Track Day Harness Options... help!

[DJ]

Hi All,

I am looking at getting a harness to go with my Sparco Sprint and was hoping to get some helpful input based on other peoples experiences. I will at this stage only be using my standard NB for MX5 club track days no racing. So with that in mind:

a) What brand/type do people prefer; and

b) Should I make the upfront investment in a hans device now and therefore a harness to match?

Any feedback/help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Trackphotos]

Hi All,

I am looking at getting a harness to go with my Sparco Sprint and was hoping to get some helpful input based on other peoples experiences. I will at this stage only be using my standard NB for MX5 club track days no racing. So with that in mind:

a) What brand/type do people prefer; and

b) Should I make the upfront investment in a hans device now and therefore a harness to match?

Any feedback/help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Brand is irrelevant, as long as it's FIA approved. What you will want to decide is whether you want all 3" wide belts, or 3" belts with 2" shoulders to allow for a HANS device. If you are planning on getting a HANS, get the narrow shoulders. It makes it a good amount more comfortable and the belts will sit in the cutouts on the HANS much more firmly. The other thing is the latch mechanism. There are rotary buckles and latch buckles. Latch buckles I think are used more in rally events, and many sanctioning bodies do not allow them on closed circuit tracks. The justification is that rally events are much more likely to fill a rotary buckle mechanism with dirt etc, potentially causing a jam. Buy either a 5 or 6 point harness, do not buy a 4. They allow you to move underneath the lap belts, sometimes causing broken ribs and punctured lungs as your entire body weight is caught by the harness right below your ribcage. This is called submarining.

I personally would not drive with a full harness if I did not have a HANS. Up here at Lakeside a couple of years ago there was a fatality that was 100% avoidable if the driver had been wearing a HANS. His throttle jammed open into a braking zone, and he hit the wall (concrete with a row of tyres in front) with the front wheels locked at about 80kmh. The weight of his helmet split his neck open on impact and he was killed. If he had a HANS, it would not have happened. If he had no HANS and just a 3-point belt, his body would have moved around a lot more and the force might have been more evenly distributed across his body, rather than focused entirely on his neck. Even a low speed crash can be made worse by securing all but your head. That's my perspective, I have never seen any actual studies to prove one way or the other. You need to consider that you also need a HANS-compatible helmet if you don't already have one. It needs the anchors installed, and this can only be done on helmets that are SNELL2010 rated. AS/NZS1698 rated helmets should not have the anchors installed, and would not be allowed in CAMS competition etc. All Snell helmets have a yellow chin strap.

I use an OMP 5 point harness. Rotary buckle, 6 belts latch into 5 points on the buckle (anti-sub straps are a v-shape, 2 anchors in the floor but connect to one point in the buckle). It has 3" belts with 2" shoulders. It was around $220 shipped from the UK via Demontweeks, and I have had no issues at all. It is quite comfortable, and has enough slack to accomodate any size driver that will fit in an MX5, small or not-so-small.

[Dan]

Most harnesses are going to be close in terms of safety, just make sure you get a 6 point and follow the manufacturer's install instructions, I've had Schroth and Sabelt and had no issues with either. The main difference in belts is the quality of the adjusters and buckles.

Regarding the HANS I'd definitely get one if you can, the only consideration you should take into account is that you can use a standard harness with a HANS but not a HANS harness without a HANS so if you or anyone else is going to drive the car without a HANS then buy a standard harness.

[MattR]

Get six point harness, and make sure you install as per the instructions for the correct angles.

If you are getting a HANS device with the harness, then look at the HANS specific harnesses.

You do not want to have a bingle with a 2 inch harness, it hurts a lot. I have been lucky with my escapades on track and the hits I have had I wore a 3 inch harness, still looked like I took a kicking with the bruising, but no where near as deep as they would have been with the narrower harness.

If you are getting a HANS device in the future and will be using the harness without one, even for one event, get a 3 inch harness. Even a 3 inch harness and HANS device works well, just a little more fiddly.

Also make sure the lap belt sits across your lap when fitted and adjust the lap straps appropriately. I set up the harness to work as a four point first in relation to getting the lap parts right and then adjust the crutch straps to suit. Last is the shoulder straps as you want the lap and crutch strap in position and tight before you reef them up with the shoulder straps.

Best buckle type to get is the rotary buckle found on most good brands, however these need a little care in making sure you don't dirt and crap into them. The old speedway style buckles are good in those terms but aren't as good as the rotary buckles for staying done up.

[oztrackdays]

All have similar feel in terms of straps.

Willans easiest for me to Adjust from inside seat.

TAKATA slightly fiddly but easy enough.

