After letting my brandy-new Schroth harnesses sit in the garage for about a week I bit the bullet today and installed the driver and passenger side harnesses in my 2004 S. I was silly to have waited a week to do it.

Piece of cake. Decent instructions from Scroth with some fairly non-illustrative but quasi-helpful pictures. All the bits and pieces needed were included, and the process took me about fifteen minutes.

You really will need a number 50 Torx bit and a 17 mm socket and it helps a lot if you have a vice to use to bend the rear mounting plates to the proper angle for installation.

Oh, yeah, and close the car door BEFORE tightening up the shoulder belts. Trust me on this. With the shoulder belts properly tightened there's nothing on the door that you can reach that will give you enough purchase and enough torque to be able to pull it closed. But you can still reach the radio.

 

Yep Got mine installed yesterday too. Had to seek out a T50 Torx bit as my set only went up to 40 and while the directions called for a 16mm socket, turned out to be a 17, which was a blessing cause much to my surprise my socket set stepped from 15 to I7mm. Everything else was a snap, though I'm a bit baffled why if this harness is MINI specific they can't prebend the mounting tabs, but it isn't hard to do.

No complaints on my test drive - I am one with the car with this on. Glad I got the optional shoulder pads as the straps run between the headrest uprights making them cross rather close to your neck. I think a naked strap might be rather irritating rather quickly.

This set-up will get its first real test later this month when I attend the Phil Wicks Driving School over at Summit Point Raceway in WV. The course they will be using for the class is very twisty and technical and I think I'll be glad I sprang for this. Special thanks to MINI Works for helping us NAM'ers get a group buy deal on these!

 

I've had mine in for a bit. While I love driving with them on, the do become a hassle for everyday use. That's why the easy in/out is great. Ditto on closing the door. Learned that one the "hard" way.