roll bars & harnesses
Discussion
Last month I was very lucky to survive an accident in a mates Caterham. Car was stationary when hit from behind by a 10 ton lorry doing 40-45mph (driver admitted he wasn't looking...!)
Ambulance and hospital staff were amazed I only had a small cut on head from some flying debris and a bit of whiplash. They put this down to 2 things; quite a bit of luck and a 4 point harness.
Can't do much about buying luck but have since been thinking about harnesses for my non-airbaged conventionally seatbelted S. But how....?
Have spoken to Tower View and they said harnesses are quite cheap but fitting them is the costly bit. They recommend a full roll bar or as an alternative a horizontal strut that fits between the existing seat belt mounts. Latter will look better and cost less - but is a full roll bar an overall better choice....?
Sorry I didn't pay much attention to bars / harnesses at SCH3 but I wasn't interested then!
I've seen several full roll bars fitted and prefer the look of the car without them, but I may still fit one for peace of mind (of me AND Mrs L!!) Does anyone have any pic's of the horizontal bar arrangement? Would this restrict access to rear shelf with roof on?
Any views / comments / info greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Longers
Ambulance and hospital staff were amazed I only had a small cut on head from some flying debris and a bit of whiplash. They put this down to 2 things; quite a bit of luck and a 4 point harness.
Can't do much about buying luck but have since been thinking about harnesses for my non-airbaged conventionally seatbelted S. But how....?
Have spoken to Tower View and they said harnesses are quite cheap but fitting them is the costly bit. They recommend a full roll bar or as an alternative a horizontal strut that fits between the existing seat belt mounts. Latter will look better and cost less - but is a full roll bar an overall better choice....?
Sorry I didn't pay much attention to bars / harnesses at SCH3 but I wasn't interested then!
I've seen several full roll bars fitted and prefer the look of the car without them, but I may still fit one for peace of mind (of me AND Mrs L!!) Does anyone have any pic's of the horizontal bar arrangement? Would this restrict access to rear shelf with roof on?
Any views / comments / info greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Longers
If you're wearing a properly fitted 4-point harness without rollover protection and the car lands upside down you're probably going to die, because the harness locks you upright so your head is higher than the hard points on the car. With a conventional lap/diagonal seat belt you would get squashed sideways but hopefully not killed.
There are various ways to fit a 4-point harness without a rollover bar.
You can put a strap round the rear chassis cross member and bolt an eye bolt down through the parcel shelf. This is a bit lower than ideal for the belt alignment but it's viable.
I've seen people put a big spreader plate inside the boot and bolt through the rear bulkhead. This is fine until you have an accident which damages the bulkhead so this might collapse when you need it most.
You can fit a cross member between the existing shoulder mounts. A straight bar will severely restrict the position of the seats so you may need to fit a U shaped bar. This suffers from the same problem as the previous idea - the shoulder mounts are just bobbins into fibreglass and pretty fragile in the event of an accident.
Your other choice is to fit a rollover bar, and this is the only option that I would recommend.
There are various ways to fit a 4-point harness without a rollover bar.
You can put a strap round the rear chassis cross member and bolt an eye bolt down through the parcel shelf. This is a bit lower than ideal for the belt alignment but it's viable.
I've seen people put a big spreader plate inside the boot and bolt through the rear bulkhead. This is fine until you have an accident which damages the bulkhead so this might collapse when you need it most.
You can fit a cross member between the existing shoulder mounts. A straight bar will severely restrict the position of the seats so you may need to fit a U shaped bar. This suffers from the same problem as the previous idea - the shoulder mounts are just bobbins into fibreglass and pretty fragile in the event of an accident.
Your other choice is to fit a rollover bar, and this is the only option that I would recommend.
Longers I have a Roll centre roll bar and people that have been in my passenger seat after being in an S without always say the car is much stiffer, my car feels pretty tight compared to my old S2. Also I too prefer the look of the car without the roll over bar but must say since I covered it to match the interior I now dont notice it and think it looks quite good.
