For, but not with, harnesses

[MBB]

I specced the roadsport with inertial real seatbelts - intending to possibly fit harnesses at a later date. As I have reached the stage of the build of installing the boot cover I'm wondering if its best to:

1) fit as per instructions for inetial real, then refit when I fit harnesses (are the poppers for the tonneau in the same place as for harnesses?)

2) remove metal strip & place poppers as for the harnesses

3) remove metal stip, drill for harnesses then replaced (leaving the lether covering the hole)

 

Mark

 

Roadsport 125 SV build started

Photos on flickr

Build Diary

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Are you sure you want inertia reel seatbelts in a Seven ? First thing I binned when I bought mine (secondhand). Doesn't feel right/safe (although I'm sure they are safe) in this sort of car !

 

Harnesses are the way forward

 

 

[Paul McKenzie]

Unfortunately you've already got the inertia reels in the triangular box in the wheel arch, so you can't bin them immediately 😳, so just go ahead and fit them (as I did 😳) and the first time you go on track, curse yourself, put an order into CC, and fit the new harnesses

 

Paul

[MBB]

I did think about ordering with harneses, however when I test drove an SV at midlands I felt fine & snug even with the 3 pointer, plus the seven is my first forray into performance RWD (last RWD car was a jeep wrangler 😳) so my logic was not to get fully strapped in untill I'm used to the car.

 

My plan is to fit the harness at a later date once I'm more used to the handling & start pushing it a bit (maybe even a few trackdays) hence my question as to how to ensure the conversion is a simple as possible (ie just cut hole in leater & insert bolts, not redo the boot cover)

 

Roadsport 125 SV build started

Photos on flickr

Build Diary

[dalongbloke]

MBB.. I do not know ANY members who use an inertia seat belt. Sure, there must be some, but I've yet to meet/see/blat with them.

 

4 pointers really are the safer way to go in a 7. And I've NEVER been on a track.

 

Best of luck with the build.

 

Check out Hal... http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/dalongbloke

[Paul Richards]

Suggest you proceed with fitting inertia reel belts in the manner described in the build manual and then change to harnesses at a later date if you wish.

You can fit other after market full harness belts, some of which are considerably less expensive than the CC ones.

The position of the poppers is only crucial to ensure the boot cover is held nice and flat, so suggest you space so that they suit inertia or full harness. If you decide to get a tonneau cover at a later date, it will come without poppers and you can fit according to where you have positioned the male poppers.

Personally I'm not a lover of tonneau covers.

 

Paul Richards

Area Representative - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens)

LADS Website

Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

[Bricol]

Note - full harnesses are only any good if you do them up TIGHT. And how many peopl eactually do that on the road - bearnig in mind the jacket, the jumper, stuff in trouser pockets etc etc . . .

 

Bri

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

...... and tighten the bottom straps first across the tops of your legs. So tight you can't move. Then the buckle won't end up in the middle of your abdomen when you tighten the shoulder straps.

 

 

[peterg]

6 points are MUCH safer as that can't happen

[michaeljclark]

Wen I looked at getting a mine, I test drove CC South's Blue R300 which had a standard inertial reel belt.

 

It was OK but I new that a 4 or 6 point harness was the way to go.

 

My seZen has the 4 point harness and I do make sure its done up good and tight - the first few times, I got out of the car with sore shoulders but not any more. Note that if you do upgrade then I seriously suggest the Push Start Button upgrade, as once the harness is on you'll never get to the keys under the dash if you need to restart the engine in a hurry

 

Mike

 

07 Plated RoadSport SV 150 in Red with Black nose band and stripe

[charlie_pank]

Correctly used harnesses offer a level of safety above the inertia reel seatbelts. They are particularly valuable in a 7 because there's no airbag.

 

You say that you'd like to fit harnesses once you're used to the power and the RWD - surely it's before you're used to it that you're more likely to need the extra safety?

 

I've never driven a 7 with inertia reel belts, does it cause an issue under proper sharp braking & cornering? I can imagine getting thrown about a lot.

 

back here because I want to be.

[hendrixswhitestrat]

My 7 had inertias in when I bought the car and although safe they make you feel vulnerbale when cornering at high speed due to the level of 'give'.....

 

They lasted a month before I binned them for a 4 point harness, best mod I carried out to the car , especially if you have kids as co-pilots.

 

Save yourself the hassle later and upgrade now..promise you that you won't regret it

[myothercarsa2cv]

Would also recommend harnesses. They are comfy, more so than inertias.

For my build, I screwed the popper bases to the car rather than through the boot cover, and put poppers on the boot cover - that way you can take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on... very useful when trying to fit all the poppers round the edge!

Put one between each pair of harness mounts, and two in the middle. Done! Then when you come to fit the harnesses, rip off the boot cover, make the holes, and bolt down the harnesses.

 

John

_________________________

 

myothercarsa2cv

Bugsy: '82 2cv6 😬

Talloulah '08 1.6K Classic

[MartinWoodham]

take the metal strip out and throw it away then you don't have to worry about drilling it later. Just make sure that you don't put poppers where you'll eventually want to put harness bolts.

 

Martin

supersported ex-Roadsports B

[Ray Pearce]

Your #3 (remove metal strip, drill for harnesses then replaced (leaving the leather covering the hole)) seems like the best option but...

