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In Reply to: racing harness installation posted by larry hall on July 08, 2000 at 20:47:24:
First, no matter what, you'll have to drill some holes in car to bolt in the mounting brackets. The lap/anti-sub belts can come from mounts on floorpan on either side of the driver seat and slightly behind and below. The issue is that unless you want to get under the car and undo the bolts between events, you'll have to leave the mounts in place. You'll also want large washers on each side of the mounts to spread the load (which may eventually damage the carpet or the floorpan). The good thing is the mounts will not be easy to spot down near the floor. Ideally, anti-sub belts should come up through the seat (racing seats have cut-outs for them), but you should be OK just coming around from the front.
Second issue of course is the shoulder belts. I can't see where you'd run a harness bar inside the cabin, as you'd have to make some ugly holes. One suggestion would be to mount a bar in the trunk, and then figure out a way to run the belts inside. Possibly between the back seat and the back deck, or remove the back seat and come through the back wall (but remember that your amp and phone is behind the left back seat, so you'll have to remove them as well). Another issue may be the headrest design, the left shoulder belt may end up closer in to your neck and chafe.
Another issue is the driver's seat itself. If you have the standard seats, they're a bit wide and flat for racing. You may find yourself flung all over the seat and that will cost on the track. If you're serious, investigate a good lightweight seat.
That said, if you don't mind, a personal question - what type of racing are you going to do and...why race an E-31? IMHO, the 8's do not make good race cars and weren't designed for it. Even the CSi's and Dinan twin-turbo's are not good racing candidates (except possibly long distance highway events). The cars are very heavy and power-to-weight ratio is so important in racing. Even if you have a modified, high HP 850, all that weight is working against you, especially in a turn where the lateral forces come into play (remember, it's not how fast you enter the turn, it's how fast you exit). And, your competitors may be running cars half your weight and with the same HP. Now if you're going out to have some fun, I still think you'd be better off buying something that has more track breeding. If you're a novice or intermediate racer, the 8 would be a tough car to handle as you're learning and honing your skills. (As usual, just my opinion... :-)
Stan C.
'92 850iA
SCCA CSP Regional/Division Champ 1994 (retired)
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