Interior Exterior
Q:
Does anyone have some advice for installing 5 point harnesses in an Elise/Exige? Specifically, how did you install the crotch strap? Did you have to cut a slot through the bottom of your seat? How did you mount the crotch strap to the car?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
A:
I use different seats with harness holes, but the 6-point crotch straps I attached to a cross-bar attached to the seat rails. (actually i use fixed mounts, so 'rail' is not really true in my case)
Depending on the brand/type of harness it's also possible in some cases (this is how Lotus do it) to run the 6-point crotch straps all the way back under the seat and anchor them on the rear bolts that also attach the seat rail to the chassis beam.
Bye, Arno.
A:
Thanks! I never thought about running the crotch strap all the way back behind the seat. Good idea!
A:
Thanks! I never thought about running the crotch strap all the way back behind the seat. Good idea!
Actually, the Schroth instructions give details on how to mount the crotch strap, and that is not the recommended way.
Mine are attached to eye bolts through the floor (within the Schroth-specified location) and then through large plates on the outside of the floor.
A:
Actually, the Schroth instructions give details on how to mount the crotch strap, and that is not the recommended way.
Correct, but it depends on the manufacturer of the harness and the type of straps they use.
SCHROTH indeed design their belts to be mounted as close to vertical below the cutout as possible. Others like Sabelt and such do not.
Mine are attached to eye bolts through the floor (within the Schroth-specified location) and then through large plates on the outside of the floor.
Personally I would not do that. The floor sheet is only very thin, soft aluminium and the skin is not structural or held in place very strongly. I doubt it can handle the possible 7.5kN force exterted by the crotch strap in a crash.
If you do it this way I'd fit a long steel bar/plate that runs all the way between the chassis rails on each side of the car and use that as a load-spreader to transfer some of the load to the solid side beams of the chassis.
(oh.. And don't forget to coat the contact surface between the steel and the aluminium with Duralac to stop galvanic corrosion)
Bye, Arno.
A:
Both of these frames are from a 340R but the premise is almost exactly the same...
The top is close to the Elise frame (the cross member is different -- closer to the second picture but without the hole in the center of it).
The second pic is the 340R pax frame -- pretty much identical to our pax frame but with a hole in the cross member. I made my own hole to mimic the 340R frame.
Basically, the Elise frames lack the hole in the cross member -- and the crotch strap has to go pretty much right there. Now once I get the bars from Sector 111 I am not 100% sure if they go on top of the cross bar on below it. Below would make more sense to me (necessitating a hole) but perhaps above works. I don't want to create a pinch point and sandwich the harness between pieces of metal...
Dunno if that is any clearer.
A:
My concern is you only have four (small) bolts keeping you planted in the car. It would be nice to have both antisub and shoulder harness mounts to supplement the four (small) seat rail bolts. I'm going to try to put together an additional plate of steal with eyebolts welded to it on top of the seat rail behind the seat. I plan to bolt it to the seat rail. The antisubs (6pts) would then come around the side of the seat under each leg and up the crotch to the lock. The laps would secure the driver to the seat and the anti-sub and shoulder harnesses to the car.
A:
... Now once I get the bars from Sector 111 I am not 100% sure if they go on top of the cross bar on below it. Below would make more sense to me (necessitating a hole) ...
Yes, the Anti-sub bar is mounted below the cross member and yes, you will need to slot the crossmember. Lotus used this same Anti-sub bar config with the 340R. We just sized ours to fit with our OEM/reVerie seats.
A:
Yes, the Anti-sub bar is mounted below the cross member and yes, you will need to slot the crossmember. Lotus used this same Anti-sub bar config with the 340R. We just sized ours to fit with our OEM/reVerie seats.
Thanks Shinoo. Good to know the hard part is done for me already!
I'm surprised you don't sell the 340R subframes (pre-slotted).
Totally off topic, but have you seen the "double pod" gauge bracket on roadster-concept.de in some of his pics? Any chance you can get your hands on some or should I email Yvo?
Cheers.
A:
Thanks Shinoo. Good to know the hard part is done for me already!
I'm surprised you don't sell the 340R subframes (pre-slotted).
Totally off topic, but have you seen the "double pod" gauge bracket on roadster-concept.de in some of his pics? Any chance you can get your hands on some or should I email Yvo?
Cheers.
We already tried the 340R brackets and they don't fit the stock seat.
I've not heard of the double pod bracket. You'll probably get it quicker if you go direct. I'm headed to Europe in early Spring in search of the latest tasty treats....