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Has anyone in here installed a 3/4 point seat harness into their XK...?
I see in other vehicles that folks install a cross member from the shoulder hard point across the back of the front seats, which I think is doable in an XK and still keep the use of the inertia reel seatbelt should it be needed.
It could be done if needed for a racer but on a street car why? With aftermarket belts, after I think 5 years they are deemed unsafe and can't be in the car during a performance event but the stock belts are OK if approved for that level of competition.
From experience, steel harness ends are very hard on your interior and an absolute PITA to put together every time you drive the car. They do feel 'cool' but look sloppy both when not in use and while being worn. You'll also need to defeat the stock belt latch logic to avoid the dash warning.
I had them in one street / race car and would not do it again unless absolutely necessary by the rule for the sanctioning body of an event I was racing in. I would never, absolutely never do them in a street car that I planned on using. On hot days the shoulder harness either slid down or chaffed on my neck and there was always the weight of the latch sitting below my navel which felt like an old camera resting there. Once pulled tight the tag ends of the harness are just flopping around and looked messy.
Incorrectly installed race harnesses can cause worse injuries in a collision than you'd get from a regular seatbelt, also regular seats not intended for use with a harness may also limit their effectiveness.
If you look at the factory setup in the XKR-S GT with the fixed back Recaro seats, roll cage and Willans 4-point harness' that's the right way to do it.
I have five-point harnesses in my P/S Mustang, and I don't mind them a bit. When on the street I leave the shoulder straps flipped back over the lateral bar behind the seat, and the crotch belt hanging down the front of the seat. I just use the Lap portion. I haven't had problem one doing it. Like Ranch said, I DO have to replace the driver-side harness every four years to make it meet tech. They can be "Recertified" and given a new date label, but that costs nearly as much as replacement, plus shipping. Right around $100.
Incorrectly installed race harnesses can cause worse injuries in a collision than you'd get from a regular seatbelt, also regular seats not intended for use with a harness may also limit their effectiveness.
If you look at the factory setup in the XKR-S GT with the fixed back Recaro seats, roll cage and Willans 4-point harness' that's the right way to do it.
The cage is 7000 GBP plus taxes, shipping, and it doesn't fit unless you remove the back seats. The GT had a "rear seat delete" panel instead of seats.
The seat rails assemblies are 1500 GBP each
Haven't checked the prices of the seats or the harness' but you can guess.
Plus there were additional modules that plug in to emulate the seats, airbags, etc.
Ouch! I don’t mind popping out the rear seat or even removing the front seats in favour of losing a significant amount of weight but at those prices I could probably have everything custom fabricated for a bit less.
Sorry to be the new guy and jump in like this, but it's pet peeve of mine. Please never try to use a harness like what's in that picture, you'll just hurt yourself. With a 4-point harness, the shoulder straps should come down to each side of the lap belt close to the hips, not to the middle. If the shoulder belts are connected at the middle without the 5th/6th belts to hold the lap belt in place, your shoulder belts will pull the lap belt up to your stomach and cause injuries.
If you're going to do a 5-point, don't be the guy that has the 5th point mounted uselessly in front of the seat instead of straight down through it like it should be. Assuming you don't want to cut a hole or replace your seat you can use a 6-point belt where the anti-sub belts will go under your legs and down the sides near where the lap belts are mounted. Also, make sure your shoulder belts are at the right angles, that's something i've seen wrong way to often. If it's too low, you'll end up with a compressed spine. Another thing to think about is that your factory seat belt will let your body move forward to the airbag, the harness will lock your body in place except for your head....see Dale Earnhardt for that result so think about a HANS.
With my previous car, i was able to keep both my factory belt to use on the street and a harness/HANS to use at the track. Wearing a harness on the street just doesn't work and you'll find out why the 1st time you try to lean forward to see better at a stop sign. If you're thinking that you can just loosen the should straps, take a 12-guage and hold it loosely in front of you and pull the trigger. Or, if you really want me to get serious about it, i'll dig up the report with pictures of the guy whose ********* popped out of his ******* because his harness was on loose (unfortunately, i'm not joking about that one).
My point in writing all of this isn't to say don't do it, just make sure you're doing it right or leave the factory systems alone.
Seat harnesses
