986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Educate me: 5-point Harness & Steering wheel

thstone · 04-14-2017, 09:22 PM

I just replaced the 6-pt harness in my Spec Boxster (it was out of date) and the key differences are:

5-pt vs 6 pt
Width (2" vs 3" vs combined 2"/3" for HANS compatibility)
Type of end mount
Type of center connection
Color
Price

The main difference between 5-pt and 6-pt is that a 5-pt harness runs right up the middle (hello!) whereas the 6-pt rides a little more to each side. Both sub straps in a 6-pt belt can attach to the same floor mount if needed and often both sub straps attach to a common bar that inserts into the central connector.

Some people say that a 6-pt spreads the load over more area and might decrease sliding side-to side, but I think that the choice is mostly about the potential for increased comfort of your private parts.

Since the rules specify a 3" belt that might limit your options. The 2"/3" HANS belts have 3" everywhere but the belt narrows to 2" at the upper shoulders for a better fit over the HANS device (the 3" belts will fit but they are a little bit wide). My old belts were 3" everywhere and I just made sure that they were properly fitted over the HANS each time. My new belt is a 2"/3" HANS combo.

The type of end mount is obvious and depends on the type of mounting anchors and/or if the shoulder straps will wrap mount around the roll bar or cage vs clip or bolt mounts.

There are several types of center connectors and different adjustors (some are steel and some are aluminum). There are also options for "pull up" to tighten or "pull down" to tighten. Most production car racers use pull down belts for both the shoulders and lap belts (single seat racers use pull ups so the crew can reach in and tighten the belt where there isn't room to pull down). Some belts can be configured to be either pull up or down (flexi).

In regards to color, I was surprised that plain black belts were often cheaper than the same belt in red or yellow. Of course, my car is black so I like the contrast of red belts. Damn.

Expect to spend $250-$500 per set. Try to focus on finding the safest belt and not necessarily the cheapest.

Note: If you plan to ask an instructor to ride along with you, it is best practice to provide the same level of safety to the instructor that is provided to the driver. What this means is that if the driver has a racing seat and a 5-pt harness, it is best practice to provide a racing seat and 5-pt harness for the instructor/passenger.

This is because the safety of everyone in the car is generally viewed to be equally important and it would be in poor taste to ask someone to voluntarily ride along to help you learn to drive better while asking them to take more risk with their safety by providing only a stock seat and 3-pt seat belt when the driver has a racing seat and a harness.

This can mean that the cost to move to racing seats and harnesses could be double if there was an expectation that the instructor could/would just use the stock seat/belts. This isn't a hard and fast rule and maybe some instructors or organizations wouldn't bat an eye but a lot of them will. Plus, you really want everyone in your car to come out of an incident with equally high chances of walking away, right?

With all this being said, I bought the Schroth Profi-II 6-pt HANS harness. $395.

04-14-2017, 09:22 PM	#3
thstone Certified Boxster Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 7,669	I just replaced the 6-pt harness in my Spec Boxster (it was out of date) and the key differences are: 5-pt vs 6 pt Width (2" vs 3" vs combined 2"/3" for HANS compatibility) Type of end mount Type of center connection Color Price The main difference between 5-pt and 6-pt is that a 5-pt harness runs right up the middle (hello!) whereas the 6-pt rides a little more to each side. Both sub straps in a 6-pt belt can attach to the same floor mount if needed and often both sub straps attach to a common bar that inserts into the central connector. Some people say that a 6-pt spreads the load over more area and might decrease sliding side-to side, but I think that the choice is mostly about the potential for increased comfort of your private parts. Since the rules specify a 3" belt that might limit your options. The 2"/3" HANS belts have 3" everywhere but the belt narrows to 2" at the upper shoulders for a better fit over the HANS device (the 3" belts will fit but they are a little bit wide). My old belts were 3" everywhere and I just made sure that they were properly fitted over the HANS each time. My new belt is a 2"/3" HANS combo. The type of end mount is obvious and depends on the type of mounting anchors and/or if the shoulder straps will wrap mount around the roll bar or cage vs clip or bolt mounts. There are several types of center connectors and different adjustors (some are steel and some are aluminum). There are also options for "pull up" to tighten or "pull down" to tighten. Most production car racers use pull down belts for both the shoulders and lap belts (single seat racers use pull ups so the crew can reach in and tighten the belt where there isn't room to pull down). Some belts can be configured to be either pull up or down (flexi). In regards to color, I was surprised that plain black belts were often cheaper than the same belt in red or yellow. Of course, my car is black so I like the contrast of red belts. Damn. Expect to spend $250-$500 per set. Try to focus on finding the safest belt and not necessarily the cheapest. Note: If you plan to ask an instructor to ride along with you, it is best practice to provide the same level of safety to the instructor that is provided to the driver. What this means is that if the driver has a racing seat and a 5-pt harness, it is best practice to provide a racing seat and 5-pt harness for the instructor/passenger. This is because the safety of everyone in the car is generally viewed to be equally important and it would be in poor taste to ask someone to voluntarily ride along to help you learn to drive better while asking them to take more risk with their safety by providing only a stock seat and 3-pt seat belt when the driver has a racing seat and a harness. This can mean that the cost to move to racing seats and harnesses could be double if there was an expectation that the instructor could/would just use the stock seat/belts. This isn't a hard and fast rule and maybe some instructors or organizations wouldn't bat an eye but a lot of them will. Plus, you really want everyone in your car to come out of an incident with equally high chances of walking away, right? With all this being said, I bought the Schroth Profi-II 6-pt HANS harness. $395. __________________ 1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more 1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254 1979 911 SC POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor Last edited by thstone; 04-15-2017 at 08:20 PM.