I'm not sure how wide the metal strip is in an SV but if it is like that of the S3 then it is not much wider than the size of the holes required. I'm fairly sure that my strip split into 3 pieces after drilling. Now, if you have some nice bit harness mounting bolts holding everything down then this doesn't matter much, but it might leave things a bit floppy for you until you fit the harness.

 

I too started with inertias but I added harnesses within a few weeks and have never used the inertias since. I don't understand why Caterham still offer the inertias and non-FIA rollover bar - both of these should be compulsory in my opinion.

 

[Lotus Boy]

When I bought my Seven (previously owned), it only had interia reel and I just felt like I would fall out of the car at any moment. My first upgrade was to fit a set of Harnesses and this was quite straightforward for me as the top bolt holes were already there in the chassis rail. If I am understanding your first post correctly, I would say build the car ready to accept harnesses.

 

Trust me, you will upgrade very soon...(if I were you I would fit harnesses now).

 

One thing I will say is that I find the passenger interia reel very handy for securing things like my big camera bag or taking children in the car. Took a friend's 8 year old boy out for a run at the weekend and the harnesses couldn't be done up tight enough to hold him in tight.

 

Cheers

 

David

 

 

[Doug]

You'll feel more 'part of the car' with harnesses and that's one of the main attributes of driving a Seven. It needs to be a part of you, so you feel what it's doing through the steering but also through the seat.

 

I agree with most here saying that they are miles safer too. Get it wrong and, though I don't like to think about it, roll it and the harness will keep you in place. Not sure inertia reel belts would...

 

'Have you any idea what it's like to have the wind rushing through your hair!' (Quote:Sq Cdr the Lord Flashheart)

[Alex Wong1697456877]

I wonder if a 4 point is any safer than 3 point. In an accident, with a 3 point, the lap belt is tightened by forward movement on the diagonal. With a 4 point, it isn't. Instead, it's pulled upwards. I never trusted a 4 point belt. It always seemed possible to end up submarining into the footwell. 6 point feels SO much more secure.

 

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[MarkyMarc]

MBB,

So the general consensus is to go for harnesses. Now let me throw a spanner in the works 😬

 

I upgraded to a 4-point race harness from an inertia belt; they are great but you really need a 6 point/crotch strap to feel secure. I don't intend to track my car so did not go down this route. Earlier this year I drove through France and was forever jumping in and out of the car - locating the lugs in the buckle became a real pain in the 🙆🏻.

 

I have now fitted road harnesses (here) and I really like them; quick and easy to put on, and I feel really snug in the car - far more than I did with the race harness. Would I use them on the track? Perhaps, but not if I was doing a lot of it. But for fast road use, I think they are perfect.

 

Have fun

Marc

 

Yellow flares and a X-flow - who said the 70's are over?

[myothercarsa2cv]

I started out with the road harnesses. Quite a good halfway house, really.

 

John

_________________________

 

myothercarsa2cv

Bugsy: '82 2cv6 😬

Talloulah '08 1.6K Classic

[Sigmamark]

A mate of mine has an MG SVR, which has inertia reel harnesses fitted. Now that really is a "half way house"!

 

As for having inertial reel belts in a 7, no seems like the right answer

[MBB]

Quick update (been away with work, so havent had a chance to do much on the build recently) - I'm going to keep the inertias untill after the SVA, then put some harnesses in.

 

Trying to work out how big a hole to drill for the harness bolts - or do I ditch the metal strip entirely. If I do remove it am I likly to get airflow under the front of the boot cover causing the cover to baloon during fast driving?

 

Roadsport 125 SV build started

Photos on flickr

Build Diary

[myothercarsa2cv]

You want the holes as big as the 'top hats' which the bolts go through (these are the stepped jobbies that allow the belt holder to rotate - sometimes!), so that they sit flush with the bulkhead. Just do it when you get the harnesses, including removing the metal strip, it's a five minute job to make the holes with a knife and some scissors. If you do as I suggested and make the whole boot cover pop on pop off, you can easily put it back on to check, double check and check again - you can remove more material, but you can't add it!

 

I don't have any issues with it ballooning - airflow in to the cockpit seems to be from behind so I don't think there'll be any problems there.

 

John

_________________________

 

myothercarsa2cv

Bugsy: '82 2cv6 😬

Talloulah '08 1.6K Classic

[tiddy1]

I run with both inertia reel and 4 point harness on the passenger seat. This is because it was not possible to use the car seat I had for the kids with a 4 point. They are bigger now and can use the 4 point so will probably tahe the inertia reel out

 

as to being safer see receint thread about being thrown out of 4 point harness

 

Simon

 

 

[Anton]

My passenger seat has both inertia reel and four-point harness fitted - my wife feels claustrophobic in the four-point.

 

But to make a case for safety with the inertia reel - my previous Seven rolled up a bank, through a small tree (probably because the nearside deDion ear broke) whilst i was wearing the inertia reel belt. It held me safely in although a witness in the car behind said I rolled at least three times. My injuries? - a cut nose and strained wrists (the steering wheel was a very odd shape after the crash).

 

Having said that, I do feel that the four-pointer holds you more solidly in place which, given the poor nature of many of our roads, should ensure you are controlling the car better.

 

LEO 3eggs

Another Slightly Vider SeVen