• From: Seattle-ish
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 141

Topic: Mounting a 6-point harness

I am looking at how to mount our 6-point harness leg straps. Our harness has standard bolt plates on all ends (except shoulder straps). Do we want/need to use eye bolts and snap plates for the lower leg straps? Or can you just bolt these in and slide your legs in during driver changes? It seems like eye bolts and snap plates would be faster except the need to wire or use a cotter pin.

How do most teams bolt in the lower leg straps on a 6-point harness?

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Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

Are you talking about the submarine straps?

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  • From: Seattle-ish
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 141

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

Yeah, I'm wondering about the submarine straps. I assume that the waist belt ends will bolt to the stock seatbelt anchor points.

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  • From: NH
  • Registered: 2010-01-20
  • Posts: 3,299

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

Just bolt them to the floor with the appropriate spreader plates and hardware. They need to mount behind the opening in the seat.


I"m confused why you're asking about sliding your legs in, the anti-submarine belts should just lay forward on the seat while you jump in and out, and you pull them up between your legs when you're connecting everything together.

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  • From: Columbus, OH
  • Registered: 2009-05-26
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Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

The 6-point buckles just like a 5-point, essentially.  The two straps just help keep it off your family jewels.  Both straps disconnect when you unlatch the belt so you don't need to worry about sliding into anything.

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  • From: Austin Texas
  • Registered: 2013-01-06
  • Posts: 293

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

TE is correct, bolt them thru the floor with spreader plates.  The unlatch when the driver releases the belt just like the shoulder and lap belts.   If  your worried about when you move the seat (sliding for other drivers) you may need to install 2 sets of sub belts or adjust them smaller/larger depending on the driver.  If you would rather save time in pits/driver changes put in 1 sub belt for shorter drivers and a second for taller ones.  You still have to thread the belts thru the seat in our case but not sure about the 2 sub belt config,

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  • From: Seattle-ish
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 141

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

Clearly I screwed this one up by either over- or under-thinking it. I was looking at pictures of my belts laid out on my garage floor and got the straps all mixed up. I was thinking that both crotch straps tied into the buckle for that sides' waist belt. Now I see that both anti-sub belts are tied together and come up through the cutout in the seat to one buckle.

So now that I realize this thread is a cluster, let's start over.

If both anti-submarine belts on a 6-point harness come up through the same cutout, don't they have the same nut-crushing potential as a 5-point? Seems to me that this setup was supposed to work with a seat that has two holes or one wicked wide one. I called the belt maker and they said that passing them through a single seat cutout is normal. Is this normal? Should I elongate the cutout in the seat to let the straps spread out?

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  • From: Tustin, CA
  • Registered: 2010-12-30
  • Posts: 3,275

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

I wouldnt elongate the center hole.  The holes on my kirkey are much farther apart and rearward.

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9 Reply by TheEngineer (edited by TheEngineer 2014-06-30 10:29 AM)

  • From: NH
  • Registered: 2010-01-20
  • Posts: 3,299

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

Don't mess with the seat cutout. Just run them through the existing hole and don't worry too much about them.

What harness do you have? The Pyrotect that I had would just lay them like a 5 point, but the scroth that I have now actually separates them at the camlock and makes them spread out a little more. Either way just run them like a 5 point and secure in the correct location.

edit to show the difference
http://www.schrothracing.com/pimg/sm/16.5.Profi.3.B40.jpg

vs

http://www.vetteworksonline.net/catalog/images/pyrotect6pt.gif

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  • From: Seattle-ish
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 141

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

They are made by RJS Racing. The anti-sub belts are 3" and connect together just like the Pyrotech setup (no spreader plate at the buckle).

3" of belt x2 straight down through one hole will feel just like a 5-point during a high speed deceleration. Oh well, live and learn.  Thanks for the replies.

