lapblet question

[greg donovan]

the lap belt on my SS does not sit in the proper place on my right hip/waist. it sits about 2-3 inches away from the right side of my waist because of how the buckle is fastened to the chassis.

this does not inspire confidence.

my question is, can anyone think of any safety risk of using a racing harness lap belt only? i would still have the stock shoulder belt as that sits in the right spot.

i dont see how it would be any worse than the way my belt is now. loosing the retractability isnt that big of a deal to me.

i would love to put a roll bar and harnesses in but that just isnt a reality at this point in time.

[BAC5.2]

Shouldn't be any problem. Mount the lap belt to the chassis on one side, and the seat on the other. That's how stock goes, that's how I'd recomend you do it. I guess you could do both the the chassis, I don't see a big problem with that either, but you need to put it in a secure position, and it's likely to not be all THAT comfortable.

Oh, and I'm sure you know about not using the shoulder straps without some form of roll-bar and harness loop. I won't go into it.

For others, though, don't do it. SCCA regulations require a maximum of a 20 degree decline from your shoulders (basically, no more than 20 degrees downward from coming straight off of your shoulders). So you NEED a harness bar. You shouldn't use a harness if you don't have a roll bar/cage of some sort. In a rollover, a harness keeps you in place (as it should), and in a roof collapse, you no longer have the ability to fall limp against the roof, but rather cannot move yourself out of the way, and you stand a somewhat greater chance of injury.

The more you know.

[greg donovan]

yep this is for daily driving. will use the stock shoulder belt. and the harness lapbelt only.

how does your lapbelt sit?

the only issue that has arisen is personal liability that may occur due to the fact that i would not be using EITHER restraint in the way intended by the manufacuterer. fine if i dont get hurt in an accident, but if i do, who knows. wonder if i would i get hurt more now?

[Legacy777]

Regarding the harness bar. There's actually a mount point for a child safety seat on the rear deck. Whether it's strong enough, and has the allowable angle, I'm not sure.

However, with what you said about not using a harness unless you have a roll bar....it may be a mute point.

[BAC5.2]

Roll bar is simply a saftey thing. I'd prefer to have one than not.

As far as getting more hurt? Well, not sure. You may, or you may not.

I don't have my lap-belt setup yet. Harness belts, reguardless of style, are NOT DOT legal. I'll probably pick up a Sparco Clubman 4-point (non-camlock for right now). My seat has 5-point provisions, but I doubt I will use it.

You could drive down the street in a 6-point, and a cop can and in this area, will, give you a ticket for not wearing your seatbelt. The older Viper GTS came with a DOT approved 3-point, and it ALSO had a set of Harnesses.

[greg donovan]

i meant the oem lapbelt.

[BAC5.2]

I am not using one currently (JDM has a different latch point). But with my RS seats, it sat just fine.

[LaureltheQueen]

The point about the rollbar and harness... Some harnesses are, in fact, DOT legal, and also have overlap sewing on one side that is designed to break when great force is exerted on it, such as you being about to crush your spine in a rollover.

[BAC5.2]

I've never seen or heard of a DOT legal 4-point harness. Lots are SFI or FIA approved, but that doesn't mean DOT legal. Which harnesses would be DOT legal?

[THAWA]

You're driving around with half a seatbelt?

[greg donovan]

You're driving around with half a seatbelt?

who me?

good god no.

just want to get the lapbelt to fit in the right place so that if i get in an acciden my hips dont slide forward 2-3 inches on the right side before coming in contact w/the belt.

[BAC5.2]

Me? Um, I only have half a seat belt, but I wouldn't call what I've been doing driving the car.

Friday was the first time I've driven my car out of the neighborhood in a while.

[BAC5.2]

Regarding the harness bar. There's actually a mount point for a child safety seat on the rear deck. Whether it's strong enough, and has the allowable angle, I'm not sure.

However, with what you said about not using a harness unless you have a roll bar....it may be a mute point.

I imagine that WOULD have an appropriate angle, but is it strong enough? I dunno. I weigh a little more than a 5 year old.

[Legacy777]

Yeah I don't know....I'd have to look at it. I assume it's got to be "relatively" secure because it's a mount point for a safety restraint.

[BAC5.2]

I'm actually fairly confident that mounting to the rear seat belt bolts (for the center latch, and the right belt mount) will be sufficient for harness mounting.

SCCA claims no less than 20 degrees to horizontal. Sparco says nothing below 45 degrees. It would seem that Sparco has slightly more lax views of harness positon, but I can't imagine that they would intentionally harm someone.

I'll find out today if the belt mounts are acceptable.

Where to mount the lap-belt though, is the question. I'll deal with that in a few hours.

[Adam West]

Did you ever install the lap belt? I've acquired a used 4 point Sparco belt and am planning to install. Can you point me to the thread where you discuss installing your lap and/or not doing should harnass to rear seat hardware? Thanks.