts. The edges of the seats protrude too far for stock belts to snug up against your body, and there's no way to get three-points through the belt holes:
Some of you guys must have race seats, so I'm wondering -- what do you do for belts when driving around town or to and from the track? Do you just strap into your harness but leave yourself some slack in the shoulder straps so that you can move around? Or is there some way to jury-rig the stock belts that I have yet to figure out?
Thanks,
Steve
12-02-2003, 03:50 AM
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If you are going to be using this race seat/race belts set up for the streets, do not settle for a 4-point system, you really need to go to a 5 or 6, and the race seat must have the appropriate hole in the middle of the seat bottom.
The problem with only a 4-point system is the fact that even when the belts are super tight, in a frontal impact the driver has a tendency to submarine right out from under the belt. And if you are not familiar with the term submarine, just think about taking your whole lower body and shoving it under the dashboard.
The problem with only a 4-point system is the fact that even when the belts are super tight, in a frontal impact the driver has a tendency to submarine right out from under the belt. And if you are not familiar with the term submarine, just think about taking your whole lower body and shoving it under the dashboard.
12-02-2003, 04:49 AM
#3
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Please do not install a 4, 5 or 6 point belt in any car without adequate rollover protection. In the S2000 that nearly always requires an aftermarket rollbar such as the Bitterman or Elda Engineering design. In the event of a rollover accident a race harness does not allow you to move laterally, with dire results when your head contacts the ground!
Here's a link that provides a more complete overview.
Here's a link that provides a more complete overview.
12-02-2003, 06:40 AM
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Could you install the OEM belt so that (on the driver's side) it bolts through the hole in the bolster? IE, when the belt is unbuckled, it would catch on the side rail. Then you could put the seat belt receiver through the hole on the right and get the belt snug.
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12-02-2003, 07:50 AM
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Originally posted by PedalFaster
I'm buying another car as a dual use track / errands vehicle.
I'm buying another car as a dual use track / errands vehicle.
or maybe just assumed you were getting another S2000.There's no real proper way to do 3 points with a real race seat, and driving with 5+ points on the street isn't really safe either, since you can't lean forward to check blind spots.
I've seen some seats with flip-up side bolster things to allow routing of an OEM 3-point. You could also squeeze the shoulder and lap parts together, running it through both side holes, and wear it as a lap belt.
