there is no use for a 4 point on the street, period, and if you want to run the risk of driving without an OEM seat belt in the car… you risk having your car pulled off the road in an instant, you will then have to get your car E tested again, and a new safety - which is a great waste of time and money.
im sure if you go to the police station and ask an officer to examine your car and or tell you what is legal or not… he or she will most definitely tell you that your OEM belt is all that is legal - and if he or she says other wise, get it in writing and, the officers information, so that in the event that you do receive a ticket, you have clear evidence that you had consent by an officer - but once again - that is a big waste of time and effort to wear an uncomfortable harness on a street car lol
Ill ask some of the guys at out shop to see if anyone can clarify. But we have all been pulled over in the rally cars numerous times wearing only the OMP harness and no tickets.
Even when tickets are given for stuff such as “improper muffler” we havent go a seatbelt ticket… it is possible we have just been lucky though
very possible, i have had incidents where i have received a ticket for something minor when there was clearly many more violations i had, and these were stated by the officer - ie: muffler ticket with exception of, car was too low, rubbing wheel wells, no air bag, (aftermarket wheel) etc -
im sure he could have given me 5 tickets but, one is enough to learn your lesson and get your shit fixed haha - but for some people i guess not -
the only person to ask is a police officer, get your consent, and go for it - even if you have consent, you may still get a ticket - we all have loud, obnoxious mufflers and we already know they are illegal, and we still do it and hope not to get pulled over - so who knows?
Ever try to shoulder check with a 4-point that is tightened down to the point where it’s actually an effective restraint system? That should give you a good idea about whether it’s a good idea or not, legality aside.
Also, you mentioned you want to do this because the factory seatbelt mounts are rusted to the point that they’ll fail in the event of an accident? What the fuck kind of shape is your car in, and why is it still on the road? Fix the issues with the chassis, don’t just bandaid it with a “cool” harness so you can ignore the fact that your chassis is a rusted pile of shit.
from postion that harness goes through the seat it should Not exceed a 10 degree angle heading towards its mount point downward or in case of accident at high impact forward it will crush you down into your seat causing even more damage… why harness bars were invented. with the use of a harness bar you can then mount it down more since the force will travel straight back over bar then downward to mount
The car is on its last few years there is no two way around that. Why do you think its getting turned into a track car at some point? I put 2 years of body work into it so yeah it has seen worse days. I wanted the harness to kill 2 birds with one stone. One it was something I was going to put into the car someday anyways, and two it would cancel the need to repair the seat belt bracket. I think my car would have been one of the worse 240’s on the road in Toronto had I done nothing to it.
Thanks Chris that makes a lot of sense too. I guess taking my chances with a wheel in the face is better then my lungs around my ass. lol
I have never been in a car with a 4 point harness so I don’t know how it feels or what its like. This is why I asked people here.
The other side of things is I did my research and turned up no information about this. None from a reliable source anyways. Further more you can’t just take a cops word on anything and wright some info down about them. Unless you can get a hold of a clear document stating that it is legal it will never hold up in a court of law.
I will just wait until I take it off the road completely and turn it into a track car. Then I will put a proper harness in. I really appreciate the help guys thanks.
welcome dude… my plan in spring is to have buckets in cage and 5 point harnesses on street… legal or not… then take car to shop and have it re safetied with pictures of how car sits and have it all in the car in an envelope… if cop gives me hassel Ill just show him the documents stating that it is indeed safe an legal…
Say you were to sit lower then the top of your racing bucket, without a cage in a roll-over, strapped in by a harness…would the consequences be the same?
Possibly, unless you just slide out the bottom. Also, if the lap belt doesn’t go across your pelvic bone you’re in for some massive internal damage in a high G impact. Even with 3-point OEM belts.
There are a lot of reasons not to do it in a street car, above and beyond questionable legality. If you choose to do it, it’s at your own risk, and “don’t say we didn’t warn you”.
IMO, safety issues aside, it’s just a huge PITA. A good racing seat/bucket makes shoulder checking annoying, harnesses worn properly make it damn near impossible.
Try to shoulder check properly with someone holding your shoulders flat against the seat.
I don’t wanna sound like a negative nancy, I’m just trying to be the voice of reason.
Pete the reason I ask is strictly for track. I would never bother using a harness for street use.
Mainly the fact that I slide around in my stock seat to much. In a bucket the harness holds me in nicely both shoulder straps and lap strap. Next year, say without a cage, I plan to have a bucket and harness in my car, but am considering/figuring out the consequences of a crash and/or flip without a cage.
I care not about the car itself, more me. S13’s are dime a dozen…even 180’s. So I couldn’t care about my roof collaspsing, more of if I’ll be fucked.
Personally, I wouldn’t run the risk. Even just get a half cage, it’ll keep the roof from caving in directly over you, and stiffen up the car.
3-point harnesses let you slip out the free shoulder side when the roof collapses, putting your body towards the middle, lower portion of the car, keeping you “safer”… A 3 point just keeps you held solid so that your head can try to support the roof as it comes down.
People do it, and are fine doing it, but it’s just a risk I wouldn’t take myself.