The next phase of my car requires me to get a harness. But which one? Did a little research but I couldn't find too much user info.

Just looking for some user reviews, what people are using, what's comfortable/what's not, things I should look for when buying a harness, etc.

All info and opnions and suggestions welcome.
If there is a thread covering this, please, post it

 

It really depends on what your goals are for the car. For me, H2 requires certified belts so I have to get one that is either SFI or FIA certified. With that being said, the FIA cert is good for 5 years wheras the SFI is good for only 2. I'm personally going to be looking for an FIA cert'd belt. Yes, the FIA belts are more expensive but here's how I look at it. 5 years vs. 2 years. So if the FIA belt is say $450 and the SFI is say $175, the cost over the long run is cheaper with the FIA. I'm going to spend $450 once instead of $175 3 times for the same 5 year period. (and yes I realize the SFI would be 3 belts and that's 6 years)

For you though, not a dedicated track car, I would recommend something like a Simpson Cam-lock belt. You could use that for HPDE's for years with no problems. Those are roughly $175 for a 5-pt setup. I prefer the Cam-lock myself for ease of use, and should the unthinkable happen you can get out of the car faster. HTH

Dave.

 

Thanx Dave. I knew I could count on your opinion

I should have mentioned requirements and usage; silly me, itr forum ***** and I still don't know the rules

Anyway, straight up track days and HPDE type stuff. No wheel to wheel racing, which is why I opted for the Buddy Club seat. A camlock is a must as I prefer it.

I'm definately not brand name driven. I want something comfortable, adaprtable to my harness bar(I've heard some harnesses don't allow for the "wrap around" mounting) with a good reputation from users.

 

I've used Simpson safety products for years now. That's what I have installed on the mustang. I've had no problems with them thus far. If I were in your shoes, that's what I would personally go with. Fairly cheap and a great product. I'll be ordering a set of them in the next few weeks.

 

My Sabelt = FIA approved and current dated (at least for one more season) but for HPDE you don't need the belts to be current and might find a good deal on some used ones from a NASA or SCCA racer that needs to update. Just make sure the belts are in good shape and not punctured or frayed.

You can find some affordable alternatives like the the G force unit:

 

Take a look at the Willans Harness. They too are FIA certified, but they are pretty pricey

 

I remember seeing a barely used Sparco harness pop up for sale for like $135USD. Seemed like a good deal. I am mostly concerned with comfort and reliability. My main question would be: Are some harnesses more comfortable than others? Any to not get or watch out for?

 

Willans

http://www.willansharness.co.uk/

 

I personally like CROW

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by white rocket &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My main question would be: Are some harnesses more comfortable than others? Any to not get or watch out for?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes. While I love my Sabelts, the webbing is on the stiff side. The G force and Willans that I've used were more comfortable in that manner. But when you're strapped in and driving I didn't notice the differences as much. I did like the feel and features of the Willans and it's camlock better than the others I've used, even my Sabelts but the price didn't make me very

Might be a good idea to look as many options as possible at the next track event before you purchase? I always take as much information in at events and often get a good idea of what I'm interested in by riding with many people at said events.

 

OMP makes a killer 6 point with a good cam lock, love mine.

 

I use Sparco harnesses (which I purchased from Victor @ VPR )

They are FIA rated and I believe I spent in the range of 450-550. Forgot. It did include some extra hardware and the longer shoulder harness (to rollbar). This set would be my first set of 3" harnesses and I would consider them comfortable. I did ride in a set of Sabelts YEARS and if memory serves me, they were uncomfortable.

However, FWIW, Sabelt makes Sparco.

 

I've had Schroth, Simpson, and Willans harnesses, all used. I thought the Schroth was a lot more comfortable than Simpson, and I like their cam design a lot more. The new Simpson that are available though have a better cam than the older ones, though the belts still look to be not as comfy. Willans was just plain nice, probably a little better than Schroth, and Schroth was really nice to begin with. If you're HPDEing, you're probably wearing just a long sleeve shirt and jeans or something, right? The comfort thing does become an issue then, as opposed to racers with the Nomex suit, which offers a little more padding. Shoulder pads are also an option for any harness to improve comfort, but they do add cost.

I'd take GreyTeg's advice and look at some before deciding. And keep an eye on the racing forums (NASA, IT, etc.) for used ones. I paid $75 for each of my Schroths, so good deals do pop up.

 

Thanx for all the advice fellas . I saw a memeber selling his Sparco harness for $135USD. I was going to check that out. Seems that they all have their + & - but all within a degree or so. Not like "Always buy this one" or "Never buy this one". For the price I think it'll be okay. Even if it isn't, it won't be like buying a Takata and not being satisfied for the price.

 

Make sure they are in date. If not, you have to send them back to Sparco to get restitched. I believe the restitching costs over $100.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by migs &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Make sure they are in date. If not, you have to send them back to Sparco to get restitched. I believe the restitching costs over $100.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's only an issue for competition. For HPDEing dates don't matter, as long as they're within 10 years (and no one's ever even glanced at mine).

 

DO NOT get a 5 point harness if you aren't going to run a rollbar. If you roll over w/o a rollbar with a 5 point your head is much more likely to compress into the roof instead of getting pushed down. I didn't see if you mentioned if you have a rollbar or not. I'm surprised that hasn't been explained yet!

If you are strictly going to do HPDE's and lapping days, then you do not need to worry about FIA/SFI certification. You can often buy used harnesses at the end of SCCA/NASA seasons for great prices!

 

I believe he's looking into roll cage options right now. He started a thread about what color to paint it IIRC. Either way though, I totally agree, no need in a 5-pt if you don't have a roll bar/cage

 

Don't worry 92, the safety ***** have checked him out. He is putting a cage in the car, so it's all covered.

 

Thanx y'all for the concern. Harness + no rollover protection = serious injury. I have been school'd. Please see the extra ghey "what color should my cage be?" thread.

That used Sparco harness sold . No biggie as the G-Force one seems to be a good deal so I will be looking at that option. Also I'll be talking to my local shop here and see what they have for me. Most of the time it's worth it to order form the US because of the dollar exchange but now it's kind of blah. May not make that big of a difference.

 

Now, along with my previous thread. How do you plan on mounting the harness? Just the wrap technique or something with harness guides? I think, personally I'm going to do some fab work for the harness guides. I just don't trust some zip tie holding my harness from sliding around.

 

^^^^weld on harness guides. They will be fabbed along with the harness bar and additional rear x-brace. No f**kin' around here

see pic below for reference