Fitting Harnesses with backseats?

23rd June 2009, 02:29

basically ive got some reclining bucket seats on the way and im a bit concerned about having no belt pre tensioner thingy etc
so i wanna get some harnesses but was wondering if theres any way of having them so they arent connected through the back seats.
was hoping they could run down the back of the seat some how?

any ideas
pics owuld be great

cheers

23rd June 2009, 15:28

i second this question got buckets on way and also wanna use rears occassionally

23rd June 2009, 15:29

i swear this question gets asks more times than any other

23rd June 2009, 15:32

Check my progress thread.

They have to go into a standard seatbelt mounting to be road legal mate. Either that or very secure.

23rd June 2009, 16:18

how can you use harnesses and the rear seats? because the person sitting on the back seat will get in the way

23rd June 2009, 20:46

any way of bolting them to the floor right behind the seat so theyre not in contact with the back seats at all

23rd June 2009, 22:45

as far as im aware u can get a role cage and attach them to that - you could probably have people in the back but im probably wrong with that - ive also seen them bolted to where the origional seatbelt release is but i cant imagine this would be to comfterable

23rd June 2009, 22:47

A quick search will answer your questions

23rd June 2009, 22:50

Ideally the harnesses want attaching to something the same height as your shoulders as in a crash the harnesses will pull downwards crushing your neck and shoulders. But if they are mounted to the cross bar of a cage etc they are better

24th June 2009, 00:09

If you want to use back seats i think its these harnesses you want. They have a seat belt style buckle on the rear strap allowing them to be quickly split in half and allow people to comfortably use the back seats.

And yes you could have the harnesses go straight down behind the seat but you would have to make an attachment point yourself by drilling a hole through the floor and then welding reinforcement plates. (i'd chose the belt method above if i were you

)

24th June 2009, 00:23

-E-N-Z-O- how do those harnesses work if there are people in the back seats using the rear seat belts? What to the harnesses clip into then?

James

24th June 2009, 00:25

they bolt onto the same mounting point as the back belts and both can be used at the same time

24th June 2009, 00:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke-saxo

they bolt onto the same mounting point as the back belts and both can be used at the same time

Oh ok cheers mate, i thought they clipped into the rear seat belt clips at first

lol

James

24th June 2009, 00:42

expensive lol have to start saving up, so they clip up then you unclip them to let people in the can clip em back up?

24th June 2009, 00:45

They bolt in to all the same places any 3 point harness would. Their only difference is the clip that (when fitted) would be just behind the headrest of the front seat and would allow the harness to be separated in the middle (the Y shaped point where the 3 main straps meet).

*edit* - yes chris that exactly right. basically means while you've got sum people in the back, the part that would usually be in their way can either be tucked under the seat or just moved to the side. obviously this does mean you cant use the harness so you'd have to retain the o/e seatbelts

24th June 2009, 00:55

wow thats cool! so this harness bolts into the back seat belt sectionso can be removed nice and easy - sound sweeet, may invest

24th June 2009, 01:00

I've currently got them in my car if you want pics of them in use before you invest? Took about 10 mins to put in and we're well worth the extra £40 over the normal style. It means i can use the harnesses in any car and still use the backseats if i want to.

24th June 2009, 01:07

Pics would be good -E-N-Z-O- you using them with buckets or standard seats?

James

24th June 2009, 01:13

Will get some for you tomorrow morning mate.

Using them with standard seats at the mo. Cant decide what buckets to get lol.

24th June 2009, 01:15

Thats what i was thinking, dont know if can justify the price of buckets but the idea of harnesses is pretty cool, i guess they hold you in the seat much better than the OE seatbelts?

James

24th June 2009, 01:19

Indeed they do. Pain in the ass to try and turn round to look out the back window though so make sure your good at reversing with just your mirrors (or you can just unbuckle the harness lol).

I've had them with standard seats for about 6 months and have had no problems. Passed MOT as well.

24th June 2009, 01:28

Sounds good mate looking forward to the pics tomorrow or when ever you get chance

James

24th June 2009, 09:09

do not use harnesses with standard seats. you will die

24th June 2009, 09:10

and dont run harnesses with people in the back, or they will die

24th June 2009, 09:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjm300

do not use harnesses with standard seats. you will die

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjm300

and dont run harnesses with people in the back, or they will die

Please explain further...

James

24th June 2009, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim-Bob

Please explain further...

James

standard seats are not designed to take harnesses.
most people run them through the headrest holes. in the event of an accident, the seat gets chucked around as its not particularly stable. the 3 point belt is designed to allow movement as the seat warps. harnesses are static. they do not allow movement. if the seat twists to one side, you will have no head. simples. the harness separators are there in buckets for a reason

if someone is in the rear seat, similar situation, the rear 3-points do not hold you in place, and you'll flail around like a rag doll. if you've got some really tight harnesses right beside you, you're gonna hit them. its not big, its not clever, you'll look like a bit of a tit with your mates dismembered bodies littering your car.

