Harness Bar

[diirk]

Anyone know of a harness bar for the BRZ/FRS, or plans for one?

I did see mention that Sparco might be designing one, but nothing has been verified.

[RedLeader]

With pretty much unusable rear seats (at least more normal humans), it'd be pretty easy just to pay someone to weld a bar across the B-pillars. I think that'd be cheaper and just as effective, though hard to sell the car later if you did that.

[diirk]

I hear ya. I'm not a big fan of permanent mods. I could make my own, but wanted to see what was available on the market first.

[xwd]

There is a JDM vendor who makes a B-pillar reinforcement bar you could probably wrap harnesses around but if I remember it had a fairly small diameter.

Another option is take out the rear seats and figure out something you can do in the trunk area. I don't think a rear strut bar mounted to the two strut bolts would be strong enough.

Another option is the Schroth Rallye 3 which has a single rear attachment. I bought one of those.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=391673

What do you need the harnesses for?

[FT-86 SpeedFactory]

Please for your safety do not use a harness bar.

1. Full Cage with correct Harness

2. A Schroth ASM system in a street car.

[diirk]

Originally Posted by FT-86 SpeedFactory

Please for your safety do not use a harness bar.

1. Full Cage with correct Harness

2. A Schroth ASM system in a street car.

Can you share some clarification on the safety aspects of this? While I realize that a harness bar is not a roll cage, how is it a less safe alternative for mounting harnesses then the Schroth 3?

Not trying to be negative, just looking for info.

I had assumed that a harness bar would be a better option for mounting harnesses because it would keep the harness mounting locations in the proper place to reduce the likelyhood of back/shoulder/neck injury.

Also, I'm not looking to cage the car at this time or any time in the near future. This is solely for occasional track days. A harness bar does supply a nice secondary location for a camera too, but that's incidental.

[diirk]

Originally Posted by dwx

There is a JDM vendor who makes a B-pillar reinforcement bar you could probably wrap harnesses around but if I remember it had a fairly small diameter.

Another option is take out the rear seats and figure out something you can do in the trunk area. I don't think a rear strut bar mounted to the two strut bolts would be strong enough.

Another option is the Schroth Rallye 3 which has a single rear attachment. I bought one of those.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=391673

What do you need the harnesses for?

I'm considering this as an alternative, but the mounting system of the Rallye 3 kinda makes me nervous. Not for any valid reason, just my own mental block.

[ABQautoxer]

I guess I don't understand what is wrong with the harness bar. Ran one for years on track days on the Z06. As long as the car's roll structure is good and its a real harness bar and the harness is a proper one WORN PROPERLY, I don't see a problem. The Rallye 3 sounds good, very easy to deal with and probably what will end up in both the BRZ and WRX over the winter.

[FT-86 SpeedFactory]

A harness bar with the standard 4 point harness will not keep you from sliding out underneath the belt in a front end collision. A 5 point would but then again you still have issue in a rollover without a cage.

The Schroth ASM

The patented SCHROTH asm® system offers an unique safety advantage for 4-point harnesses. asm® is the acronym for anti submarining. The risk to submarine (sliding underneath the lap belt), a well known phenomenon during frontal impacts, is significantly reduced by the asm® safety system. The energy converter is located in the inboard shoulder belt. Therefore make sure you purchase left and/or right harnesses. Severe injuries or death are possible using 4-point harnesses without the SCHROTH asm® safety system or an anti-sub strap. SCHROTH harnesses designed for use on public roads (FE push button models) or those likely to be used as 4-points come with the asm® safety system. The performance of the SCHROTH asm® safety system has also been positively tested in conjunction with airbags.

Current Head And Neck Supports (HANS®) provide further reduction of head deceleration and neck bending.

Is the best option for street cars that see autox and track days. You get protection in a front end collision as the ASM device breaks loose allowing for some slack. But still works as a harness to keep you planted in the seat for track days or Autocross.

The ASM portion of the belt in the linked pictures is the plastic buckle portion behind the head rest on the right strap. That is what breaks open in an accident when the belt is needed.

Everyone has what works for them. That is totally fine, just want to make sure everyone knows there are options out there like the Schroth that are safer, and cheaper when all said and done for a Street/Non-Caged Track Car IMHO.

[diirk]

I appreciate the information. But to be clear, I never specified a 4 point harness, you just assumed. I plan to run an anti-sub belt with whatever setup I go with. The harness bar only accounts for 2 points of any harness, the shoulder straps. Then the lap belts mount to the floor, most likely at the same location as the oem 3 point lap belt.

For your own info, I'm very familiar with harnesses, cages and appropriate safety equipment, have raced off-road for many years.

[RedLeader]

Don't all the schroth 4-point harnesses come with their ASM belt? I like the idea of being able to mount a "real" 4 point harness (I'm not in love with the schroth quick-fit harnesses, only out of personal dislike/distrust) without having to install a full rollcage in my street car. I like the idea being the SEMA R-GTI rotating harness bar, but I'm not sure how permanent it is. I understand and can agree with the OPs dislike of permanent modifications.


In case this is difficult to understand, the bar is attached at the B-pillar and rotates rearward and down to lock into the latch assembly growing out of the center console (the red thingy is the latch) Obviously, for this application, its a bit ridiculous as far as the amount of work going into it for bracing and such, but the idea is pretty neat. Somehow they manage to maintain the usage of the rear seats of this GTI, but since our cars don't really have a useable back seat anyways, its not as big of a deal.

[_F-R-S_]

^^ now those would look nice in the frs.. more padding though

[diirk]

This is pretty much what I was thinking of, although the bar that Kestral posted is pretty cool.

[RedLeader]

Originally Posted by _F-R-S_

^^ now those would look nice in the frs.. more padding though

Those are the back seats, FYI. I think they're only that awesome so the rear passengers don't contact the harness bar and shatter..themselves, cuz the bar is unpadded.


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