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  • From: NH
  • Registered: 2010-01-20
  • Posts: 3,299

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

The anti-sub belts shouldn't be super tight. They shouldn't be loose, but they shouldn't be crushing things. You want your lap belts to be doing most of the restraining, while the shoulder belts hold your upper body in place. If the lap belts are appropriately tight you shouldn't be able to slide under anyway, the anti-sub belts are just there as an extra precaution.

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12 Reply by racerxr (edited by racerxr 2014-07-01 10:31 PM)

  • From: Dallas, Tx
  • Registered: 2012-03-15
  • Posts: 700

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

A properly adjusted anti-sub belt routed correctly through a fixed racing seat with standard upright seating angle is designed to keep the lap belt positioned properly across your hard boney pelvis and not around your soft squishy belly full of delicate organs.  This is why it is critical to tighten your lap belt first and then your shoulder belts.  The anti-sub belt shouldn't actually restrain you by your junk.  If you can feel the submarine belt pressing against your junk, you are too big for your seat, or something is routed or installed incorrectly.

Why do you have a 6 point harness?  Is your seat angle (seat back to base) reclined noticeably?  If not, a 5 point harness or 5 point configuration of your current harness should be sufficient.

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  • From: NH
  • Registered: 2010-01-20
  • Posts: 3,299

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

I might be wrong, but I was told that belts need to be 6-point to get FIA certification? Since some tracks (NJ) don't give SFI belts a full 5 years I know a lot of people go for FIA belts.

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  • From: Vermont
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  • Posts: 301

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

TheEngineer wrote:

I might be wrong, but I was told that belts need to be 6-point to get FIA certification? Since some tracks (NJ) don't give SFI belts a full 5 years I know a lot of people go for FIA belts.

5 point belts can also be FIA certified, they don't have to be 6 point. Here's just one example:

http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-pro-se … ck-harness

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  • From: NH
  • Registered: 2010-01-20
  • Posts: 3,299

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

piper.gras wrote:
TheEngineer wrote:

I might be wrong, but I was told that belts need to be 6-point to get FIA certification? Since some tracks (NJ) don't give SFI belts a full 5 years I know a lot of people go for FIA belts.

5 point belts can also be FIA certified, they don't have to be 6 point. Here's just one example:

http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-pro-se … ck-harness

And I've been proven wrong.

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  • From: Seattle-ish
  • Registered: 2014-03-17
  • Posts: 141

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

racerxr wrote:

Why do you have a 6 point harness?

I didn't realize that the anti-sub belt was more about keeping the lap belts positioned. I figured it was their to keep you from sliding under them, nards be damned. Given that choice, I figured thighs bruises would be a better option so I bought a 6-point.

I think we're cool here. I'll just mount them as prescribed and stop sweating about my nuts. Thanks a ton guys.

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  • From: Duxbury, MA
  • Registered: 2014-11-05
  • Posts: 51

Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

Yes. The diagram is accurate but irrelevant to your question. A 6 point harness is not any safer than a securely mounted 5 point harness. The intent of the 6 point harness is to increase comfort across the boys in the event of an impact. However, the way most 6 points have to get routed through a single hole in the seat, much of the V separation gets lost anyway. Tech explained it as saying both a 5 point and a 6 point are perfectly safe and legal, therefore mounting a 6 point in a 5 point configuration is perfectly viable, as long as the mounting point has an appropriate spreader plate and attachment.

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  • From: South Jersey
  • Registered: 2013-12-01
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Re: Mounting a 6-point harness

TheEngineer wrote:
piper.gras wrote:
TheEngineer wrote:

I might be wrong, but I was told that belts need to be 6-point to get FIA certification? Since some tracks (NJ) don't give SFI belts a full 5 years I know a lot of people go for FIA belts.

5 point belts can also be FIA certified, they don't have to be 6 point. Here's just one example:

http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-pro-se … ck-harness

And I've been proven wrong.

The link appears to be dead.

My next belt will be a 6 point just to get 5 years out of it with the FIA Cert.  They can be had for about the safe money as an SFI only rated one, so why not.

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