Bmsluite

iTrader: (1)

As titled, need harnesses. I have increased the handling so much the main thing holding me back is, well, not being held back (ahhh puns). Not to mention my gf complains that we don't have harnesses in this car.

Is there any harness bar that is high enough to also act as a roll cage? Not really wanted to spend 2k but definitely willing to shell out $500 to be held in place (and to not make my gf scared she's going to get flung out of the car in her three point)

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

The 350Z is definitely fast enough that a full roll cage is needed. Harness bars won't do a thing for rollover protection and usually don't properly locate your shoulder harnesses. Do your GF a favor and spend more than $500 on a custom roll cage (and proper seat mounts) that fit you and your Z properly. She's worth it, right?

Bak3rme

iTrader: (1)

dk, if i could find a place that does custom for ~$500 i'd be all over it. I've checked 2 places up here in New england and they are quoting ~1k+ over email. I've sent them some ideas too and the they are just pictures of the kirk/autopower bolt in bars.

OP check out kirk and autopower bars. stay away from.....I'm not going to even name it b/c there is a high possibility people will purchase this hackbar

Bmsluite

iTrader: (1)

I saw the autopower bar and that's absolutely a consideration. I would definitely install that. I could get my bro in law to weld that in and just cut out the plastic necessary with my jig saw.

​​​​​​Do yiu have one installed? Or are you still shopping around like me?

Bak3rme

iTrader: (1)

been wanting one for a while, been waiting on a used one to pop up. I called kirk up beginning of summer and price has gone up to ~$900 shipped. 5+ years ago people could buy for under $600 shipped. They just don't stock em anymore and would be made to order nowadays. Autopower has weld in bar also. i was looking for bolt in application for now.

GreyZ

iTrader: (2)

So as DK said, harness bars are a area of car modification that is less safe than stock. In the event of a roll over, a three point allows you to lean forwards and avoid the collapsing roof. It also allows you to more slowly decelerate in a front impact and is helped with an airbag.

This is a relatively simple break down:
If you use harnesses, they need to be 5 or 6 point.
If you use harnesses you need neck restraint (Hans) and a full cage.

If the car is dual duty, is will be less safe on the street. You will need to heavily pad all bars with sfi padding AND you must keep the stock 3 point and use it on the street. Obviously there will be no airbags and will be more dangerous.


An alternative to this is getting a full bucket seat and still using the stock 3 point belt and airbags. A properly fitted fixed back seat will do alot even with the stock belts.

MicVelo

THIS. TOTALLY THIS. ^^^^^

GreyZ said it all but bears repeating: Don't make the mistake of assuming extra safety simply because you now have Simpson or Britax or whatever harnesses. They can be a killer if not associated with a proper SEAT and with the proper MOUNTING both hardware and angle of attack. Read the SCCA guidelines for harness installations starting here: https://www.scca.com/articles/200138...re-safe-secure

The key here is the 20-degree rule discussed here (an outtake from the SCCA GCR - General Competition Rules): https://dk1xgl0d43mu1.cloudfront.net...pdf?1507912180

Either way, have fun and do it right. Haphazard harness installations are worse than having "stock belts".

Bak3rme

iTrader: (1)

yes yes yes, HANS if using any sort of harness, and if any harness then roll bar. yes GreyZ, yessss.

yes all this information is right!

EDIT: sorry to hijack, anyone got a Kirk / autopower bolt in for sale? I guess 2 of them? one for me and one for OP? if ya'll only got one i guess OP can have dibs first since i'm hijacking? long shot...but its a shot..in the dark.

Bmsluite

iTrader: (1)

Understood about the harnesses and roll cages. I will forgo just a harness bar. I see the logic. Not that I ever plan to roll the car but will feel much safer in a cage. My old car had a cage and harnesses and I liked it a lot better. Felt much safer. My gf really liked that too.

At 1K for just the cage not even welded in I think I will have to bite the bullet and talk to my bro in law about just making a cage over the winter. His boss is filthy rich (he just spent $150,000 to make a giant slip and slide, no joke) and has a private race shop where he builds Baja trucks for fun. I'll talk to them and see if they could do it for me if I let them have some fun shooting around in the car. I don't particularly like asking family for help but in this case I will.

DarkZ03

iTrader: (11)

I've been debating the whole harness bar too, the Graphitti on looks decent but I honestly wouldn't use them often. There is a reason I ditched the stock seats, they are crap. The Recaro seats keep me planted but I'm not really racing and a full cage ain't happening so getting a harness bar and harnesses would be more of a show than go thing for me.

