I'm sure this has been asked and answered but in my minimal searching I didn't find anything satisfactory and I know we all love showing off our knowledge anyway so here goes :

I'm looking to add 6 points to my C7 z51 but don't know the best way to go about it. With no slit in stock comp seats (thanks o-chevy!) I know I'm gonna have to get after market so any suggestions?

I really would prefer all airbag function remain intact and have the seat still be on rails (as I am 5'0 and my boy friend, who may occasionally have to drive me home from a weekend night out, is 6'0)

Also the drive to and from track is generally about 3.5 hours each way so, although they don't need to be lazy boys, I'd prefer at least a few degrees off of straight up and down. Not all that worried about padding though, I have enough of that built in

 

You are going to need a harness bar. There are lots of discussions in the Autocross & Roadracing forum. I recommend going to Vetteworks http://www.vetteworksonline.net/ and getting a C7 Sharkbar. You will also need a lap belt bar, which you can also buy there. From there, just pick your favorite 6 point harness.

 

oh for sure, that goes without saying, but im not gonna install a harness bar until i know i can get harnesses comfortably and safely working in there. Sharkbar is next on my list though!

 

Here is what I recommend. First read the Schroth Competition Belt Instalation Instructions https://www.schrothracing.com/docs/C...structions.pdf . They are the most detailed instructions you will find and provide several ways to mount belts and also tell you which methods do not work. They also give you clear instructions on how to wrap your belts around a bar so they won't come loose in an incident.

Here is my setup. Schroth Profi II ASM belts. They can be used as 4 or 6 point belts. I mainly use them as 4 point belts because their antisubmarine technology works. Shark Bar harness bar and BK Lap Belt mounts. If you purchase the correct version of the Profi IIs they will also be DOT certified and legal for use on the street.

However, there are some organizations that haven't recognized the 4 point ASM system yet so you easily add sub belts. My lap belts are mounted to BK lap belt mounts that are fastened to the stock lap belt mounts on the seat. These mounts are also wide enough that I can mount my sub belts there and then sit on the sub belts as shown in the Schroth Competition Instructions as the Formula arrangement. Although the formula arrangement is mainly for a reclining seat style like you would see in single seat open cockpit cars (Indy, Formula 1) it will also work on a regular upright seat back.

Buy either the BK or Sharkbar harness bars. The BK bar has two shoulder belt mounting locations. One low for the stock seats and one high for an aftermarket race seat. After lots of measurements I went with the Sharkbar which has a very low mounting point. The problem with the Comp Seats is the shoulder belt pass throughs are about 4 inches too low. I am 5'10" and with a HANS on my shoulders are almost too high for the belts to pass cleanly through the holes to the Sharkbar I am using. To be sure they are unobstructed in their path from my shoulders to the Sharkbar I tilt the seat back forward some when driving.

If you are tall that is where the BK bar comes in. Above a certain height your shoulders will be above the holes in the stock seat and will need to install a race seat. That is where you go with the BK bar since it has that high shoulder belt mounting point. Another factor is if you eventually plan on going to a race seat then start with the BK bar.

I do not recommend the lap belt bar that is attached to the rear seat mounting studs. It doesn't mount the end of the lap belts far enough outward so they tend to wrap around the bottom of the seat at the rear before going over your lap. This puts them at a bad installation angle. If you read the Schroth Competition instructions you can see the angle the lap belts are supposed to mounted. An improper lap belt mounting angle may have been a contributing factor in Dale Earnhardt's death. With the lap belt sort of wrapping around the back of the seat the seat also becomes part of the lap belt restraint system and in a crash where forces can exceed 3000 lbs will that part of the seat hold up well enough to prevent the lap belt from having several inches of slack?

Another problem with the lap belt bar is the sub belts are passed through between the seat bottom and the seat back. A picture showing how they are mounted also clearly shows how that mounting may have damaged the belts. Both belts in the picture have been pinched by something and the fabric damaged to the point they should be replaced.

When I was looking at purchasing the lap belt bar I probed between the seat bottom and the seat back with my hand and felt sharp points that might damage a belt caught by them when the seat back was locked into place.

Bill

 

And of course if you'll ever have an instructor, coach, passenger in the right seat, most organizations require "similar restraints" for both seats.

So....get a similar harness setup for the passenger seat as well.

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Yes the organizations i drive with allow 4 point and yes you have to have equal passenger setup. My boyfriend has the 4 point setup but id really rather have an actual anti-sub strap in place. The problem still remains that i don't have a slot to feed the 5th and 6th point through. I don't want to mess up my seats by feeding it through the front (im sure the rubbing would mess them up) and even though ive seen them fed through between the seat and the back, ive also heard that that setup isnt completely safe.

Im really just trying to find a seat that would meet my needs. Im will to replace the seats but i want to make sure they are on rails and preserve airbag function

 

Running the sub belts over the front seats is worse than not running them at all. They pull the lap belt away from your lap and go over a flexible pad that just provides more capacity for slack in the belts in an incident.

As I mentioned you can use sub belts by sitting on them and attaching them to the lap belt mounts along side the seat. This set up works.

Bill

 

Take a look at the Jet Pilot harness - you get excellent anti-submarine protection without needing to run the crotch straps through the seat. The Jet Pilot anti-submarine straps are explained here (they just spell "rappelling" wrong!!):

Take a look at this site for more info:

http://www.vetteworksonline.net/cata...products_id=68

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Yes, basically the same thing I was saying to do with the Schroth ASM belts (https://www.hmsmotorsport.com/products/profi-ii-asm )although they don't give the option to go 4 points only like the ASM belts. I like the 4 point system as it makes it a lot easier to take passengers for rides. Sub belts aren't easily adjusted and if you have a race seat the adjusters are under the seat and almost impossible to adjust in a few minutes while waiting to go on track. The 4 points just like any other belt system from 3 point to 9 point need the lap belt put in the proper place across the pelvic girdle, then tightened, then inserting the shoulder belt ends into the connector and tightening the shoulder belts. That makes it a hell of a lot easier to get a passenger into the seat and the belts fastened quickly. When I had the race seats in my C6Z I don't know how many times the sub belts were either too tight or too loose causing lap belt issues both ways. Try taking a 220 pound guy for a ride followed by taking a 110 pound woman for a ride with the sub belts set for a 180 pound person. To see how the ASM system works check the Schroth Crash test video(https://www.hmsmotorsport.com/docs/SchrothASMII.wmv ).

Bill