Very soon in the next couple of weeks ill be putting in the roll bar, seats, and harnesses that I have for the bimmer, and was wondering if anyone had any good links or knew how to properly mount harnesses.
I need specifics, im not dumb and have a decent amount of mechanical knowledge so I know im doing eyelets with a 4x4 backing plate for the lap and sub belts, I knwo the correct mounting diagrams for doing the shoulder belts, but I would like someone with experience to help me with finding a good place to drill for the lap and sub belts to make proper angle for safety in an E36. If not, ill just pay RRT to install the harnesses, id rather pay 100 bucks to get the angles right then just start drilling holes in my car.
And before anyone says it, no I will not just mount the harnesses to the seat bracket, im a person that likes it done right despite any "it did fine".
2020 Ford Raptor
2009 Z06
1986.5 Porsche 928S
I agree with not mounting the lap belts to the seat mount, however I have a hard time believing there is anything wrong with mounting the sub belt to the seat mount (as long as you don't have some cheap shit Chinese seat mount).
Call Kaan Canturk.
1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442
Rex, I was thinking the same thing lol.
Dave, how do you view the sub belt any different? Just wondering as im not too good on safety info. I viewed the sub belt as a way to prevent the lap belts from moving too far up in a crash, and the reason why you dont want the lap belts bolted to the seat mount is if the seat mount fails. So if the seat mount fails and the sub belt is connected, it is no longer doing its job keeping the lap belts in place. Maybe im wrong as to the purpose and why it matters? Are you doing sub belts on your Z?
I have some 1/2 to 3/4 inch aluminum mounts (overkill) so im not too worried about the mount.
2020 Ford Raptor
2009 Z06
1986.5 Porsche 928S
I made something similar to this:
![[Image: r9130.jpg]](http://www.bkauto.com/corvette/images/r9130.jpg)
Your sub belt would essentially be mounted to seat mount studs of the car. (I'm not sure if you're trying to avoid this too, or just avoid using the car-to-seat bracket) The above is designed to go between the seat track/mount and floor. It's made by Brey-Krause and I see some E36 mounting brackets for using the stock seat belt mounts for a clip-in harness but nothing for the sub belt on their site...
Ultimately, wouldn't where you mount the sub belt depend on your specific seating position and less on the car or even where somone else with your same car did it? I know my belts called for something like 20 degrees behind the chest line as drawn through the buckle and, of course, not using the floorboard. The mounting point should depend on your specific for/aft and incline position of the seat. If the proper mounting location according to the angles is not suitable (strong enough) then you make it suitable.
Current: 1985 LS1 Corvette | 2014 328i Wagon F31
Former: 2010 Ford Edge | 1999 Integra GS
I have a little bit of a rub near lock but if you are turned to lock on a track there are other problems already...
By no means am I a safety expert; as stated above, Kaan would be the best person on the forum to guide you. I also do not take the easy button unless it makes good sense (unnecessarily endangering my life isn't one of them).
The case for my car is probably significantly different from yours. When I had my seats, harnesses, and rollbar installed, the floor panel was old, rusty, and crusty - not exactly ideal for integrating a backing plate into. Therefore, the seat mounts were built with a provision to have an eyelet for the harnesses to hook to.
This really doesn't bother me for a few reasons. A) The sheet metal that is the floor of a Z would need a considerable amount of reinforcement to provide an adequate mounting point for a harness. Comparatively, you're working with 26 years of progress on your car... B) I view the sub belt as a supplemental restraint. I feel that the shoulder and lap belt will 9 times out of 10 hold you firmly into your seat when properly adjusted. The sub belt comes in on that other 10% (or less) and supplements the restraint system to ensure that your torso doesn't slip out from under the lap belt. Even if the seat somehow sheared away from its mounts and is able to "float" in the car, your body is not going to be capable of coming out of the seat because there's a piece of reinforced fabric running between each limb. C) Piper did it knowing that the car is being built to race. I honestly trust their judgment more than my own in the area of harnesses and rollbars.