24th June 2009, 12:45

The buckle on this harness is centered in the strap. You can see how it would unclip and allow a rear passenger to sit correctly

The buckle here is just behind the headrest.

Quote:

do not use harnesses with standard seats. you will die

Quote:

and dont run harnesses with people in the back, or they will die

Well i have life insurance...and nobody is running harnesses with passengers. Thats why they have the above style. When you have passengers you just use your normal seatbelts.

24th June 2009, 12:49

cant you see how this will cause serious neck injury in the event of an accident?

i would never get in a car with these types of harness

24th June 2009, 12:50

you can bolt them into the c pillar at the top of the rear belt too
its not ideal as said they should be lower
but being there creates a lot more space on the back seat
i thnk i have a pic somewere ill see if i can find it

24th June 2009, 12:50

Just take the back seats out its the easiest way

24th June 2009, 12:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexB

you can bolt them into the c pillar at the top of the rear belt too

where's the rear passenger gonna get his seatbelt from then?

24th June 2009, 12:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjm300

where's the rear passenger gonna get his seatbelt from then?

get a slightly longer shouldered bolt and you can put the top of there belt and the harness on the same fixing

24th June 2009, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexB

get a slightly longer shouldered bolt and you can put the top of there belt and the harness on the same fixing

hahahahaha

so you've got 2 people's weight on a bolt which is more prone to bend and snap.

good thinking einstein

24th June 2009, 12:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjm300

hahahahaha

so you've got 2 people's weight on a bolt which is more prone to bend and snap.

good thinking einstein

went through an mot like it man

24th June 2009, 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexB

went through an mot like it man

blimey, they need reporting.

common sense would show that its a pretty stupid idea

24th June 2009, 12:57

lol most people on here know i lack comon sence tbh

24th June 2009, 12:58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3FdnWU5ecg

watch that and tell me you'd like to be in the back seat with a tight piece of fabric at neck height.

and thats in a straightforward front collision.

in a side impact its even worse

24th June 2009, 12:58

Quote:

*snip*

cant you see how this will cause serious neck injury in the event of an accident?

i would never get in a car with these types of harness

I'm sorry but i dont. The only difference i can think of between using these with buckets is that the shoulder straps would be slightly further apart but i dont see how the neck comes into it.

*EDIT* - just seen your post right above. Are the harness slots in buckets not a neck height?

24th June 2009, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by -E-N-Z-O-

*snip*

cant you see how this will cause serious neck injury in the event of an accident?

i would never get in a car with these types of harness

I'm sorry but i dont. The only difference i can think of between using these with buckets is that the shoulder straps would be slightly further apart but i dont see how the neck comes into it.[/QUOTE]

when you crash the seat will be thrown forward, shake you're seat backwards and forwards, you can feel the movement and thats not in an accident.
your seat will try and bend forward, forcing the straps to tighten around your neck

as i said before, this is in a straightforward frontal impact, if its from the side/at an angle, it will be even worse

24th June 2009, 13:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by -E-N-Z-O-

*EDIT* - just seen your post right above. Are the harness slots in buckets not a neck height?

they area, but the allow the straps to stay apart, preventing them from clasping around your neck.

i believe that harnesses should only be used with buckets and with no rear passengers. if people want to do differently then there's no means of stopping them

24th June 2009, 13:07

ah ok i see what you mean now.

24th June 2009, 17:43

my mate has his bolted to where the bottom of the OE Belt is sewn/attached onto
is this safe?

24th June 2009, 21:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjm300

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3FdnWU5ecg

watch that and tell me you'd like to be in the back seat with a tight piece of fabric at neck height.

and thats in a straightforward front collision.

in a side impact its even worse

wow that attualy makes me wana sell my saxo... lol

how can i make my car less of a death trap? rolecage?

24th June 2009, 23:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaystar89

wow that attualy makes me wana sell my saxo... lol

how can i make my car less of a death trap? rolecage?

roll cage, better brakes, grippier tyres

25th June 2009, 09:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisRitchVTR

my mate has his bolted to where the bottom of the OE Belt is sewn/attached onto
is this safe?

if you're just running harnesses with no cage, then the best place is like this:

but dont run rear seats.

the rail on the outside is fine to attach the harness to, and the other side should either be firmly attached to the seat rail, or mounted with an eyelet on the transmission tunnel - this is double skinned, so with a suitable eyelet welded to the underside shoudl be fine.

for cars with cages, its best to get the harnesses horizontal, or just below

like this