Today with the help of Eric from Helix (I'm too chicken to drill big holes in my car, but he seems to have no problem doing it ), I got my harnesses installed.

First off, the harness bar comes from Brey Krause, information can be found here:

http://www.bkauto.com/mini/r1305.php

It is a work of art in powdercoated stainless steel. The harness bar can be used with the rear seat either in place or removed. Once set up, it can be removed or installed in a few minutes, only 4 bolts need to be turned. The harness bar mounts to the stock seatbelt anchor locations and is tested to exceed 6,000 lb of force. The harness bar puts the shoulder belts in the correct location directly behind the driver's shoulders. Unlike harness GUIDE bars, the harness themselves can be safely attached to the harness bar.

From Jegs, I ordered a pair of G-Force quick release 5-pt harnesses, along with two Snap Hooks, two Backup Plates, and two 1/2"x50 mm eyebolts:

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...mp;prmenbr=361

The shoulder harnesses wrap around the harness bar. The inside lap belt is mounted on a supplied 2" slot bolt end that is bolted to the seat frame using the factory seatbelt latch mounting bolt. The outside lap belt is looped around the bar that holds the factory seatbelt. The anti-submarine strap is attached to a Snap Hook, which is clipped to an eyebolt that goes through the floor and is secured under the car with a backing plate.

This took several hours to install, partly because I removed and installed the seats twice as many times as necessary. We removed the scuff plate trim to pull up the carpet and see what was about to be drilled through ... luckily, no electrons lost their lives.

Anyway, even with the stock MCS seats, lateral support is MUCH better now and I feel much more in control. I'm not going to use these all the time, only for autox and track days.

Here's some pics:

 

Sweeeeeeeet

I want now

 

BTW, I know I need a tan.

 

What are all your doo-dads?

 

Pre-intercooler air temp, post-intercooler air temp, boost gauge, oil pressure gauge, coolant temp gauge.

 

very nice setup, same thing im in the middle of doing , except i bought some sparco's to go with it....

 

Very nice! Can you put some pics up where we can see the bar better. I'd do a bar if there were an easy way to provide access to the rear seat. (Kids are back there at least a couple of times/week.

I'm curious if you've tried the Schroth clip-in set-up, and how this compares to that. Aside from no anti-sub belt it looks very similar (but heavier duty.)

(Side note: I stopped by the Ferrari challenge at Road Atlanta today. You should see some of *those* setups.)

Jeff

 

how come the Brey-krause website says there's no drilling required for the bar but you and Eric installed it with a drill?

 

The only drilling required was for the anti-submarine (crotch) strap. The B-K bar goes in using factory mounting locations for the front and rear seatbelts. I'll snap some pics that should explain it better.

I wouldn't advise putting passengers in the rear seat with the bar in place. They'd fit, but would have a nice steel bar at neck level in the event of an accident. It's not really an issue since it only takes a few minutes to install or remove the bar.

Compared to the Schroth quick-fit setup, this on appears to be MUCH safer. For one thing, Schroth relies on the seatback to provide vertical positioning ... not a good idea, IMHO. Also, the Shroth routes the shoulder belts through the space between the headrest posts, far too close together, IMHO. The Schroth lap belt connectors appear to be very weak (the instructions recommend bending the brackets with a pair of pliers). Anyone who has tried bending the hardened steel hardware that comes with real FIA certified harnesses can attest, there is no way any of that stuff is being bent by hand. :smile: Finally, a 4-point harness does not properly locate the center of the belts. With a 4-point, tightening the shoulder belts pulls the center upwards in front of the abdomen, which is very poor at absorbing force without damage. With a 5-point, the crotch strap pulls the center downwards, keeping the force on the pelvis, which is able to absorb WAY more force without damage (some people say 10 times as much force).

 

Here's some additional pics:

 

where are the pics of the harness and sub-strap?

 

Holy post-ressurection batman!!

Did you see this is from 2004??

 

I still need to see how the sub strap was attached. Holy cow the car was made in 2002!

 

Inserted eye bolt, added backing plate, added nut, torqued nut.

Matt

 

under seat or behind seat? I can't even tell if he's got the sub strap going through the back or over the front.

photos would be helpful.

 

but Eric at Helix did it, and you can get Andy at Ross Tech, just by calling and asking for him.

Matt

 

x2 for just calling Andy:
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]1 215 361 8942
www.ross-tech.com
or email: [/SIZE][/FONT]Support@ross-tech.com

He will get back to you same day in most circumstances.