BryanPendleton

I have been investigating harness bars for my c5. The two most often recommended are the Hardbar and the Brey Krause. After investigating both, they both appear to position the mount bar level with the stock shoulder mounts. After viewing multiple photos this appears to position the attachment point ABOVE shoulder level which goes against most rules and harness mounting recommendations which state that the attachments points should be level or 20deg BELOW shoulders.

I have my eye on the Sparco Harness Bar because it drops those shoulder attachments lower to get a better shoulder strap angle. Something I would like to think that Sparco would weigh considerably in their design.

Anyway, I was looking for some feedback on those with the Harbar or BK bar, and what their shoulder strap position is relative to their shoulder height. Please provide driver height, seat, slider type, etc, as these all impact driver height position.

skxf430

Check out the Sharkbar, as the mounting point seems to be slightly lower than either the BK or the Hardbar.

A quick search will pull up several different threads.

BryanPendleton

I have not found a sharkbar for a C5 though.

phipp85

I like the Sharkbar. I'm 5' 10" and have a corbeau fx1 pro seat mounted on hardbar rails. My shoulder belts are parallel to the ground. I have the seat mounted very low as I had to cut the pedestals for a bottom mount off the seat to get it down as far as I would like. If you use sliders the seat will be higher than with the hardbar rails.

Bill Dearborn

When I had the Hardbar installed in the C6 it came across at the shoulder belt mount level and the seat back release button would rub against it. The bar was too high and didn't allow the shoulder belts to fit over my HANS properly. I sold the Hardbar and went with a Sharkbar which is several inches lower than and several inches to the rear. That makes a big difference.

I am pretty sure the Hardbar is too high in the C5 as well. I do know the BK bar is lower than the Hardbar but I am not sure how much lower. If you place the cursor over the picture of the bar in this link you can see the bar is lower than the stock shoulder belt mounts:
http://www.bkauto.com/R_1115_Harness...r_p/r-1115.htm Probably would be a good idea to call BK directly and talk to them to see how much below the shoulder belt mounts the bar is located.

Bill

AU N EGL

JeremyGSU

Ditto. I had the Hardbar and found it too high with my seat setup and ended up switching to the Sparco. It's lower and I like the additional support brackets that go down to the seats.

MYRX

Four years ago when I started doing track events, I purchased a Hardbar for my C5. I too discovered the angle wasn't ideal. I added the extenders and that made an improvement. My shoulder straps are at least level, 0 degrees. Knowing what I know now, I would elect to have the rear portion of a cage built into my car. basically a very nice 4 pt roll cage that would provide the ideal downward angle for the shoulder straps. PFADT used to sell a really nice chassie bar that I bet would be ideal.

mountainbiker2

Here's my review on Hardbar.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...installed.html

Steve A.

Gman57

I had the BK in my C6 and was giged at a NASA event a few years ago because the bar was level to slightly above the sholder line. I did have a aftermarket race seat in the gave me a 1-1.5" lower stance over stock. With this in mind if you ever get a race seat you could get spoted on this.... it cost me all of Sunday track events. I thought this was a bit overboard for a HPDE class.
G

Ludedude

The point of safety equipment is that if you elect to put it in, it should be put in properly. To not do so risks worse injury than if you had left it out and just run the stock belts. From an event organizer's point of view, it's their liability if they tech a car and let it out with non-conforming equipment.

RX-Ben

100% correct on the below analysis of the angles. I am selling an AZ Speed&Marine bar for a C5 that properly situates the belts. Most of the other designs are not compliant with most orgs tech reqs.

BryanPendleton

I am not sure I agree on the organization, track or anyone working for them having ANY liability. I am quit certain that the track and hosting organization are free from liability based on all the liability waiver forms that are signed before an event.

Gman57

I see their point.... It's that I was out 150.00+ and a 9 hour drive one way. I still was more secure in my car than some of the $1500-2000 dollar rat-traps on the track. That's my point....

z060ntrack

To bad the Shark Bar is not available for the C5! It is, without a doubt the best bar for correct height and, as an added bonus has belt locators welded on. You also can get the pre cut panels with grommets which make the finished install look as though it's factory instlled.

trackboss

I have hardbar harness mount and seat mounts combined with a kirkey seat mounted pretty darn low. The bar is well above my shoulders, but I don't let it bother me. It's not a race car. Everyeone's shoulders harnesses will be at different heights becaue of not only each person's body, but because of how their seat is mounted. Throw on a hans and angle changes again. IMO, shoulders harnesses should be just barely above level when strapped down properly. Reason being is that in a forward impact the body will move foward and up in most cases. Having a downward angle will compress the spine. Even a level angle may cause some compression. Shoulders belts at an upward angle may reduce spinal compression in such an impact.

NVR2L8

Per the NASA CCR:

15.5 Driver Restraint System

6. The shoulder harness shall be mounted behind the driver and above a line drawn downward from the shoulder point at an angle of no more than twenty (20) degrees with the horizontal.

Bill Dearborn

Gary used to make that same comment about his bar when he first started selling it. However, the harness manufacturers don't agree with that. All of them have the same requirements for installation.

Bill

C5ZEE06

After trying several others, I too chose the Az speed and marine piece. I'm surprised yours hasn't sold- especially at your asking price.

BryanPendleton

We are all entitled to our opinion, but based on the assessment that every harness manufacturer and every race organization that i have ever looked at specifies shoulder attachment level or below shoulder level, I am enclined to follow their recommendations. I would like to think they know and understand the risks a little more than we, the laymen, do, particularly companies like Schroth that do lots and lots of testing and harness innovation.
In addition to safety, I prefer to minimize any tech finding with the various race/HPDE organizations.