Full harness ideas please
Discussion
What full 4 point harness would ppl recommend fitting to my Griff.Have seen some with yards too much webbing or so wide you could get lost under them. Top mounts will go on a Rollcenter rollbar. Will use the standard bottom seatbelt mounts although I guess I may need longer bolts as ideally I'd want to keep the std seatbelt in situ.
Car will be used for occasional track days so is there an optimum spec/std I should aim for?
Car will be used for occasional track days so is there an optimum spec/std I should aim for?
For track days you could use a three point harness, that is one where the shoulder straps join into one behind the seat, that way you only need one fixing eye which can make things easier. If there is a chance that you may progress to something competitive you will need a four point one as the MSA made them illegal this year.
Generally the shoulder straps should be of a length that makes the adjusters sit roughly at nipple height when correctly fitted. When I was using the TVR hoop there was a Willans 3 point harness that did the job perfectly. When I had a more substantial arrangement fitted the straps were far too long and Willans shortened them for a few quid, they can manufacture to what ever length you need.
The best advice probably is don’t even think about a harness unless the hoop you are fixing it to is substantially above your helmet height and properly strong. You need to be able to draw a line from the hoop over your helmet to something substantial, ie the engine. This is rather difficult to do unless you are fairly short and the hoop is as high and as far forward as possible. Not certain how the one you mention fits in with that requirement.
You are right to keep the standard belt as a harness is not ideal on the road, it stops you leaning forward to see what is coming at junctions.
Generally the shoulder straps should be of a length that makes the adjusters sit roughly at nipple height when correctly fitted. When I was using the TVR hoop there was a Willans 3 point harness that did the job perfectly. When I had a more substantial arrangement fitted the straps were far too long and Willans shortened them for a few quid, they can manufacture to what ever length you need.
The best advice probably is don’t even think about a harness unless the hoop you are fixing it to is substantially above your helmet height and properly strong. You need to be able to draw a line from the hoop over your helmet to something substantial, ie the engine. This is rather difficult to do unless you are fairly short and the hoop is as high and as far forward as possible. Not certain how the one you mention fits in with that requirement.
You are right to keep the standard belt as a harness is not ideal on the road, it stops you leaning forward to see what is coming at junctions.
I have a rollcentre roll bar and Willans 4 point harnesses on mine. They mount to the standard bottom seat belt mounts with the standard seat belts left in place and can just be left hanging behind the seat when you use the normal belt. The bolts in the car are long enough to mount both of them and you just need some eye bolts for the roll hoop. You saw my car (the green Griff) at 'Home' a couple of months back when we were comparing roll bars with Colin's car as mine was mounted slightly higher although I can't remember if it had the harnesses on at the time.
Get 3" straps not the cheaper 2" ones.
Get a harness with a decent rotary release buckle on the lap strap that releases the shoulder straps. There is a much cheaper style of harness with a simple latch in the middle of the lap strap which works but is a right pita to get on and off.
These harnesses separate the shoulder straps and lap strap when you release them. You have to choose which side of the lap strap you want the buckle attached to. Usually you would have it on the side nearest the center of the car so the buckle doesn't get caught in the door; I found it works better for me to have the buckle on the outside because there isn't room to get the buckle out of the way between the seat and the tunnel.
The harness with a decent buckle will probably also come with good quality adjusters on the shoulder straps that lift up to release. The cheaper ones often have nasty adjusters made up from a couple of plates and a bit of plastic, which again can work but are horrible to use.
The harness will probably come with either bolts and bolt-through plates on the end of the straps, or clip-on ends and eye bolts (you usually have to choose which style). I recommend the clip-on fittings but check you have space for the eye bolt between the seat and the body. The standard bolts are 3/4" long and are not long enough to go through the fibreglass body. You need the longer 1.5" ones, the people who sell the harness will supply them but you'll need to ask for them.
Ensure the rear straps are no more than 30 degrees out of line with the back of the seat vertically and laterally, otherwise you risk a neck injury when the harness pulls tight in an impact.
The rear straps usually have adjusters and with a conventional rear roll-over bar you may struggle to adjust them short enough. You can get specially shortened harness designed for Westfield style cars, but you don't need that. With the right technique you can get the standard rear straps far shorter than it looks at first glance, so if they seem to be too long don't panic.
Get a harness with a decent rotary release buckle on the lap strap that releases the shoulder straps. There is a much cheaper style of harness with a simple latch in the middle of the lap strap which works but is a right pita to get on and off.
These harnesses separate the shoulder straps and lap strap when you release them. You have to choose which side of the lap strap you want the buckle attached to. Usually you would have it on the side nearest the center of the car so the buckle doesn't get caught in the door; I found it works better for me to have the buckle on the outside because there isn't room to get the buckle out of the way between the seat and the tunnel.
The harness with a decent buckle will probably also come with good quality adjusters on the shoulder straps that lift up to release. The cheaper ones often have nasty adjusters made up from a couple of plates and a bit of plastic, which again can work but are horrible to use.
The harness will probably come with either bolts and bolt-through plates on the end of the straps, or clip-on ends and eye bolts (you usually have to choose which style). I recommend the clip-on fittings but check you have space for the eye bolt between the seat and the body. The standard bolts are 3/4" long and are not long enough to go through the fibreglass body. You need the longer 1.5" ones, the people who sell the harness will supply them but you'll need to ask for them.
Ensure the rear straps are no more than 30 degrees out of line with the back of the seat vertically and laterally, otherwise you risk a neck injury when the harness pulls tight in an impact.
The rear straps usually have adjusters and with a conventional rear roll-over bar you may struggle to adjust them short enough. You can get specially shortened harness designed for Westfield style cars, but you don't need that. With the right technique you can get the standard rear straps far shorter than it looks at first glance, so if they seem to be too long don't panic.
Edited by GreenV8S on Monday 20th July 22:58
Hey Joe ;-} No you didn't have the harnesses fitted at the time. Colin helped me fit my rollbar a week ago - only took us 12 hours and we weren't slacking, so no profit to be had in that work ;-}.
I noticed at an event recently that the Rollcenter bar is used by several of the TVR sprinters together with 4 point harnesses, although I didn't get to check them out closely. I've fitted the eye bolts that came with the bar and fortunately the shorter outboard ones just cleared the inner wheel arches rises. So all set up for a 4 point - just need to specify make and size now. Thanks for the advice fellas.
I noticed at an event recently that the Rollcenter bar is used by several of the TVR sprinters together with 4 point harnesses, although I didn't get to check them out closely. I've fitted the eye bolts that came with the bar and fortunately the shorter outboard ones just cleared the inner wheel arches rises. So all set up for a 4 point - just need to specify make and size now. Thanks for the advice fellas.
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