General Chat
Q:
hey everyone!!!
i wonted to know two things. is it true that the stock seat belts that came in the z unsafe. if so, is it possible to put harness in with a roll bar if i were to keep the stock seat? or do your have to get new seats.
thank you for your imput!!!!!
A:
Very unsafe. The ones in the ZX will not hold you in the seat during hard cornering, and that makes them unsafe by default as far as I'm concerned.
Ken
'82ZX n/a 2+2
'02 Sportster XL1200C
A:
You will most likely need new seats to allow for the shoulder belts. Keep in mind that the safest ones (race style) are not DOT approved which means although they are safer, you could technically get a ticket for having them in your street car, if you can believe that sh!t.
Schroth has a DOT approved belt, but I don't like it. I had them in my car for a while and the two shoulder belts are stitched to the lap belts with a standard buckle in the middle and sinch down adjustments for the shoulders. The trouble is that it's difficult to get your arms out without releasing the tension on the shoulder belts and I'm just talking about day to day stuff, not trying to exit a wrecked vehicle, or a vehicle on fire, and I'm a skinny guy.
http://www.soloracer.com/harnschrothfaq.html
Post Edited (Nov 30, 4:33pm)
A:
The lap belts on the old cars work great for restraining your pelvis, but not so great for restraining your melon. Thats what the huge horn button on the steering wheel was for I guess. I have the Schroth 4 point harnesses and they are very good at holding me in my seat, but as Gearhead said, they are a pain when your trying to reach for the heater controls, radio, check your blind spots or scratch an itch. So you have your choices, smashed melon or be one with the seat and have no access to the rest of the car. I plead guilty to driving around with the shoulder belts loosened up so I can have some mobility, but it kind of defeats the purpose of having them.
As for the seats, it is possible to use the stock seats with shoulder harnesses, but its not the ideal way to do it. You should be able to find some conservative performance seats that will do the job, and if you want to spend the cash you can get them custom covered in vinyl or leather to match the old seats, but its gonna be $!
'73 Turbo, not much stock. Sold now... :-(
A:
Okay, I'm wondering what you can't reach in your Z from the driver's seat with either a 4/5/6-point harness on?
Granted with the shoulder straps on the right way (tight) you can't reach over and get something off the passenger side floor or turn around and reach for something in the hatch area (not behind the seats) but further back. The passenger seat, the controls, and the console are all accessible.
Are you guys all tall and have the seat all the way back or is your seat not in the right position (closer is better)?
You should be able to both A) release your shoulder strap tension easily and B) get out of your harness as fast if not faster than a stock seatbelt set-up.
I find the real hassle is doing up the belt each time I make mulitple stops in a short period of time. That said there is nothing like being planted in place without having to even think about moving around when in a tight corner or corners.
'72 w/3.2L - Cobra seats & SafeQuip 5-point belts, rollbar
A:
I agree with 240ZG. I have four points in and i can barely reach anything in my passenger seat. I would rather have the hassle of tightening my belts all the time, than having to worry about getting thrown into the door during a hard turn.
-John
Absolute Z Club
L.A./Orange Counties
73 240, PnP E88, webers, coil-overs, 17's, "Bolt-In Power Steering", train horns; you know, the norm... "Yea its green, but the chicks love it"
A:
ahhhh good to be 17 some times...........i can take turns as sharp as i want and stay right in place with the stock seat belt :P
'74 260z TURBO
'86 300zx N/A (SLOW!)
"All your base are belong to us" - God
Suck. Squeez. Bang. Blow.
A:
All I'm saying is that the schroth belts in the link that I put in my first post are NOT easy to get out of on a good day, but they are street legal. Heaven forbid you end up with a broken arm or upside down, you will not be able to undo your belts yourself.
The real race type where all four or five buckle in individually is the only way to go, but they are NOT street legal. With this style you can get out easily and fast with one hand.
http://www.crowenterprizes.com/shop_product.asp?sku=1110
My .02¢
Post Edited (Dec 1, 7:23am)
A:
A racing harness in a street car is a dumb idea for the reason Brian states above and this:
http://www.betamotorsports.com/benchracing/gridroutine.html
- John
A:
Totally disagree re: dumb idea.
No airbag, thirty year old selt webbing, no upper chest protection. I've been in three 60mph plus crashes in street cars (one was an SUV- stock belts don't stop you from going up) w/racing harness. None had airbags and I survived all three. A small hassle, yes.
A:
I never found it to be all that difficult......you don't snug the shoulder belts down as tight, and if you forget to close the door, just reach out with your left foot and hook the door from the bottom :-) Besides, if you need to reach over to the other side of the car for something, you should stop anyway.....who's driving while you are reaching??
I did have a female inspector once (read man-lady with a bill fold in her back pocket) who couldn't figure out how to buckle them, but she didn't fail it.
Ken
'82ZX n/a 2+2
'02 Sportster XL1200C