Proper "Restraint"

Proper 5 and 6 point harnesses are mandated by most, if not all, road-racing series.  Combined with a roll cage and HANS device, they keep the driver from becoming a cat in a clothes-dryer in the case of an accident (read “dead”).  The harness also serves a secondary purpose: allowing the driver to concentrate fully on what the car is doing, as opposed to where said driver’s butt may end up following the next turn.  Since I am not likely to roll the car or hit something very substantial while autocrossing, my motivation for installing a harness fell more in line with that secondary function.  Having ridden in and driven harness-equipped cars before, I had long been tempted to put a set in the MR2.  I had not really felt it was necessary until I started buying DOT R-compound tires.  The cornering loads are now such that I can easily find myself sitting on the seat bolster following a quick directional change.  I took the plunge once I finally found a suitable harness bar from EMS Powered, which was custom made for the MKII MR2 and allowed me to keep the OEM harnesses in place.  This keeps me in compliance with stock-class rules and also keeps me from looking like a boy-racer nerd when I am just commuting.  Nothing screams “nerd” louder than having to un-couple your “race” harness in order to get your order at the drive-through.  Installation was fairly straight forward.  I did not cut a hole in the seat bottom to accommodate a truly proper mounting of the anti-submarine belt, so in reality it is more of a locator belt to keep the lap belt properly position across the occupant’s hips.

Obligatory lead-up drivel now dispensed with, let’s get to the point.  Does it make a difference?  Was the ~$400 I spent on bar and harnesses worth it?  Well, obviously it certainly feels like I am being held in the seat more securely.  I also feel like I don’t have to worry about any errant-ass incidents in the tight, off-camber stuff.  To remove some of the “placebo” effect; otherwise known as the “I spent a lot of money, so I really want it to make a difference” effect, I decided to find some way to really see if it had an effect on my body position while racing. At the first autocross following the installation, I stuck a camera in the car.  I made the first run (on the left) using the OEM belt.  I then made a second run (right) wearing the harness.  For reference, it was very wet, the car was shod with Kumho V710s, has Koni “Yellow” shocks, and a bigger front sway bar.  Everything else, for these purposes, is stock.  I will let you interpret the results.

Seatbelt

Harness