Bmsluite

iTrader: (1)

Couple questions Dark: how much were the Recaro seats? Are they comfortable enough for a few hour road trip?

IMO harnesses will do 90% of what expensive seats do but your bum doesn't go numb after an hour of driving.

Bak3rme

iTrader: (1)

Those recaro seats ain't cheap. might be worth a significant value of the car itself. I believe they are OEM from Nismo 370z/Juke

Could you explain what you mean by "harnesses will do 90% of what expensive seats do"? Do you mean they hold you in your seat given you have OEM seats using a harness vs running an aftermarket seat which doesn't pad enough on the bottom?
Harnesses are used on track and usually a part of a system that is composed of a roll bar (bar that extends above your head), helmet and HANs device. I would say the only component that could be used by itself is the helmet, other than that the full system is recommended.

Whenever I see harnesses being used without any sort of overhead protection, I don't think its too smart.

Bmsluite

iTrader: (1)

Yes, as far as holding me in place. Most racing seats are way to small for me. I can see why smaller people have trouble with OEM "sporty" seats. I do not. I am a big guy. I am a 6' 235 lb powerlifter. The OEM seats fit me like a glove. But they have to make them that big in order to fit people like me. Smaller guys probably get tossed around in a seat like that because it's too big for them. So for me, just adding harnesses in the car holds me in place.

I've not had a harness bar but I have had two cars with half cages in them with harnesses and it's a world of difference. I won't be adding a HANS because, well, I'm not running the 24 hour of Le Mans. I'm just shooting around twisty country roads and the occasional track day. I just don't like having to fight my own body's momentum while trying to drive. Once again, big guy, lots of getting thrown around.

Bak3rme

iTrader: (1)

Ok your application is a bit more clear to me now. If you want, you can start with a nice reclining seat with high bolsters to start, if you like how that fits and it serves the purpose for you well that is great. I guess that is why you asked about the recaros. To start, you can look at some Corbeau seats (their sportline models), they make nice reclining seats with high bolsters. I know Sparco has a few (R333 and Chrono) that are reclinable and have high bolsters to hold you in. Being a bigger guy you might want to see if you have a local race shop around that sells seats that you can try out (they might have only a few reclining seats with a majority being fixxed back). All of these are safe to use with 3-point OEM belt.

DarkZ03

iTrader: (11)

The Recaros are expensive, they are more comfortable than stock and actually hold you well IMO. I'm 6ft and about 200lbs so I'm not small per se, I've heard guys like Matt on smoking tire complain about the seats and I never thought about it until I got all my suspension and the PSS. At that point I no longer felt like the seats matched the car and were quickly changed. The thing I did to gauge those seats specifically were to go sit in a Nismo juke, which have the Sportster seats. I loved them so that's what I went with, I wanted to get the Nismo seats but they are over $5k from Nissan and all the used ones I found were trashed. Too much drama to get those to work for a decent price, I was going to go with the regular Sportster which ranges from $1000-1500 a seat but then they came out with the version I have. They are a European market seat and not available here, it matched what I wanted for color so I found a place that was selling them and imported them. In the end they were around $5k but I love them, they are my favorite mod to date. The seat doesn't have to be that expensive tho, Sparco, Corbeau, even Braum have good seats for good prices. I wanted Recaro because that's who OEMs go to, and I figure there is a reason behind that.

Bmsluite

iTrader: (1)

I did some lookin and found some bride reclining seats that weren't too bad. Once again worried about them attacking my kidneys like Chuck Norris when I drove.

Some something else interesting. Has anyone looked into used gt-r seats? There seems to be quite a few of those used on the market and they are even cheaper than new racing seats.

DarkZ03

iTrader: (11)

I believe they are still made by Recaro so they should be good, the only trick will be getting them in the Z. The Sportster aren't too aggressive in the kidney area area, it's more shoulder and thigh which is why you feel more secure in them. Go check out some used GTRs or Jukes and you can get an idea of those at least. You could try to find local guys willing to let you sit in their seats but it may be a bit hard with the current situation lol.

djnekkon

🤣 this

DarkZ03

iTrader: (11)

Eh, roll cages and coilovers are for TRACK cars, not street cars.... track cars aren't street cars either.

Bmsluite

iTrader: (1)

OH I am very aware. This is why my car is still sitting on its soft, long travel stock springs. I changed everything else of course. But a "soft" spring is so much faster, grippier, and more comfortable on bumpy streets than 1000 lb spring coilovers