Harness mounting brackets
Turbo Mini Forums

Im designing my rear harness mounts and the final shape is going to depend on whether the belts crossover or not, so my question is, with 3" wide 4 point harnesses that mount to the bottom of the rear bulkhead do you cross the shoulder straps behind the seat? Ive seen some that do cross and some that dont.
My seats are low back without harness holes so Im guessing if they dont cross they could fall off my shoulders in an accident

I seriously doubt it!

Thats whole point of crossing them Dave. Its expained in the blue book somewhere too

Nice one Colin ,cheers. Nice to know my common sense makes sense

I seriously doubt it!

Maybe egg sucking, but if on the lower part of the bulkhead you may be putting them at to much of an angle.

I can't remember the exact angle but horizontal strap is preferred.

There is an acceptable angle but tbh (probably wrongly) Im going for what looks nice as I dont want a harness bar or anything else high on the rear bulkhead area

I seriously doubt it!

iirc 45 degrees from horizontal is ok but 10-15 degrees is preferable. I expect someone competing can confirm.

Edited by wolfie on 31st Dec, 2015.

The original mounts on the rear seat on the late cars are useable. The angle is acceptable. However the closer to horizontal the better. Mostly in competative motorsport the cage is such that most add another latteral tube across the rear stays/ diagonal, to loop the harness straps around. Again depending on the cage design, some already have a lateral bar beween the bottom of the rear stays where they bolt to the wheel tubs. This location is more than adequate.

Also depends what type of fixing you can use with the harness you intend to use. Me personally i'd rather do away with the hook and eye type fixings on the shoulder straps and loop the straps around the latteral bars instead of welding nuts in for the eyes.

Yours will be a special case Dave

There are also harness cross mechanism ' s you can buy to tidy the cross over. I know you don't want a harness bar as such but for drag days is it worth making on anyway? Bolt in for when needed

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

Iirc according to one of the harness companies you can also cross harnesses if original mounting points are used from the car.

As you have a rollcage could you not us the diagonal on the rear section to put a bar in?

Pic to follow.

Edited by Paul R on 31st Dec, 2015.

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

I thought anymore than 20° was a no no..

I read it as a harness bar rather than in the rear section.

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

Now now....

Dave, for me the belts going down to the seat base is too steep an angle, in the event of a big crash they are going to pull downwards as much as holding you back. With a low back seat that could mean a broken back as the seat won't take the downward load off the belts.
I understand you want it to look the part and after your crash why you are upping the safety aspect. For me it wants a high back seat and the belts going to a harness bar at an angle horizontal or max 20 deg from horizontal.

This ^. Spinal compression is a life ender.

I have a horizontal bar and the harnesses are just looped around it. I then trimmed back a lot of the harness strap. With less strap and no fixings the weight gain of a bar is reduced.

Edited by jonny f on 1st Jan, 2016.

Aint it ridiculous that Id rather a broken back than a Fugly car. Ill have a think on it

I seriously doubt it!

Often people with bucket seats end up getting ones which arent suited to them anyway.
If they're tall for example and their shoulders sit above the harness slots in the seats, this can also be a problem due to back compression.

David.

I think a 10s car needs to have a full safety package.


And a chute.....

I seriously doubt it!

Alright Tom you rate bastrade, Im gonna go with having a Fugly car and fit a harness bar. If it were just me driving I wouldnt but since Mrs. Essex will be racing it aswell Ill do it for her safety. Itll work out quite well really cos it will make my idea for a head restraint a bit easier and since its adding weight in the middle of the car I definitely will do the alu door frames to offset it

I seriously doubt it!

I'm sure it will be a better job safety wise Dave.
Why not make it bolt into saddles so you can remove it when using on the road and fit it when going racing?

I seriously doubt it!

Fair dos, I'm sure you'll have thought it out.
Why not get a high back seat but then have it trimmed in a retro fashion to suit the rest of the car? A mate of mine has a Porsche 944, the car is navy blue with a brown interior, Jonny loves all the retro fashion type of stuff so he had a pair of seats trimmed in brown leather, and some stitched brown leather pads for the roll cage. The finished article looks excellent.

Try fitting two in a Sprint with a cage Tom. I measured up for loads of different ones, the only ones I found that fit were genuine carbon fibre and cost a fortune.
I need 2 seats cos Im gonna do some runs with Vicky in the car to coach her, then she will run it with me in the car as a passenger before I let her loose on the track by herself

I seriously doubt it!