Finally got my Corbeau seats installed

[codestp202]

Antrains seat is in the same boat. It is reclining but has the slots for the 4 points built into the side wings. Anything that raises above the buckle to push the belt off your hips is a no-no. If you had a seat like the Corbeau Sport or even the GTS II seats you are not interfering with the stock 3 point belts ability to retain your lower body in its position during a crash. Corbeau does not carry the FMVSS(Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) on any seat because they dont want the liability associated with interfering with the OEM belt operation. They are an off highway seat for a reason.

Another issue with the FX-1 is some of them are not even FIA approved for motorsports use. I believe the FIA seats have a fiberglass or carbon backing to reduce the chance of breakage in a crash using a backbrace that is tied into the cage. You would have to find the FIA rules on the seat requirements.

Go back to the stock seats and use the 4 point Quickfit during motorsports. Use the 3 points for day to day use. This is the safest direction.

If you must keep the FX-1's....a 4-6 point cage with the proper harness mounts(to the body and not the seat track), 5 point harness with ASM belt and the belts tied into the cage's harness bar. Get the welds certified by a shop that knows what they are doing.

Hey, sorry I edited my post. Can you go back and read it? It is not pushed off my hips because the seat belt buckle goes to the very top of the side bolsters.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Hey, sorry I edited my post. Can you go back and read it? It is not pushed off my hips because the seat belt buckle goes to the very top of the side bolsters.

Were you ever going to use the Schroth ASM 4 points on the street, or only the factory 3 points?

I would not chance being pulled over constantly by your CHiPs while doing so.

BTW; The last time I checked (admittedly it was a while ago), Corbeau did have at least ONE FIA approved seat in their lineup, and I believe it was one of the variants of the FX-1.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Hey, sorry I edited my post. Can you go back and read it? It is not pushed off my hips because the seat belt buckle goes to the very top of the side bolsters.

It also appears at least that the side bolsters on AntTrain's recliners are at least a little lower than any of Corbeau's one piece seats (either shell or tube frame), as well as any other company's one piece seats.

Even if not, the bottom cushion can be raised to offset the height of the side bolsters, and allow the factory 3 point to make FULL, stock seat like contact with the abdomen if necessary.

 

[codestp202]

It also appears at least that the side bolsters on AntTrain's recliners are at least a little lower than any of Corbeau's one piece seats (either shell or tube frame), as well as any other company's one piece seats.

Even if not, the bottom cushion can be raised to offset the height of the side bolsters, and allow the factory 3 point to make FULL, stock seat like contact with the abdomen if necessary.

The stock seatbelt makes full contact right now, which is why I'm not fully concerned. The schroth isn't really used on the streets, and it is DOT so even if I got pulled over I'd be okay. I might call the shop and swap my seat for the Corbeau FIA approved seat. We will see. The setup I'm running now fits everything I was using just like my stock setup and should pass any tech.

 

[sidewaysallday]

The Quickfit 4 point harnesses shouldn't be used on track or really at all. Really you want your harnesses to be at a 90 degree angle to your shoulders and mounted as close as possible. The downward slope of the Quickfit harnesses will break your collar bone/compress your spine in a high G-force crash as it will be pushing down on your shoulder. Also, the more belt material that is used causes more stretching of the belt material which causes more 'slack' on impact. You want your shoulder belts (typically the longest section of belt in a racing harness) as close to your shoulders as possible to minimize the amount of material. If tracking the car your stock seats/3-point belts should be utilized OR (ideally) you would have a cage/fixed back/6 point.

 

[kevinatfms]

Hey, sorry I edited my post. Can you go back and read it? It is not pushed off my hips because the seat belt buckle goes to the very top of the side bolsters.

I read it and reread it. I suggest you sit in the seat, buckle in and then have someone take a photo showing the lap belt portion to post up here. If the belt touches the side bolster at the belt slats before touching your body you are leveraging the belt against an object before your body. The belt webbing should never be touching the fixed back seat unless its through the slats.

I would stick with the 3 point belt and a belt retainer(CG Lock) for a track day if i did not have a proper cage/harness setup. On that note, safety is your own responsibility. Dont take chances if you dont need to.

 

[kevinatfms]

For those that dont know what CG Lock is....

http://www.cg-lock.com/autocross.html

Use them. Great piece that does not effect the belt system from retracting. It just holds the belt tight so that it does not loosen during hard cornering. All safety devices are kept operational as designed.

 

[codestp202]

Good point everyone. I will work on having the stock 3 point run through the side holes. Also I'm going to see if the shop will let me swap for the FIA seat.

 

[M-Sport fan]

The schroth isn't really used on the streets, and it is DOT so even if I got pulled over I'd be okay.

This I know, as I had a set installed in my A2 16V GTI, and used to carry around the FMVSS/DOT certification paper from Scroth with me in the glove box, right next to the registration/insurance card. LOL

But, that will not stop the hassle of them pulling you over anyway, even though they cannot issue a summons.

