alright well i have a crx si seat installed in my 90 std hatch and i was wondering how safe ( or not safe ) it would be to installl a 4 point seatbelt harness without a harness bar? my main goal of this car is going to be daily driving and i want to eventually get into auto-x. would this be safe? or am i better off to just stick with the stock seat belt because i dont have a harness bar? thanks for any input

 

anyone got any opinions on this?

 

you would be better off asking in the road race/autocross forum, but there is a rule of thumb when mounting the two top straps. only thing is i don't remember. it's some where along the lines of no more then 30* angle? basically you mount it in a way that when/should ever get in a frontal crash that the belt won't force you in to this shape "C".

the reason for a harness bar is that it keeps the belt close to a 90* angle or higher. that way you won't fold into a C when you crash

 

I have seen people use 4 points without a harness bar but just for autocross. Not on the street. They wanted to stop sliding from side to side. They bolted them to the rear seat belt bolt above the gas tank.

 

i've seen that too. some people say even for autox that's not safe. i've even seen it attached to the upper bolt for the rear seat belt mount.

 

thats what i was planning on doing but i also wasnt sure if it would be safe for the street. i am really interested in auto-x though so i would still wanna look into harnesses

 

I am running a sparco four point without a harness bar on my Civic. I haven't had any highspeed accidents but when I got T-Boned I was fine. Teamed with a race seat, Corbeau Forza I think you are in pretty good shape if you get hit.

 

thanks for the input guys

 

In a track/high speed situation I would say to add a cage and harness properly.

They will be fine for auto-X and I would guess for most accidents that don't involve a rollover. The 4 pt harnesses only become unsafe in the event of a rollover when you do not have a roll bar to prevent the hood from caving in.

 

4 Points tend to create a situation where not only a roll over but frontal impact. When there is an impact the driver slides forward, submarining, without the sub belt of a five point harness the lap belts from a 4 point come up the torso, they crush the rib cage and then puncture your lungs. They are very dangerous.

 

so from what it sounds like 4 point harnesses are dangerous for street driving