Harness: Yay or Nay?
 

I have a 1991 Civic Hatch. It is going to be my daily driver and NOT used for track or racing at all. My stock seat belt is broken and i cannot find a replacement. So i figured i would just go with a harness. Need feedback on good idea or bad. Much appreciated. P.S. If i get a harness i will most likely install racing seats later because my stock seats look like crap.

I'd say its all up to you, but keep in mind they may be a little bit of a hastle if you're getting in and out a lot...you could try a couple of honda sites and see if they have any, i dont know if they would though...

Go to a junk yard. They cost like nothing. You can use one from pretty much any Civic up to 2000 I believe.

NOT WORTH IT!!!! every time you get in and out of your car its a beezy. Speaking from experience. And not only do you need a harness but you also need a harness bar so that you have the straps at the right angle.

How are your belts broken? If its just the catch that is not working, Honda will fix it. You start out by calling a Honda dealership. They will schedule a day for you to come in. During this visit, they will try to clean the catch. If this does not work, they will order a new part and scheduel another day for you to come in. When you come in the second time they will replace the part. Best part - NO COST to you. Honda stands behind their safety belts.

i have them and they are badass but you have to get a harness bar for it to be safe. They arent hard to get in and out of at all.

Honestly, I don't think they're worth it unless you're just getting them for a more race-oriented (read: "hard-parking") looking interior.

First off, if you're getting them under the theory that they'll be safer than the stock belts, you're only part right. 5- and 6-point harnesses are safer than the stock belts [i]when utilized correctly[i]. 3-point belts are no different than stock belts, and 4-point belts suffer the same downfall the stock belts do: submarining. If you're not familiar with the term, it's when you slide under the seat belt during an accident. Since 3- and 4-point belts have no crotch strap to stop this, they really don't benefit you at all.

Also, you have to take the harness install into account; the harness belts have to be between a certain angle range to be safe (for example, if the shoulder straps are mounted at more than a 45-degree angle from the horizontal plane where the belts go through the seat, your spine could be compressed in an accident, causing serious injury). This is why you need a dedicated harness bar, or a roll bar or roll cage containing a dedicated harness bar. Also, where the belts mount to the floor pan, you need to use strong hardware, or risk the belts ripping away from the floor during an accident.

Also, here's another reason why harnesses aren't great for street use: you have to have the things tight as hell for them to be effective. A loose harness can be as dangerous as no seat belt at all. The things almost literally have to be choking the sh*t out of you to properly do their jobs of keeping you in the exact same spot in the car the entire time you're in it. What's this mean for drive-thrus (why the hell can't fast-food companies spell it right? It's "through", not "thru", douchebags) and toll booths? You'll have to unstrap for them, since the harnesses won't let you reach outside the car to hand anybody anything.

Also, cheap seats can be more dangerous than you'd imagine. Manufacturers like Corbeau, Sparco, Bride, and Status are ridiculously expensive not only because they're "name brand" seats, but also because some serious R&D goes into their seats, as well as safety testing. I've heard about some pretty serious back injuries at even relatively low speeds due to cheap seats.


Personally, unless you really like the way harnesses and racing seats look, and have the money to do it right, and are also willing to do research on proper installation and are willing to not take shortcuts, I'd say keep your OEM seats and get new OEM belts.

Honda replaces seatbelts for free! Lifetime warranty on all of their seatbelts. Call up the dealer and tell them, and you'll get them replaced free.

thanks. i believe i will just stick with the stockies.

Smart move, man. And Honda's free lifetime replacement on seatbelts is just amazing. The only reason they didn't swap mine out that day was because they needed to order the parts. They don't give you any **** about it. I guess they decided fixing a couple faulty, old seatbelts was cheaper than facing a lawsuit when I go careening through the windshield with my seatbelt buckle in tow.