 

[M-Sport fan]

The Quickfit 4 point harnesses shouldn't be used on track or really at all. Really you want your harnesses to be at a 90 degree angle to your shoulders and mounted as close as possible. The downward slope of the Quickfit harnesses will break your collar bone/compress your spine in a high G-force crash as it will be pushing down on your shoulder. Also, the more belt material that is used causes more stretching of the belt material which causes more 'slack' on impact. You want your shoulder belts (typically the longest section of belt in a racing harness) as close to your shoulders as possible to minimize the amount of material. If tracking the car your stock seats/3-point belts should be utilized OR (ideally) you would have a cage/fixed back/6 point.

^^^Absolutely!

 

[codestp202]

I got the go ahead to swap the Fx1 pro for the Forza sport fia approved seat on Monday. So that takes care of one issue. It's designed for 3,4,5,6 point.

 

[M-Sport fan]

For those that dont know what CG Lock is....

http://www.cg-lock.com/autocross.html

Use them. Great piece that does not effect the belt system from retracting. It just holds the belt tight so that it does not loosen during hard cornering. All safety devices are kept operational as designed.

Already have one, and what I plan to use with any aftermarket recliners I end up getting.

 

[codestp202]

So a quick question for you guys to confirm everything:

Monday I'll swap for the FIA Corbeau Forza SPORT. That way I have an FIA approved seat. It is designed for 3-6 point belts so my stock belt will work in conjunction. Best scenario to run the belt through the side openings or over the top? This one will have shorter bolstering on the sides then the FX1 Pro. I can definitely unbolt and run through the left bottom side of the belt and bolt it back to the stock point so that way it runs through the opening. Then I'll have to look at how the latching side mocks up to the opening. I may have to find a way to make the latch lower to the floor of the car so I can run the male end of the seatbelt through the hole to latch in.

As far as the Schroth 4 point ASM, are you guys totally against that even if it mounts up to the same angles as my stock seats did? These are DOT ASM belts made specifically for the Fiesta. I am not a huge fan of 4 point harnesses either, but the fact that they were tested and the angles lined up safely for our cars put me at ease against the injuries described above. Schroth has proven that the 4 point ASM is indeed safer then our stock 3 point system (I'm talking only in the Fiesta ST case, not their off-the-shelf 4 point ASM's you can bolt into any car). I'm willing to take the stock measurements on the rears to make sure I am within a couple degrees of the setup when I had the stock seat in. Technically, the seat should be at less of an extreme angle because it will be sitting lower to the floor. I want to say the stock setup was about a 30 degree angle, and with how much lower this seat is, should take the angle to about 25 degrees.

I understand all the safety concerns and I appreciate all the input, hence why I am taking your guys advice. I want to cage the car once it is payed off, so the FIA approved seat will work well with that. If you guys are against running the 4 point, I'll pick up one of those CG locks and sell the Schroth harness.

 

[kevinatfms]

The belts must pass through the slats in the bolsters.

 

[codestp202]

The belts must pass through the slats in the bolsters.

Roger that I will make it happen

 

[kevinatfms]

Roger that I will make it happen

I applaud you for going through the steps to make the proper safety measures. Most would get defensive of their choices and attack those who have gone through this before. Good luck on your build and please update as you progress.

 

[codestp202]

I applaud you for going through the steps to make the proper safety measures. Most would get defensive of their choices and attack those who have gone through this before. Good luck on your build and please update as you progress.

Nah, I appreciate the advice. Safety is first coming from a motorcycle background. I want to avoid going out to the track with my new seat and getting turned away at tech from a stupid mistake.

I will update as of Monday once I have the new seat. Messing around with my current one I was already able to figure out the left slat. Now once the new seat is in, I'll find a mounting point for the seatbelt latch so I can mount the female end lower then the right slat and I should be good to go!

 

[sidewaysallday]

I'm just generally not a fan of 4 points. Even when the shoulder belts are mounted at a 90-degree angle to your shoulders, you still have the length of the belt. Again - more belt = more slack = the more your body can move on impact. You also have the issue of submarining with 4 points. That is what the 5th or 6th belts are for (typically referred to as "anti-submarine belts). I've heard some bad stories at the track of people not properly setting up their 4 points (and even 5 & 6 points for that matter) and suffering the consequences. Ford does a hellova lot of testing to make sure these cars are as safe as they can be - more then Schroth could ever do. That is why for track driving the rule of thumb is you either stick with 3 points or get a half/full cage and go full buckets/5/6 points. Again this is just my $0.02 and if you are happy with the testing Schroth has done and how it feels then thats totally cool. I just know I'll never be running 4 points in my car.

 

[M-Sport fan]

The "ASM" in the Schroth name stands for "Anti-SubMarining", but yes, I see your point questioning just how intensive Schroth's real world/ALL scenarios testing can be, and IF their 4 points, even with this exclusive feature, can be even nearly as effective as an actual 5/6 point belt setup.