goosed

Hey guys, I would like to put a 4-Point harness in my del Sol. I've been researching ways on how to do this, and had an idea that I wanted an opinion on. I was thinking of drilling some holes into the floor board, and using some serious washers to bolt the shoulder straps in place. This way, the washers would create resistance on the straps. Let me know what you think.

Steezer

You might need a rear sway bar. but try drilling through the floor board..it cant hurt.

Red_Army

never ever ever.
first accident you get it will rip them straight out of that little 1/4 inch of steel. think about it.
you either need a roll cage or a belt bar(i can't remember the exact name).
they make them for a reason and its not so you can kill yourself with bad ideas.

wth is a rear sway bar going to help AT ALL with a seatbelt? its underneath the car in the back? even a rear strut bar would be in the trunk. try not to get other people killed.

goosed

I've seen some of those harness bars. You think something like this would be my best bet? Link

MonkeyBoy668

x2

The strut bar wouldn't work because whatever contorted path you chose to route it through the passenger/trunk wall would either cut the straps or bend the metal - if I'm remembering right, the wall is made out of a couple stamped pieces of fairly thin steel with a string of tack welds holding it in place. Plus those bars are always ridiculously iffy in terms of strength, especially since we're talking off-axis.

I once saw a strap bar that mounted between the shoulder strap mounting points, reusing those bolts. However now that I think about it was a custom bar the guy made himself. They would be the ideal mounting point for a bar though, the trick is making sure the entire thing is made out of steel strong enough to handle the forces involved and having quality welds where the bar meets the tabs on each end (to mate the bar to the mounting bolts he welded steel plates on each end).

Maybe if someone makes a similar bar for 92-95 Civics it would be close enough to fit a Sol.

Also, why a 4-point harness? There's a chance you'll slide out the bottom in the event of an accident without the 5th point. Of course without a roll cage there's a chance your head will contact the crumpled roof in an accident. And if you had a roll cage, you'd have a perfect spot to mount straps (the cage).

Steezer

Yea Sorry i could not think of the name. i know it was a type of bar that connected to each side of the frame.

ChristianL

Red Army and Monkeyboy are on the money on this one. Plus, as cool as you think harnesses are on the street, they really do suck. It'll take you a few days, but you'll figure out pretty quickly that it makes everything about everyday driving a chore.

ej1bmx

I swear this same topic comes up about once a week.

The stock seat/seat belt/air bag system is made to function together in the event of an accident.

When you start messing with one aspect of that, you're putting yourself at a great risk in the event of an accident, especially when mounting a harness improperly in the vehicle.

But when it comes down to it, people who post these threads rarely listen to advice given and will more than likely put a harness in their car for the "cool" factor anyway.

goosed

Well I do appreciate the information guys. And I will take this advice seriously ej1bmx. I still prefer safety to good looks. Thanks again for the info.

Hondakid95

As cool as they might look an all, there really a pain in the *** to put on every time.. plus if you go to sell it(depending on what state you live in) to get it to pass inspection you must have original spec seat belts. unless its a historic vehicle.

CivicBlacksheep

Attach to the bottom of floor track

ChristianL

Came across a good article recently that talks all about this kind of thing. And it's written by people who know what they're talking about:

Everything you wanted to know about proper harness installation.

Wrona

ur advice is favking retarded

MonkeyBoy668

And their magazine isn't half bad either. I've lost hope of them taking on a Del Sol project, though they built an EF not too long ago.

krazyrider112

I was actually using a 4 point harness in my last del sol build. And i actually have a harness bar for the del sol that allos harness fitment and a easier setup..if you are interested call/text for more info or pics

alphalanos

ej1bmx is right. the whole system works together. meaning if you change your seatbelt to a harness, you no longer have the tensioner system, which lets your body travel a certain distance to slow deceleration. a harness does not do this. also the mounting points are engineered to withstand the force of a human body pulling on it. just bolting them in somewhere is not safe. and if you bolt them to the floor, it will also make the belt angle far too steep and your spine will be compressed in a crash because the belt will be pulling downwards instead of straight back or slightly upwards. keep the stock stuff in there unless you plan on making it a track car, then you can look at seats, roll cage, harnesses as a system together.

krazyrider112

and if you do decieded to use harnesses be sure to disconnect the air bag

MonkeyBoy668

This is the most common problem I've seen with DIY 5-point harness installs, they mount the shoulder straps too low and it does more harm than good.

That GRM article seems spot on, especially the point that safety harnesses are meant to be replaced after every accident. An accident will damage them, and it's by design (they absorb forces so your body won't).

And, no matter what you do, don't buy harnesses off eBay.