5 pt harness

[jimandela]

which 5pt harness is the best to go with if i may or maynot get to a track event? I have the R/T10 and thought it might be a good idea to get the harness just encase of a blowout of accident causes a rollover. I have seen a few different makes here on the board. What about factory ACR belts? can you get them from dodge parts? Do they say ACR on them? Just trying to decide which company to go with for my situation.
any input is appricated...
JIM

 

[Henry Cone]

Jim, we highly recommend the Teamtech harnesses. I was trying to send you a note with more details - for some reason it won't go out right now. I'll put it here instead..

I don't think that the factory ACR belts are as good as the Teamtech's. You will also have a very hard time getting them. All factory ACR belts have been recalled. Dodge has selected a new supplier for the replacements and while they are installing them on new build cars they are not yet available to replace any belt sets that are in owner's cars. This has been the situation for some time now (I believe about 4 months) and is supposedly
due to them not being able to get a large enough supply of belts to initiate the actual recall.

The Teamtech's have several features not available on most belts. Most important of these is a lot of padding (makes the belts more comfortable when pulled up tight and thus safer since you are more likely to pull them up tight) and a sternum strap (it connects the 2 shoulder belts together across your chest to prevent your chest from hyperextending through the shoulder belts in a crash).

I don't know about the cost of the factory ACR belts but I believe that they are expensive (most Viper parts available through the Dodge parts channel are). They can be obtained through a Dodge dealer but I would suggest that you contact Jon Brobst at Parts Rack as they will have better pricing than the dealer. Jon also sells the Teamtech's so he can give you
an exact cost comparison. They do say ACR on them...

 

[JonB]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jimandela:
which 5pt harness is the best to go with if i may or maynot get to a track event? I have the R/T10 and thought it might be a good idea to get the harness just encase of a blowout or accident causes a rollover.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jim:
You are wise to consider extra safety, even if you plan to drive only the speed limit. There have been at least two very sad stories where curb-hits of sliding-sideways cars ejected owners of top-off RT/10s and they died. One of these even had dual harness system installed, and the passenger was HARNESSED and walked away from the rollover. The driver did NOT take to time to harness himself, (15 minute test ride) was ejected, and died.

ACR Belts (now built by RJS, not Momo) are a Dodge part number, are "backordered" and have a MSRP of $1275 PER SIDE. Mounting Hardware not included! TeamTechs from partsRack are way less than 1/3 that cost, fully padded, including all forged hardware! TeamTech harnesses similiar to unpadded ACR are 1/4 the cost of ACR.......

 

[K Adelberg]

In my opinion, the only belts to get are the Schroth or Sabelt. I have had Simpson and hated them. The Schroth are very comfortable and have plastic covered buckles which will be more delicate on the interior and also during impact the belts give slightly to reduce g-load.

Go to www.supersonicracing.com or call Joe Anderson 310-318-5570

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Dale E's tragic accident may have had less severe results if he used safety equipment that provided more protection.
Full face helmet, HANS device, better restraints?. This accident and the ACR 5 point belt safety alert provided the motivation to review restraints from a pure safety point of view. How do you do that? I spoke with a few suppliers and felt Schroth restraint systems were among the best supported by their use in F1. I now have Schroth restraints in my ACR and the feel great.

 

[jimandela]

thank you all for your input...

but i have a question: can you use teamtechs without the sternum
strap? and can you order them without the company logos on the front of the straps so they are just plain?

based on all your info i will go with a 5pt harness especially
after learning of the accidents that have happened...

 

[Kevin ACR]

Hey Jon,

Any word on when regular customer cars will have the replacement ACR belts available?

 

[Robert1994]

Just had both seats out of my '94.
I found seventy eight cents and a button, but no pocket on the back of either seat.
I did find however a small square patch of carpeting that had been removed, and a threaded receptacle positioned directly
in front of each seat. Is this for the 5 point safety harness ?

 

[jcaspar1]

I went with the Schroth harnesses from Supersonic racing. I choose them over the TeamTechs due to the neck chaffing issue which I think there are solutions for now, and how they look. Also skipped on the SnakeOyl belts as the blue did not match that of the 96-97's. More of a baby blue color. The only mistake I made was going with pull down waist belts which are harder to adjust that the pull ups. I don't think you will go wrong with any of these harnesses.

 

[GTS Dean]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Robert1994:
...my '94.
I found ... no pocket on the back of either seat.
... and a threaded receptacle positioned directly
in front of each seat.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Gen1 RTs have different seats than the '96+ cars. There is no pocket behind them. The threaded inserts you found are standard in ALL Vipers. However, the floor carpet is only precut in the Gen1s. I think that possibly some '95s were built without the carpet cutouts. When you install 5 points in the Gen1, you will need an additional bolt for the outboard lap belt on the driver's side. To access the insert, you have to cut the foil insulation.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

If anyone installs the fifth belt (anti-submarine) please run it *through* the seat cushion (between first and second cushion section) to one of the rear seat legs or something else behind you, not to the tapped hole at the front of the seat cushion. All those belts are supposed to hold you back, which the location of the floor bolt won't do.

You can cut the seam that holds the sections together, the individual cushions are sewn so that they won't unravel. The belt will then come up between your legs, and keep you from sliding down upon frontal impact.

It's as easy as it sounds, I can email a picture to anyone that wants to see mine.