belts

8380 Vickers Street
Unit D
San Diego, CA 92111

Phone: 858-495-9200
Fax: 858-495-9200
Email: Info@c2racers.com

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Choosing a Racing Harness

Guides

When choosing the right harness for your race car, there are six core issues to
consider– 1) material, 2) buckle type, 3) configuration, 4) method of tightening lap
belt, 5) belt width, and 6) certification.

Material: Racing belts are made from either polyester or nylon. Nylon is inherently
a “stretchier material”, so many experts recommend polyester belts.
Buckle: Your choices are latch and link or cam lock. Latch and link buckles are
cheaper and work better under dirty conditions. Camlocks are easier to fasten,
quicker to unfasten, and more expensive.

Here is a drawing of a latch and link buckle:

Here is a drawing of a cam lock arrangement:

Configuration: The first choice to make is the number of attachment points. We
prefer five point belts over four point belts, because the submarine belt helps keep
the lap belt positioned property, and is the minimum requirement for most track cars.
The second choice is the style of shoulder belts: Y type vs. V Type vs. individual. Y
type belts are generally not recommended, as the connecting stitch is prone to
failure. V type belts look like Y type, but the shoulder belts are a single strap which
loops through the mounting bracket. Individual belts are not connected to each
other and have separate mounting brackets. Cars with cages usually use individual
belts; street/autocross cars without cages usually use V belts. Finally, you will need
to choose between pull-up and pull-down belts. This refers to the direction you pull
on the lap belts to tighten them.

Here is a V Belt:

Here is a harness with individual shoulder belts:

Here is a Y harness. We don't recommend these, and don't sell them.

Method of tightening lap belt: Your choices are pull up or pull down. Pull up
belts tighten by pulling them to the opposite side; pull down belts tighten downward
to the same side. Formula cars use pull up belts, and most other car types use pull
down.

Width: Belts come in two widths- 2" and 3". 3" belts are generally recommended, as
the wider material spreads stress over a wider area. 2" belts are generally used for
fitment reasons, although many 2" belts don't work well with a Hans device.

Certification Competition quality belts will be certified to either SFI or FIA
standards. The FIA standards are more stringent, so many sanctioning bodies
(SCCA, for example) will allow FIA belts to be used for 5 years after their date of
manufacture, while the SFI standard specifies replacement after two years. Every
belt has a certification tag with a "born on date"; you need to look at this tag when
you receive these belts to make sure they were recently constructed.

At C2, we don’t sell undertified belts. We have SFI certified belts by Autpower, Crow,
Bell, and Sparco. Racetech provides our FIA certified belts.

Suits (coming soon)

Air Filters (soon)

Shocks (coming soon)

Springs (coming soon)

Sway Bars (soon)

R Tires (coming soon)

Wheels (coming soon)