Best way to mount 5-point harness

[72_914]

What is the best way to mount 5-point harnesses? I have seen the mount bars but don't want to spent the $$$. Can I just mount them to the firewall? It looks like you could just drill and mount them. What kind of re-enfourcements would you need? Mine came with these big washers (3"od) would those on both sides be enough? Thanks for the imput.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The bigger the better. Make sure the reinforcements sit down onto the firewall--it does curve in several spots. You may have to bend the washers some.

3" is considered sufficient for PCA Zone 7. Probably also for SCCA, but I'm not certain. You should check the rules or ask the tech stewards for ALL of the series that you want to run in.

Note: If you use eye-bolts to mount the belts, make SURE to get the "closed" ones. The ones that are simply bent around will not pass tech in some places. (Like Zone 7 PCA.)

--DD

[John Rogers]

See if you can find a shop that does race car prep for SCCA or Vintage road racing. They will know how to mount them so they will never have to be done over if they aren't quite right. Besides the size of the washers, strength rating of the eye-bolts, there are angle considerations for the anagle the belt makes as it goes from the mount over your shoulder and down to your lap. I would recommend buying the hardware from the same place you get the belts or if you got the belts w/o mounting hardware, I'd buy Simpson's or some other name brand. Good luck.

[JTB]

I am sure you will need a harness bar of some sort. The harness do not mount to the bar, but wrap over it. The harnesses actually bolt to the firewall. The problem of not using a harness bar that the harnesses are the wrong angle. If you hit something, you will come out of the car a few inches shorter after the belts compress your spine. All of the sanctioning bodies that I know of have an angle requirement for the shoulder harnesses. Where they meet your shoulders, they need to be as close to horizontal as possible. I think the rules general allow the belt to be 30 deg below horizontal, but check to be sure. If you do not use a harness bar, you are better off with the stock belts.

I mounted the lap belt to the original belt locations and the lap belt through the floor. I used closed eye bolts and 3" washers except for the lap belt. For a while, I actually had both the stock belts and the harnesses.