one of my friends told me that if you are using a safety harness for solo2 or any hpde, that you will need to replace it after '2 years' of the manufacturer date as the webbing becomes weakened.

is this true?

i know after an impact, if bolted down, you have to change the harness and moutn points.

can anyone shed some light on this?

i searched but never heard of anything like this. and i dont have a scca handbook readily available.

 

Thats only for racing. There's no date limit for autocross or HPDE.... the usual inspections apply (faded, fraying, cuts, etc).

 

so this would not apply to any club racing availalbe to the public etc?

thanks for the super fast responce

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phantom_sol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so this would not apply to any club racing availalbe to the public etc?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes it does apply to SCCA and NASA club racing. I do not know about other organizations.

For HPDE, Autocross, Drivers schools, etc the belts should be in good shape. The NASA ccr has some guidelines, but no date limitation.

 

excellent clarrification. thanks

 

There is a reason why you should replace them after two years. I ALWAYS replace mine after two, race cars, street cars AND weekend warrior lapping type cars.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MightyMouseTech &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There is a reason why you should replace them after two years. I ALWAYS replace mine after two, race cars, street cars AND weekend warrior lapping type cars.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

So you replace the seatbelts in your street cars every two years?

 

whats the reason?

does the webbing of the belt become weaker?

i can understand after an impact, the camlock might become weakened. metal fetigue and what not.

 

damnit. :::angry:::

i completely forgot about this. my belts are now 3 years old, so i guess i'll have to go get new ones before the school at the end of this month. i assume this is something that SCCA tech will check, or is it one of those things you're just expected to do. i also assume that belts for the instructor have to be no more than 2 years old?

travis
who's mad cause he just realized he has to spend another $500

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">damnit. :::angry:::

i completely forgot about this. my belts are now 3 years old, so i guess i'll have to go get new ones before the school at the end of this month. i assume this is something that SCCA tech will check, or is it one of those things you're just expected to do. i also assume that belts for the instructor have to be no more than 2 years old?

travis
who's mad cause he just realized he has to spend another $500</TD></TR></TABLE>

The SCCA guys are stricket, Yes they will go over every little thing, your window net, belts, helmet, shoes, gloves, nomix socs, suits, racing seat, kill switch, fire eqt. and your engine bay for any thing thats not tied down. Some edvice duck tape and zip ties are your best friend. . And also for the best prices for harness and net go here, http://www.racerwholesale.com/ I got all my stuff from them.

 

At least you convertible guys don't have to worry about replacing window nets every 2 years. I wonder if the 2 year rule applies to arm restraints. The g-force L&L can be found for $60 at a few shops, and the FIA 5-year certified camlock for $110.

 

ooooo.....FIA certified, i didn't know FIA belts were good for 5 years. i have a set of sparco camlocks, so i bet they're still good.

yeah for me

i still might have to buy a second seat and harnesses though.

 

Well you "may" be safe. The g-force camlocks come in both SFI (2 yr) and FIA (5 yr). They're the same price, but you have to ask for the FIA.

 

i'll check them when i go out to the caves this weekend.

i just realized that the double school is 1 week earlier than i thought it was. we're really going to have to bust our *** this and next weekend to get ready.

 

do you know how long the sparco camlock 3 inchers are certified for?

2 years?

edit: nm all sparco belts are SFI

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phantom_sol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do you know how long the sparco camlock 3 inchers are certified for?

2 years?

edit: nm all sparco belts are SFI</TD></TR></TABLE>

fiddlesticks.

 

? how you mean

edit: All 3"belts are SFI homologated

this is posted on a lot of sparco retailers sites

 

i was hoping they were FIA and thus would be good for 5 years so i wouldn't have to buy new ones this year.

but they aren't, so i do.

once again.......fiddlesticks

 

cant put a price on safety hehehe

 

Only one G-FORCE camlock harness set is FIA-approved - the 5 pt. pull-down lap set. The FIA approval is through 2008 which means that if you buy them tomorrow they are good for 5 years. If you buy them in 2006 they are good for 3 years. It is not like the SFI rating where the belts are good for two years from the date punched on the SFI tag.

 

so its affective according to when you are applying it to use. no shelf life here, no need to refrigerate or cryogenically freeze them to let the last for 50 years


what about of you bought it from someone. then affectively it would be when the initial owner purchased them, correct? otherwise you cant prove whether htey have been used or not.

mine was made in '99 :\

 

i know i know........safety is no place to save a penny, but seriously.......

do belts wear out every 2 years? do they really stretch that much? or why in the world are the deemed unsafe? if you looked at mine you'd think they were brand friggin new.

oh well. where's that visa

 

Unless I'm mistaken, FIA cert. belts are only recognized by the SCCA starting in 2005...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by madhatter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Unless I'm mistaken, FIA cert. belts are only recognized by the SCCA starting in 2005...

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I haven't heard that.....and I pay a fair amount of attention to this stuff.

Where'd you hear that?

Jarrod

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

So you replace the seatbelts in your street cars every two years? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, some of my street cars have 5 pt harnesses. And yes, those get replaced every two years. Especially on street cars. The material used in a racing harness is different than the material used on factory seatbelts. They are designed to stretch A LOT to absorb some of the impact. Unfortunately, they also break down quickly when exposed to ultraviolet light (sunlight), and harden, which reduces their effectiveness in a crash.