You do lose a bit of seat travel so if you are really tall it may be an issue although Pete resembles lurch from the Adams family so you should be OK
It does get in the way a little when folding the hood down but once you master it, its no bother really.
I was talked into keeping the roll bar by my wife and parents as the car stands a better chance in the event of a crash with it.
All IMHO
Mike
You do lose a bit of seat travel so if you are really tall it may be an issue although Pete resembles lurch from the Adams family so you should be OK
It does get in the way a little when folding the hood down but once you master it, its no bother really. I was talked into keeping the roll bar by my wife and parents as the car stands a better chance in the event of a crash with it.
All IMHO
Mike
something I had never noticed on your car........ just asummed it was there LOL trackcar said:
where did your roll bar come from peter? I'm looking for one for my car and I'm happy to go with whatever you decided was a good choice
Mine was the prototype for the Tower View (Roll Center) bar for the S series. I spent a few months driving round with foam tubes taped to the inside of the roof while I worked out the best place to put it. It made for an excellent wind-up when people tried to point out that there was a bit more to a proper rollover bar!
Thanks everyone for the above comments. The following was ....er....um....quite powerful reading....
I've decided that if I'm going to fit harnesses it has to be with a full roll bar. Now just need to weigh up "costs v appearance v risk of ever needing bar & harnesses in accident" before deciding whether to go ahead or not.
Cheers, Longers
GreenV8S said:
If you're wearing a properly fitted 4-point harness without rollover protection and the car lands upside down you're probably going to die, because the harness locks you upright so your head is higher than the hard points on the car. With a conventional lap/diagonal seat belt you would get squashed sideways but hopefully not killed.
I've decided that if I'm going to fit harnesses it has to be with a full roll bar. Now just need to weigh up "costs v appearance v risk of ever needing bar & harnesses in accident" before deciding whether to go ahead or not.
Cheers, Longers
Good to hear your on the mend. Nasty business.
In your particular mishap, how much did the Caterhams roll cage offer crumple zone protection from the rear!!
You must be within a foot of the rear bumper with a fuel tank between it and you.
I agree 4 point harness is super groovy for protection. Best way to fit this is with a roll cage. What you also dont want to happen is the roll bar so close that it hits you on the back of your head (a worry for us tall people).. What next though? Helmet?? Fire retardent suit?? sell TVR and get a Eurobox, better still, a Volvo or a truck?? stay at home??
Don't forget Risk is what might happen over the likelyhood it will happen. Obviously its up to you.
Hope to catch up soon.
In your particular mishap, how much did the Caterhams roll cage offer crumple zone protection from the rear!!
You must be within a foot of the rear bumper with a fuel tank between it and you.
I agree 4 point harness is super groovy for protection. Best way to fit this is with a roll cage. What you also dont want to happen is the roll bar so close that it hits you on the back of your head (a worry for us tall people).. What next though? Helmet?? Fire retardent suit?? sell TVR and get a Eurobox, better still, a Volvo or a truck?? stay at home??
Don't forget Risk is what might happen over the likelyhood it will happen. Obviously its up to you.
Hope to catch up soon.
Not got an S yet but i itend to. what kind of cost are you talking about to fit a full roll bar and 4 point harness?
Driving a Honda accord at the moment, if i ever had a crash in that i would probably be suffocated to death by the half million airbags it has hidden away. I have been driving the grandad mobile for far to long
. desperate for a car which will put a smile on my face. 
M
>> Edited by Mikey voodoo on Friday 19th May 10:27
Driving a Honda accord at the moment, if i ever had a crash in that i would probably be suffocated to death by the half million airbags it has hidden away. I have been driving the grandad mobile for far to long
. desperate for a car which will put a smile on my face. M
>> Edited by Mikey voodoo on Friday 19th May 10:27
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