fhturner

Hey Guys--

I'm in a bit of a time crunch here before Road Atlanta, so while I continue to search and research older threads, I wondered if y'all might help me w/ a couple of racing seat questions regarding my existing 5-point harnesses, a Kirkey Deluxe seat I'm about to install, and the Hardbar seat rails:

1. How should I mount/attach the (single) sub-belt? I'm currently set up w/ the R-D Racing harness bar + the small, horizontal bars that go across the front of the factory seat frame. The sub-belt has a loop on the end that goes around this bar.

2. Can I safely attach the lap belts to the extra bolt holes at the back of the seat rails? I know this puts the lap belt load on the factory seat studs, but my current setup does too (inboard belt attaches to factory seat belt stud; outboard attaches to bracket connected to outside-rear seat stud).

Thanks for any assistance!
Fred

jpobrien

I'm curious about question #1 as well. I have a C4 with the similar R-D package that I will be putting an Ultra-Shield seat in this off season.

Bill Dearborn

If you have time before the event purchase a 2 point subbelt for your belt setup. That would be the best thing to do. Then you can attach the subbelt ends to the front of the rails while the lap belts fasten to the rear of the rails. That is what I did with my Ultrashield setup (the ultrashield has holes for both 2 point and single point subs). The subbelt then goes up through the seat and is in the proper position to hold the lap belt in place. If you can't do that then you will have to fashion some sort of bar to go between the rails underneath the seat so the belt can go up through the hole in the seat.

The RD setup you mention actually is a pretty poor setup for the subbelt as it isn't mounted correctly to counteract the lifting of the lap belt by the shoulder belts. It is sort of like not running with a subbelt at all.

Bill

Carolina C4 Racer

Ask Gary at Hardbar.
He is the expert with the answers & a nice guy that is willing to help anybody stay safe.

WNDOPDLR

I run a Kirky Seat with Hardbar rails and a 5pt harness in my C4. I used the stock lap belt mounting locations which allows the lap belts to come up through the holes in the sides of the Kirkey. I mounted my sub belt to a hole that I drilled in the floor. There is a brace in the floor that runs from frame rail to tranny tunnel and is between the stock front seat mounting bolts. I reinforced this with a piece of 3/8X1 1/2" flat steel bar, drilled a hole through the floor pan, stock reinforcement and the added flat bar and bolted my sub belt to that. The sub belt then comes nicely up through the slot in the seat. Hope this helps.

fhturner

Maybe so, but w/ the stock seats (like I have at the moment), I don't think there's much else you can do, short of cutting the seat bottom. And actually, for what it is, I feel that the R-D setup does a pretty decent job. I can crank down on the shoulder harnesses w/o the lap belts coming out of place. I make sure to tighten the lap belts first, otherwise the buckle will lift out toward the steering wheel....but it definitely keeps the buckle assembly from riding up toward my stomach. So, again, for what it is, it works pretty well.

Yeah, I was able to get in touch w/ Gary a little while after this post. He was very helpful, even though he was out of town working on a project to help the military. He basically told me that I should contact my harness supplier and do what Bill says above-- get a 6-pt version of the sub-belt, w/ 2 separate end points. Then just attach one end to each side of the seat. As for question #2, the extra holes on the rear of the seat rails are indeed where the lap belts attach.

BTW, the time crunch is relaxed. Since I was running out of time anyway, I decided just to pick up the Hardbar rails from Ron @ Discovery Parts at the track this weekend, rather than try to have them shipped and installed by tonight. So, should have more time to make sure I get the install right...

Thanks for the replies!
Fred