Harness Specs

[David Ferguson]

My new car came with harnesses that are tagged as FIA D-120, T/98 and FIA D-124, T/98. They are supposed to be good until 2008 [img]smile.gif[/img]

However, the lap belts are only 2" wide.

I admit to being confused by section 20 of the GCR. It seems to make conflicting claims. The first section (20.1, 20.2) states minimum belt sizes for various configurations. Section 20.8 says that all belts shall have "SFI Spec 16.1", but then goes on to say various FIA specifications are legal.

If my belts have FIA labels, but not SFI labels are they legal?

I'll give Topeka a call tomorrow, but I thought I'd see if anyone had experience in this area.

[R. Pare]

Regardless of the legality of those belts, I'd recommend replacing them with 3" wide Sabelt or whatever due to the excessive "stretch" factors discussed elsewhere on this forum. 2" is OK for street cars, but not race cars!

[Rick Silver]

David, what brand are they and is this on a new Van Diemen? I recently ordered a new set of standard belts for my Van Diemen (they were 5 years old) and they were incorrectly packaged with 2 inch lap belts. I read the GCR and it does seem to clearly allow 2 inch belts for both the lap and shoulder harness. I thought maybe this was the new belt to be shipped for Van Diemens, but after looking at them there was no way I was going to race with those. I called Primus and they immediately shipped me the correct 3 inch lap and shoulder harnesses. It was some sort of packaging error in England.

[David Ferguson]

The car is a new Van Diemen Sports 2000. The belts are Sabelt -- I think I'll just get a set of Willians I've been able to trust for the last several years.

[R. Pare]

Van Dieman probably specs the 2" variety as standard equipment just because they save $5 or so!

[David Ferguson]

Just finished talking with Jeremy Thoennes at SCCA HQ. Apparantly, it is possible for belts meeting the SFI or FIA specs permitted in section 20.8 to fail the requirements (3" width for shoulder and lap belts) required in section 20.2, or other specs as required in other sections.

So, I've ordered new belts.

Anybody need a set of cool belts for their racing simulator seat?