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Harness mounting points


SamN

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I'm thinking of fitting 4 point harnesses in my Zed.

 

For the rears points I think I will be welding plates (like these) into the rear strut brace and screwing eyelets into them.

 

For the lap belts, I'm not 100% sure yet but was thinking of drilling holes and welding or bolting eyelets here:

 

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Would this be ok for the lap belts?

 

Any better suggestions?

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Think about the forces that will be applied in the event of a crash, and the direction those forces are going to travel in. If you mount the lap belts to that part of the seat frame, not only are you weakening the seat frame itself but also you'd be pulling the forces the wrong way IYSWIM.

 

Use the existing seat belt mount point with a longer bolt on one side, then drill and weld a threaded plate to the transmission tunnel or the floorpan for the otherside.

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Think about the forces that will be applied in the event of a crash, and the direction those forces are going to travel in. If you mount the lap belts to that part of the seat frame, not only are you weakening the seat frame itself but also you'd be pulling the forces the wrong way IYSWIM.

 

Use the existing seat belt mount point with a longer bolt on one side, then drill and weld a threaded plate to the transmission tunnel or the floorpan for the otherside.

 

Exactly how I've done it. I wrapped the shoulder straps round the standard strut brace in the back, I had it looked at and the forces required to bend it would apparently be so much that it wouldn't be my main concern as I'd likely have other, far more serious injuries, like a minor cases of the deadsies being one of them :lol:

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Correct, which is why I'm asking if there is a cheaper alternative which is just as safe.

 

If I wasn't concerned about safety then I'd have just gone ahead and done it rather than asking :)

 

I wouldn't recommend using harnesses without a seat designed for them then. The standard one has no way of ensuring the shoulder straps are in the right place. If you put them through under the head rest they will be too close together and if you put them either side, in an impact they could come off your shoulders as there's nothing holding them on.

 

The standard seat belt mounting points will be ok for the outside one, and the inside one would be best on a harness mounting plate on the outside of the car welded to the transmission tunnel. Wrap the shoulder straps round the standard strut brace with all the plastics removed.

 

Obviously, as I'm sure with Ekona's advice. This is all at your own risk :lol:

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I nearly mentioned that myself, but then I've not used the standard seats with harnesses so don't know how they fit with regards to shoulder straps slipping off. I ran the MX5 with a stock seat and a harness for approx 2 miles before I decided that it really, really wasn't a good idea at all, but then the standard Elise seats are absolutely fine with them so it's very application dependant.

 

I prefer harnesses for road use too, although it can make reaching some controls a little awkward (like the stereo and things like that), but again car dependant.

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Yeah I used harnesses for road use in my e46 and preferred them. Once you've had them you don't feel as safe in a standard seatbelt in my opinion!

 

I'd use a bucket seat for road use but quite like the comfort and heated element of the standard seats (for a change from my last car which was fully stripped/buckets/harnesses etc :)

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I wouldnt mount the shoulder straps to the rear strut brace, wrapping them around it i would think was ok assuming there is no sharp edges but putting the eyelet thing into it i wouldnt do, there is a min spec of width the fia require (which you obviously dont need to adhere to) but its worth mounting it into a decent thickness of metal, a bar would be better. the others we mounted into the transmission tunnel and the floor.

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  • 11 months later...

Any decent fabricator should be able to make you a bar that bolts to the stock seatbelt mount points. I was going to get one done for my old car, but then I decided to sell up instead. You'd lose a little seat travel I think, but nothing major.

 

As far as I know, there are no bars like you're after on the market for the ragtop.

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