Nasty Monza harness was really frustrating to adjust.

It can be annoying/frustrating if you sharing a car and one person is round/skinny or short/tall
and you are adjusting 4 straps 6 times a day.

[manga_blue]

If I was starting again I'd go for a package with helmet, HANS and harness all together. 2" shoulder straps are much easier than 3" for the HANS device. I think the best deals (and service) we've seen so far have been from http://www.racerindustries.com.au/

[Ben MX5]

Hi there,

I've got at lot less experience than a lot of other guys on the forum, but this what has worked for me. I spoke to Brett at revolution race gear, asked him what he recommended, and left with a Shroth 3" 4 point harness, Bell R1 helmet and a HANS device.

I've done about 15 track days so far, and this lot in combination with a Cobra Monaco Pro (similar to you Spint) works well for me, although there were some issues getting the seat right. Or, put a better way, it seems to work well - hopefully it'll never really be put to the test.

As for an opinion, yes absolutely get the HANS device.

Good luck however you choose to proceed.

[Trackphotos]

..I spoke to Brett at revolution race gear, asked him what he recommended, and left with a Shroth 3" 4 point harness, Bell R1 helmet and a HANS device...

That's interesting. Would I be right in thinking that he weighed the extra cost of a 5/6 point harness against the 4 point and determined that for a low-level club day sprints-only kind of situation, 4 points would do? Because I have never, ever heard anybody recommend a 4 point harness over a 5/6. The only reason I could imagine to choose a 4 point would be price.

[greenMachine]

..I spoke to Brett at revolution race gear, asked him what he recommended, and left with a Shroth 3" 4 point harness, Bell R1 helmet and a HANS device...

That's interesting. Would I be right in thinking that he weighed the extra cost of a 5/6 point harness against the 4 point and determined that for a low-level club day sprints-only kind of situation, 4 points would do? Because I have never, ever heard anybody recommend a 4 point harness over a 5/6. The only reason I could imagine to choose a 4 point would be price.

I really hope Ben can't count ...

2.05 at PI, that is fast enough for a big incident, especially if the outfield is wet ... I do 2.02 in the GM at PI, and I have all the same gear as I do in the racecar - seat, 6 point harness, two layer suit plus undies, and HANS.

[manga_blue]

Even if you overlook the safety pluses of a 6pt over a 4pt harness the 6pt wins out for ease of adjustment and the fact that you can lock yourself into the seat much more firmly because you can tension the shoulder straps against the crotch straps without dragging the hip straps up.

[davekmoore]

6 point with 3" straps except for the shoulders which need to be 2" for your HANS device. Obviously your helmet also needs to be compatible. Pull down is easier. Turn buckle is easier.

If no HANS device, no harness, as discussed earlier.

[sailaholic]

No Hans no harness is crap. It's still better then a stock belt on a spint V.

If you can afford to do it all. Go for it, definitely the better way to go.


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[plohl]

I had a velo 3" for a while... now I have a schroth endurance belt. It is the best. I got mine with 2"/3" shoulders for the hans. It is super easy to adjust which I had major issues with the velo. Well worth the extra coin. http://www.schrothracing.com/competition/profi/profi-II

[Trackphotos]

No Hans no harness is crap. It's still better then a stock belt on a spint V.

Crap in what way? Comfort/how tightly you sit? Sure. Safety-wise though, I'm not convinced.

[greenMachine]

Helmet, plus harness, means that in a sudden stop the only thing moving forward is the helmet, unfortunately still containing a head ... thus neck injury as helmet moves forward, pulling neck as it does so. Driver is fine, except for broken neck. Minor detail.

Theory is that a standard lap/sash belt allows enough body movement, that head/neck/shoulders are able to move sufficiently to allow the neck to withstand the forces imposed by the helmet's movement forward.

One thing that is also overlooked is the weight of a helmet - unless you are spending pretty big $$, the helmet will weigh a fair bit, and this weight/mass adds to the problem when the helmet is unrestrained.

The sooner HANS-type devices are made mandatory (for speed events), the better. Easy for me to say, I have mine, but the reason I got mine was because I could see (a) the writing on the wall, and (b) the sense of them. At that point there is no reason to hold off - my big accident may happen before they are made mandatory, and my kids deserve to have me around a bit longer - if HANS will help me achieve that outcome, it is worth paying up now.

Cost is not an issue - motor sport is expensive. If you can't afford it, stick to non-speed events (eg motorkanas) until you can.

This is just the latest thread to address this issue. If there are any doubters, do a search and watch some of the videos.

Ben, if you are have second thoughts, I converted my old harness to a six point for around $130, adding the crutch straps.