Awesome, but why did you install them in a bass boat?

 

I was going to make some adapter plates, preferring to do that over enlarging the holes on the stock rails. But after sketching out the plates I am not happy with how they will work out, so I am probably going to just enlarge the holes on the rails. That is unless I change my mind again.

 

Damn, busted. OK I admit it, I am not building a turbo Miata, I am building a bass boat. Gonna do 120 knots and beat those other bastards to the primo fishin' spots. Yeehaaaaa!!!

 

OK the passenger seat is in and looks pretty much the same as in the picture above. Drilling and grinding aside, I basically just bolted the stock rails to the bottom of the seat. I forgot to snap pictures of the rails so I'll get some later.

One thing I do not like about how it turned out is the way the seatbelt buckle has to go over the top of the seat on the inboard side, and not through the side brace hole in the seat. I tried a couple of things to make the stock seatbelt latch work but it is just not practical/safe. I did reroute the shoulder belt through the outboard Momo shoulder hole (looks good for pull direction) and routed the bottom outboard end through the lap hole in the Momo seat.

I think what I will do is try to find an OEM-style latch, connected to a bolthole buckle on the end, with a short piece of webbing running inbetween them. That way I could use the stock mounting point for the seatbelt latch on the seat rail, but run it through the hole in the Momo. It would also make it easier to switch back-and-forth from a racing harness. So far I have looked at Summit and did not see what I wanted. Anyone know where to get a latch like I am describing that fits the OEM Miata buckle?

 

Lookin good man!

 

Two options that might work:

Seat belt extender 6" rigid
Replacement Seatbelts, Seat Belts, Retractable Seat Belts, and Seatbelt Extenders @ SeatBeltsPlus.co: 6" Single Bend Angle Bracket Seat Belt Extender

or 12" webbing
Replacement Seatbelts, Seat Belts, Retractable Seat Belts, and Seatbelt Extenders @ SeatBeltsPlus.co: 12" Bolt-In Extender

They come with hardware and bolt between your existing belt and the car. Yes you can fab something, but at least these would be legal in a liability case. Of course, your seats may not so it may be a moot point.

 

fail.

If you're switching back and forth between harness and stock seat belt, you really need to be switch seats too. Find some more rails, bolt them back up to your stock seat, and put the other stuff in for track day, as comfortable as the Start is, your butt will still thank you for the hassle.

 

I just saw this thread and a couple of comments on the comfort of sprints and 5-points on the street.

Just want to say that my sprint has been very comfortable for me, even this week with a bruised *** from falling off my mountain bike . I've made multiple 200 mile trips in it and been fine.

As for the 5-points on the street, I've been pulled over 3 times with the harness and the cop never said a word about them, and merging isn't bad at all because of these great things called mirrors, although checking the blind spot is a tad more difficult, and when reversing I usually loosen the shoulder belts or just unstrap (I'm usually getting out of the car right after reversing anyways).

And I have my sprint bolted to the stock rails for adjustability's sake , but like people have said it is a little higher than I really want (still lower than stock), if I have some spare time and money I may try mounting the seat again and just bolting it to the floor, or making some kind of sidemount setup.

Resume play.

 

OK so I knew this one was coming too. More kitty cancer. I have seen the discussions on m.net about the certain death that will result from using a 3-point harness with a race seat and how only boneheads do this.

Not trying to be a dick here, but seriously, explain to me in detail the safety issues between what I am doing, and something like these...









Elise x2
Enzo
Veyron

If I am screwing the pooch here I would like to know it. But seriously, after thinking about the lines of force, and the basic seat layouts, I do not see the issue.

 

No one? I do want to know what to look out for when doing this if anyone knows for sure.

At the last track day I talked to at least one guy that DDs his race seat (Sparco, non-tilting) with a stock 3-point when not on the track. From a practicality standpoint he said it was fine. Not crash tested though as far as I know.

 

Should be fine? Unless the upperstrap is into a position where it snaps your neck, or the angle of the bottom bucket submarines you.

 

Good points. I had looked before at the upper strap and it is routed the same way (almost exactly) as it would be with the stock setup so I think I am OK there.

I did not think about submarining, but the seat has the same upward tilt (tilts up toward the front of the car) as the stock seat. Plus the lap belt is positioned in the same place. The Momo also has the same type of concave-shaped butt depression (whatever it is called) as the stock seat. So I am thinking I am probably OK on submarining too.

 

ZX...I actually like that color. I once painted a '65 Thunderbird Midnight Torino Teal, and loved the boat. You could actually fish off that one.



On the 3 point w/ race seat, as long as you run it through the Momo's holes you should be fine. I'm sure it won't secure you well enough AROUND the seat. I've seen a lot of ricers do this, but it seems to work.

 

http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/2...structions.pdf

ZX,
Good harness reading in the link above.


Chris

 

The three point is fine as long as it is snug against your body and gives you some wrap around. Ideally you run the door side lap through the opening in the seat, then figure a way to run the latch through on the console side. The issue with the three point and many race seats is the lap portion of the belt spans across the seat and your lap, not wrapping snugly against it. This can allow you to submarine in an accident.

Most tuner seats are cut lower on the sides than true race seats so the three point is still low and wraps around you. Notice in all those car seats you have pictured there is no hole in the side of the seat for the lap belt. They are all cut low.

 

Totally agree. I have seen some installed with the lap belt going over the top of the bucket and do not like that at all for the same reason you mentioned. I have the outboard side of the lap belt routed through the hole in the seat. I just need to figure out something for the inboard side (where the latch is at) then I should be OK.

Good link Maniac, thanks

 

I've never talked to a Forza owner who was happy with them. Uncomforable and crap. I'm sure there are exceptions out there but I'm about 10 for 10 in first hand conversations.

 

Must be why I just scored one super cheap on CL.

Forza and Sabelt camlock for $100. <= Patience pays.

If I have to replace it later with a Momo I won't be heartbroken...I'll just put the Corbeau on my wifes side.

 

The harness and seat were a screaming deal at $100. Well done. Most of the Forza owners I've talked to also said it was an interim seat until they had the cash or desire to get something better. It'll get the job done until you want to upgrade.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention before... Based on measurements from the hard top ceiling down to the top of the seating area, the Momo with the stock rails is within 1" (or less) of the stock seat height. I have only done the passenger side so far, but when I sit in it, the height is great IMO. Also, the shoulder protrusion, even without trimming, does not hit the door. It is reeeallly close, but they are not rubbing.