New fasttrack is out and boy oh boy......

[Focus]

maybe we should move this to a new thread?

[JohnW8]

FYI, Harnesses aren't allowed in National Tours unless you have a roll bar that sits 2 inches above your helmeted head.

[Focus]

never heard that. good call i suppose. (i'm really thinking this could be a separate thread)
SOoooO... anybody tried those lap belt tightener things for stock seatbelts?

[TouringBubble]

You could just try giving the belt a quick yank to lock the spool and then click it in ... you'll be pretty secure that way. Less expensive than the accessory lock.

[mpcavana]

FYI, Harnesses aren't allowed in National Tours unless you have a roll bar that sits 2 inches above your helmeted head.

I think this applies to convertibles. Imagine trying to duck in the seat in a roll over and you can't move. Cars with hard tops have them. Carter and Dennis Sparks have them in their RX-8s.

[JohnW8]

You are correct Mike. My personal choice for harnesses is to have the rollbar or cage over my noggin. I've seen a few hard top cars with "sturdy rollover" protection, collapse. Be safer than sorry.

[mpcavana]

I've tried harnesses in a couple of cars and never felt comfortable autocrossing in them. Might be an acquired taste. They just didn't let me add body english to a turn.

TT and above they are a necessity.

[Focus]

I haven't tried it, so I wouldn't know how it feels. My seat belt is built and positioned in a way that I can't keep it locked. I'm not exactly falling out of the car, but I'm definitely bracing and steering with the wheel. If I had to shift it would be a bigger problem. Nobody here's used the add on lockers? Somehow I can't remember what they're called.

[Erv]

john is that a new rule? my old mr2 had harnesses and race seats without a rollbar

i agree though harnesses w/o rollbar = bad

[ZX3Focus]

Focus, do you mean the device that snugs down your lap belt but leaves the shoulder portion free?

I think that's called CG-Lock and SoloRacer has them for about $40. I've almost bought one to re-create the locked in feeling my old '68 Mustang's no-spring-loaded-anything seat belts had.

[Focus]

Hmmm. I seem to recall a similar feeling in a similar vehicle. But I think it had shoulder belts also. Now that I think about it, I did enjoy the connection and feedback that way.
And yes, that's the name! Thanks.

[g1teg]

You might try what Charles Booth taught me 15 years ago. In the Integra I wrap the shoulder belt around the posts of the headrest. On the lap belt I just twist it 2 or 3 times before clicking it in. That makes it feel very snug, like a 3-point harness.

[engled]

I adjust my seat one or two clicks back from where I want it then snap the shoulder belt so it will lock then slide the seat forward. This locks you in pretty tight, I think it was Debbie E. that showed me this.

[claym]

I take the seat belt connector that the belt slides thru (and connects to seat belt receiver) and pull up the lap belt slack and twist it about a full twist and a half and belt it in. That way, the lap belt is secure (doesn't slide in connector) and the shoulder belt portion is still loose (should be similar to what the CG Lock does). To make it tighter still, adjust your seat track back before belting, and then pull it forward which will tighten it further.

[mpcavana]

I received a note from a friend in the St. Louis Region.

Mike, I was reading the AL region forum. They seem to think that rule 3.3.1 concerning driver restraints in open cars applies only to National Tours. I really don't want to join another forum, so would please inform them that all provisions of Rule 3.3 including 3.3.1 are mandatory for all SCCA sanctioned events. I sure don't want to hear that someone in their region was hurt because they were mistaken about the rule.

These forums are pretty cool since people can see how other regions work.