Race Harness for an S with a Rollover Bar

[Mr Plow]

Hi All

I have now finished fitting the rollover bar and am now going to fit some harnesses, which ones? There are lots to choice from?

Can anyone recommmend, or let me know which they are using?

[GreenV8S]

Go for 3" (rather than 2" ), get ones with a proper rotary release (all straps separate from the buckle) rather than the cheap-and-nasty pushbutton ones that leave the shoulder straps attached to the lap strap. Position the eye bolt as close as you can to the center line of the seat. If you are using a 3-pt harness you may struggle to get the rear strap short enough, because the double section won't go through the adjuster. However, you'll find that if you loosen the whole thing off the double section *will* go through and you can shorten the whole thing until the adjuster is almost touching the clip.

Edited by GreenV8S on Saturday 15th December 20:25

[petclub]

Longers has one as well, he may be able to help.

[Mr Plow]

GreenV8S said:

Go for 3" (rather than 2" ), get ones with a proper rotary release (all straps separate from the buckle) rather than the cheap-and-nasty pushbutton ones that leave the shoulder straps attached to the lap strap. Position the eye bolt as close as you can to the center line of the seat. If you are using a 3-pt harness you may struggle to get the rear strap short enough, because the double section won't go through the adjuster. However, you'll find that if you loosen the whole thing off the double section *will* go through and you can shorten the whole thing until the adjuster is almost touching the clip.

Edited by GreenV8S on Saturday 15th December 20:25

From what I can tell, all this type are FIA approved, doesn't say anywhere whether they are road legal?
I will probably leave the original belts removed.

[Jed-S]

What fittings have you got on the roll bar for the harnesses? It could be that you could use a harness intended for either a Caterham or Westfield depending on the fittings you have. They have shorter over shoulder straps because they mount on the chassis immediately behind the seats. Caterham are usually a bolted on style and Westfield generally use clips that hook into eye bolts. I assume you're going to use the original lower mounting points still.

If possible try to retain the original inertia reel belt. It is so much less hassle when you give someone a lift to use that rather than faff around adjusting a 4 point harness.

[Longers]

Mine are by Sabelt and have an FIA cert of approval stitched into them. I'd be surprised if they are ok for the FIA and not road legal and there's not been a problem at MOT time

They have some padding around them that makes them a bit wider than some others I've seen. One of my passengers said they were a bit too wide with the padding, others haven't mentioned it.... However if I ever needed to "use" them in the event of an accident I'm sure the padding would make them more comfortable.

I'll try and take some pic's tonight with / without the padding on them so you can see the difference.

[MickS2]

Mr Plow said:

I have now finished fitting the rollover bar

Slightly O/T, but was it fairly straightforward to fit? Fitting race harnesses must be the way to go, but was it possible to leave the standard belts in? (just for those short trips)

Mick

[Mr Plow]

MickS2 said:

Mr Plow said:

I have now finished fitting the rollover bar

Slightly O/T, but was it fairly straightforward to fit? Fitting race harnesses must be the way to go, but was it possible to leave the standard belts in? (just for those short trips)

Mick

Relatively easy to fit, the roll bar came with a template for the parcel shelf to show where the holes needed to go. I started with small holes and then got bigger, using the roll bar rather than the template for the final stages of the cutting. I didn't want to cut too much out.
Once the holes were made, it was just a case of jiggling the bar around until it lined up with all the holes to bolt back in. I suppose it was made easier by the fact that I took the body off last year and used nwe bolts, so the existing bolts were easier to undo second time around!.

Not sure whether you can still fit the original seat belts. I think I would have trouble fitting the belt coil part against the bar. I haven't really looked as I do not intend to put the original belts back in. However, I will check at the weekend and report back.

[MickS2]

Mr Plow said:

MickS2 said:

Mr Plow said:

I have now finished fitting the rollover bar

Slightly O/T, but was it fairly straightforward to fit? Fitting race harnesses must be the way to go, but was it possible to leave the standard belts in? (just for those short trips)

Mick

Relatively easy to fit, the roll bar came with a template for the parcel shelf to show where the holes needed to go. I started with small holes and then got bigger, using the roll bar rather than the template for the final stages of the cutting. I didn't want to cut too much out.
Once the holes were made, it was just a case of jiggling the bar around until it lined up with all the holes to bolt back in. I suppose it was made easier by the fact that I took the body off last year and used nwe bolts, so the existing bolts were easier to undo second time around!.

Not sure whether you can still fit the original seat belts. I think I would have trouble fitting the belt coil part against the bar. I haven't really looked as I do not intend to put the original belts back in. However, I will check at the weekend and report back.

Thanks for the info. Am I right in thinking that the roll bar uprights bolt onto the chassis at the inertia reel mounting points and the rear supports/braces clamp onto the chassis somehwere just under the parcel shelf? Is it also bolted to the upper seat belt mounting point? (just behind your shoulder)
Sorry for all the questions - its just that I am thinking of adding a Tower View roll bar to this winter's list of mods and need a bit of re-assurance before taking the plunge

[Jed-S]

Mr Plow, Some pictures of how the roll bar attaches to the various fitting points would be appreciated.

I'm 6'2" and need the back of the seat as far back as possible and I suspect that this will be an issue with the roll bar fitted.

cheers
Jed

[Longers]

Jed, I'm about your height and I don't find the seat position a problem at all. The bar goes down the side of the seat so means the seat position can be the same as if the bar wasn't there. Only thing I make sure I do is have the headrest a bit higher than I might normally (higher than the pic below) so that there is no chance of my head banging on the bar

[GreenV8S]

If you haven't already got the harness, and assuming you're planning to use eye bolts to attach it, remember that you will need to specify 1.5" long eye bolts for the lap strap connections instead of the standard 0.75" ones.

[Mr Plow]

Jed-S said:

Mr Plow, Some pictures of how the roll bar attaches to the various fitting points would be appreciated.

I'm 6'2" and need the back of the seat as far back as possible and I suspect that this will be an issue with the roll bar fitted.

cheers
Jed

I took some picture while I was fitting it, so will try and put them on here. I haven't uploaded pictures before so watch this space !!

[Mr Plow]

This is my first attempt at pictures, not sure what will appear?

[Mr Plow]

It worked, so I have added another!!

[MickS2]

Some good pictures there, thanks Mr P.
It is all a lot clearer now. Looks like it is time to start saving up some pennies and get in touch with Tower View

Happy Christmas to everyone
Mick

[Jed-S]

Thanks for the pics.

[Mr Plow]

Has anybody else fited a roll bar from Towerview?

Any idea if you should use standard length harnesses or ones made specifically for the Westfield or Caterhams?

Cheers and Happy Christmas

[GreenV8S]

Mr Plow said:

Has anybody else fited a roll bar from Towerview?

Yes (mine was the prototype).

Mr Plow said:

Any idea if you should use standard length harnesses or ones made specifically for the Westfield or Caterhams?

See my comments from 15th December.

[Mr Plow]

GreenV8S said:

Mr Plow said:

Any idea if you should use standard length harnesses or ones made specifically for the Westfield or Caterhams?

See my comments from 15th December.

Apologies GreenV8S, I was paying attention, honest

I thought about getting a set of these, the four point version?
http://www.lukeracing.co.uk/rec.php