racing harness

[suprastarr]

has any one put in a 4 point racing harness without removing the back seat belts of there 86??

[Jay_ATX]

It's possible, you can unbolt your seat belts and just thread your harness through the existing hole using the same bolt. You might need to take off one of the washers that the bolt has in order to have enough thread to secure the thing, or better yet, get new stainless steel bolts that are longer. You can then fit them through the backseat slits pretty easily but honestly, no one would be able to sit back there anyway and the rear seat belts would just useless. Might I ask why you need to keep them on?

[suprastarr]

i wanted to keep all my interior and im looking to get racing seats.

[milchmann]

Jay is definitely right about the rear seat being useless with harnesses. You should read this SCCA thread about 4 point harnesses to get a sense of some of the dangers.
http://www.sccaforums.com/forums/aft/6289" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More debate on harnesses
http://www.autocrossforum.com/forums/in ... topic=9094" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/r ... ses-3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You can get slide rails for racing seats, but they do not move enough to let people into the back of the car... they are more for adjusting between multiple drivers.

Also mounting the shoulder straps to anything other than a harness bar will keep you from any track days because it makes you more susceptible to back injuries in a crash other wise.

[Jay_ATX]

While I cannot attest that the harness bar is necessary on every type of track, it is generally a good idea and I feel that is the best option when it comes down to tying your harness down since it makes the straps sit level with your shoulders, thus reducing the risk of injury. The thing is that, once again, the rear seats are useless with a harness bar because if someone is sitting in the back during a crash, they WILL get in the head and it will more than likely be fatal. Here is a diagram of the proper way to install them:
http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/Rall ... ctions.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (you want to check out pages 10,16, and 18 especifically so you can see what we mean) Long story short, you should not use your rear seats if you are gonna use a harness, period. not even if you choose to use a tail strap.

However, that does not mean that you have to throw away your rear seats. I ran into the same problem that you have right now. I wanted to keep my interior complete and be able to use the rear seats if needed. (hey, you never know when you can get lucky and pick up three chicks at the club.) If this is also the case with you then I recommend getting a bolt in harness bar that is not too bulky. There is no reason why you can't alternate using your OEM seatbelts and aftermarket harness in your car whenever you need to. This way, you have the added security of a harness if you feel like gunning it but it also allows you to seat people by removing a couple of bolts and taking off the harness bar. This is as good as it can possibly get with this situation since it is definitely a trade off between safety and utility.

On a side note, I found that installing my harness let me save gas since now I can't give rides to my friends whenever we're more than two people. A blessing in disguise lol

[Jay_ATX]

I actually have to adjust my 4 point tomorrow, saturday, so i'll take pictures and that way you can see what your options are.

[suprastarr]

thanks for the info! it was really helpful i installed a 4 point harness on my last car but i had taken the back seats out so this time around i was just wondering if it was posible to keep em.