sothpaw2

Fellow HPDEers and auto-xers,

I was wondering if there is a way to freeze the take-up reel on the driver's lap belt. I tried and really like cinch mode, but that only cinches
at the hips, leaving the upper body unsupported in turns.

The take-up reel obviously freezes by design in some situations--so is the a mod to lock it down permanently?

I know, I know, get an aftermarket 4-point and a real seat. My trouble there is that I mostly use this for street driving. I will soon start taking my kids for rides on the weekends, so even if I could deal with changing the driver's seat, the passenger one would have to stay. Everyone I've talked to does not recommend a race seat for frequent street driving.

Thanks,

Andy

sothpaw2

ttt

TedDBere

Nope.

c4cruiser

A good race seat and a 5-point or 6-point harness with a good harness bar will be a big help for track days and even autocross. Check with Pfadt, Gary Hoffman and a few other vendors to get recommendations for a seat assembly that can be swapped out in a short period of time like maybe 30 minutes. You only have to deal with the seat as the harness bar and belts can stay in.

And don't think about a 4-point harness, you need the safety benefit that a sub belt provides, either a single or dual sub belt setup.

And your kid "s"? Only room for one at a time Does your state have laws regarding booster seats based on the height and weight of children riding in a car? That makes a big difference in how a factory seat belt and shoulder harness works for young kids.

vettehardt

Booster seat? belts? one at a time?

I can remember riding in my dad's 65 back in the 80's. My brother, sister, and I all rode in the back at the same time even with the top down. I even went around Indianapolis Motor Speedway that way at the 1988 NCCC convention! I think dad even got pulled over one time when all three of us were in the front seat. The cop just told us to put the lap belt on! I guess you can't get away with that nowadays.

sothpaw2

As I said above, a 5-6 pt restraints will get really old using them frequently on the weekends or occasional drive to work. I don't buy that you can swap the seat in 30 minutes without some special tools.

Yeah--my older son rides in his usual booster seat which transfers easily from the wife's DD. The younger son does not ride at all, but will get a ride someday. I would not want to bother with a 5-pt etc for the kids even on the rare occasion.

Surprised no one has made a good try of making the stock seats work better.

Glennm27

Check this out. This is how to use the OEM lap belts in a C5...

72Vega

[QUOTE=Glennm27;1575036741]Check this out. This is how to use the OEM lap belts in a C5...



Andy Pilgrim??

Nicest guy you'll ever meet...and an amazing driver!

VIR perfect line training video!

Bill Dearborn

The take up reel on both of my C5s would lock up immediately if I started the car quickly. One quick pop of the clutch driving through the paddock was enough to lock mine. On the 97 the passenger side shoulder belt wouldn't lock but on the 03 both of them would lock up by doing that.

Bill

sothpaw2

I think I've experienced that but I don't think it happens in turns or braking zones on course because the acceleration /decel is smooth as intended.

I guess I have to work on something of a knee cover anyway since hitting the speaker is annoying. Fixing the 2 take up reels won't help this.

boltvette

Angel Pads (www.angelwingstech.com) provide a lot more support for the lower body than you can get with just cinching down the belts, but don't help a lot with the upper body. We are working on a new version that includes padding for the ribcage area as well.

napacruzerc5

Installed harness and harness bar (Bray-Krause) with harness mounts from West Coast Corvettes on my C5. The side harness mounts allow you to remove the belts by unsnapping them from the mount; takes a couple of seconds for each side. Allows you to use your stock seat belts for the street. Same with the anti-sub-belt mount which I mounted on the front of stock seat tracks - these probably won't pass road race tech since most orgs want the anti-sub belt to come through the bottom of the seat but no problem with autocross.

On the cheap side and for autocross use only, I used to use a belt which I strapped around the seatback and my chest. Seatbelt material with velco on each end. Used to be made/marketed by autocross guru Dick Turner. Use with the stock belts helped keep you upright so you did not have to brace yourself with your left knee on the door sterio speaker grill and get "grill knee"

Cap'n Pete

Anybody know if the belts could be swapped out of a C6 without too much difficulty? Or is the mounting WAY off between C5 / C6?

I love the belts in my C6, because it has just a single ratcheting retractor, and the lap belt passing through the buckle, so you can reef the lap belt tight (pulling yourself down into the seat) and then pull the shoulder portion out to the limit to engage the ratchet effect, and have the belt holding you VERY tightly into the seat. I'm used to using either a CG Lock (in my '02 Camaro) and/or 5-point harness (in my '93 Camaro track car) so thought I might be disappointed by the belt system in the 'Vette, but to the contrary, I'm quite pleased.

If it could be retro-fitted into the C5 would be a wicked "upgrade" .

DRUGschnorr

Check out "cinch-Lock" ~$40 each .. issolates the lap belt from the sholder strap..

Bill Dearborn

I actually find the cinch mode of the C5 belt to be a little better than the C6 version. I could get the lap belt much tighter.

Bill

Cap'n Pete

How so?? With the C5, all you can do is pull the lap belt out to its limit so it clicks into "ratchet" mode, then feed the belt back into the retractor, and try to "push" as much belt in as you can while shoving yourself into the seat. It's hard to actually get it TIGHT though.

The C6 belt allows you to physically PULL up on the lap belt, while pushing your butt into the seat, which FORCES you down into the seat even more. And with the belt pulled to its limit, in ratchet mode, it'll HOLD in that position once the belt is fully retracted. The force of it A) holding me in the seat, and B) across my collar bone felt just about as snug as my 5-point! (except for the missing belt across the other shoulder, obviously ).

I found it frustrating driving the C5, because I was constantly slip-sliding around in the seat, WISHING there was a better option. I can understand every C5 owner's frustration, hence why I wonder if the C6's single-belt system could be installed?