I've been meaning to post this up for a long time, because of the increase in members who want a spiffy rice rocket and grabbing the niftiest ebay racing seats and "drift" harnesses...and as cheapo as possible and fast

so before you click bid now, or your friend gives u some harness that have been laying around for a year or two...READ THIS ENTIRE THING ALL THE WAY THROUGH






key words
SFI, FIA, TUV, CERTIFIED
HARNESSESS should only be used for 2 years
SEATS should only be used for 5 years
CAGES should only be used WITH A HELMET
BELTS should be mounted at CORRECT angles and to a harness bar

ALL RACING HARNESS are illegal (NON DOT APPROVED) on the street except for one belt made by SCHROTH
which is this one
http://www.schroth.com/tuning/produktdetai...6&id_kat1=1


here is a "dumb it down picture"
Blue = everyone who is doing it wrong
Pink = 0*
Red = stay between them

now go and do it the right way

This post has been edited by playr158: Jun 24, 2008 - 9:17 AM

good to know

Dang, so I can't get the pink roll cage off eBay?

nice post. Definatly somethin that should be known. I take safety as a big factor in my car, hense why i oppeted to pay the $ and buy real sparcos and a set of real momo's in my 83. people, spend the $ on good seats. A set of sparcos can cost you $3000, but a set of cheap ebay Bride Knockoffs can cost you your life.

*sorry to sound cheasy but its true, spend the $ for safety*

Yeah, all harnesses have an expiration date, after which if you get pulled over and it's expired you'll probably get a warning or possibly even a ticket. So if you end up buying someone's used harnesses keep this in mind.
The tag with the date on it sticks out like a sore thumb like the tags on your couch that you normally tear off.

good stuff dude.
stickied.

hm... i was just wondering about the seats expiring...
so do oem seats expire too?
what about cars that come stock with recaros n stuff? do they expire too?
or is this only for 1-piece racing seats and reclinable seats don't have this 5yr thing?

hmmm...thats a thought...i dont wanna go out and replace my sparcos in 3 years time.

Good article. People really make PVC roll cages?

And I've got first hand experience with the fact that "it is very possible to put your face into a steering wheel when used in conjunction with factory belts." I thought I was blind in one eye when my face smashed into the steering wheel of the Camry I was driving when I got rear ended.

oh i should also mention this

ALL RACING HARNESS are illegal (NON DOT APPROVED) on the street except for one belt made by SCHROTH

which is this one
http://www.schroth.com/tuning/produktdetai...6&id_kat1=1

Actually there should be other DOT approved belts, you just have to verify before purchasing, and they all have expiration dates.
As for the seats, those do NOT expire.

A lot of the safety info can be found when you look into doing AutoX. If you get seats they have to be mounted with DOT approved bolts (that usually come with the seat) and there's other various rules on the belts as well. They perform regular inspections on your gear before you're cleared to race each time.
My buddy got some Sparco 4 point belts that were DOT approved. So there's definitely more than one, keep in mind that you spend a decent amount for them since you have to buy them new unless you can find someone who has belts that haven't expired.

>

Takata is also in mids of producing a DOT approved 4 and 5 pointharness. Mind you if you think spending $350 on a Sparco FIA approved belt is alot, wait till you see the price of a takata. My friend was about to buy takata belts for his S14 show car, they were $1300 CND each. You can imagine what the DOT approved belts are gonna run for.

another thing to touch on is the use of a harness bar or roll cage. i've seen more than a couple people on here that are hooking up the harnesses straight down to the floor. here's a pic from schroth's web page of the proper angles for the harnesses.


taken from this web page

http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/2009_Co...nstructions.pdf

Seats don't expire, but they say to replace them every 5 years. I'm guessing it's because of advances in technology over a 5 year period, and they want to make sure you want to have the most up to date thing on the track.

It's the same with helmets. SCCA only allows helmets from certain certifications, making sure they are from the last 5-10 years at the oldest. Helmet and other safety technology is always advancing, and if you're racing you need to have the best.