This is going to be a three part series that covers seat belt anatomy, SFI cetification and belt replacement, and seat belt installation.

As any racer knows, an integral part of their safety equipment is the driver restraint system, or seat belts. The typical requirement is a five, six, or seven-point system with the purpose of simply keeping the driver inside of the roll cage during a crash. The restraint system consists of several components. There are two individual shoulder straps that restrain movement of the upper torso and shoulder regions. Some belts have an optional cross strap across the chest to help maintain proper spacing. The two lap belts prevent movement of the pelvis. And the anti-submarine strap(five-point) or straps(six/seven-point) prevents the pelvis from slipping forward under the lap belts during a crash. The anti-sub strap also keps the lap belts in the proper position across the pelvis.

The straps are normally 3" wide and made from a material like DuPont Nylon 6.6, polyester, or a similar product. There are "HANS friendly" shoulder straps that are about 2" wide above the adjustment hardware available by most the major manufacturers. But, these 2" straps are not required for a HANs device. Most racers use the regular 3" wide strap with the device.  Seat belts for junoirs are about 2" wide.

The buckle that attaches all of the straps together comes in basically a latch/link or cam lock release. CAM LOCKS SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR DIRT RACING BECAUSE THE STRAP ENDS COULD BECOME STUCK INSIDE THE RELEASE FROM DUST AND DEBRIS.

There is also adjusting and mounting hardware on each seat belt system.

Until next week. Be Fast! Be Safe!
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Tim Currier
GauntletRacing.com
Racing Safety Gear
877-524-2491