sparco seat and sabelt 4pt harness

back to the storage room to check out some parts. the red sparco seat i bought last year struck my eyes and i decided to mount it on the lancer. removed the railings it came with, i took off the shoulder and lap strap hole cover(whatever that is) and stitched the gaps to make it presentable. added a nice sabelt 4pt harness and "viola"! a nice bucket seat waiting to be mounted.

scoured the net again about diy installation for the seat and harness. and much to my surprise, it's very technical...

here's an exerpt from the clubgti.com forum

1) MSA requirements:

• Racing requires FIA homologated safety harnesses. Must be 'in date'. The expiry date stitched onto a label on the harness is the last date the harness can be used in MSA / FIA regulated competition
  • FIA Appendix J - Art. 253 states that "one anchorage point for two straps [is] prohibited for shoulder straps." Since the MSA refers to the FIA for racing, 3-point harnesses aren't allowed for UK racing.

• Sprinting / hillclimbing requires:
  • 3 point safety harnesses for Road-Going Production and Road-Going Specialist cars
  • 4-point safety harnesses for Modified Production ('Mod Prod')
  • 6-point for Hill Climb Super Sports Cars, Sports Libre and Racing Cars
    (all as defined in the MSA Blue Book)
  • ... but does not appear to specify FIA Homologation (please shout if you know this not to be the case)

• Rallying requires FIA Homologated 4 point safety harnesses (minimum)

• Rallycross and Autocross requires 3 or 4 point safety harnesses (minimum) but does not appear to specify FIA Homologation (please shout if you know this not to be the case).

However, the MSA encourages FIA-compliant harnesses:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSA Blue Book Where safety harnesses are mandatory, it is recommended that those described in [C(c)] 45 are homologated by the FIA and carry their label.

2) Trackday harness requirements:

• Subject to any event officials checking cars, eg whilst noise testing, none

Rough guide to types of harness in existence:

• EEC Approved
• Latch closing mechanisms
• Turn buckle release mechanisms
• Push button release mechanisms
• FIA approved harnesses

Also, design differences:

• 2 inch straps, 3 inch straps, or 3 inch shoulder and 2 inch lap
• Clip on harness straps, designed to fit over eye bolts
• Non-clip on harness straps, which are 'permanent' fixtures
• 3-point, 4 point, 5 point and 6 point harnesses

for more pics and details visit their thread: Motorsport harnesss installs - forum info compilation / FAQ

other sites also have their own version of this. but what am i gonna do? since, im gonna use it for motor sports, i might as well follow fia/aap (philippine local governing body) rules...

off for further research

more on fog lamps: piaa

source: piaa.com

driving lights

"Typically, driving lights are mounted above the front bumper about 14-30 inches from the ground to provide extra high beam illumination. Driving lights can be mounted below the bumper, although they will not be as effective because the light will hit the ground sooner and reduce the range of the light.

Visual aim is made with the center of the beam hot spot 1.5 inches below the lamp center at 25 feet with the lamp facing straight forward. (See below.)"

fog/foul weather lights

"Traditional fog lights are usually mounted under the front bumper about 10-24 inches from the ground. There are two important issues to address when installing fog lights, the first is to minimize the amount of return glare into the driver's eyes, and the other is to minimize glare into oncoming driver's eyes. Both must be accomplished while putting as much light as possible on the road.

These fog/foul weather light aiming instructions are suggestions taken from common practice and the S.A.E. standard J583. Some modifications to these instructions may be necessary to minimize glare.

Visual aim is made with the top of the beam 4 inches below the lamp center at 25 feet with the lamp facing straight forward. (See below.)"

how to choose your lights

picture from: gizmosforall.com - visit their site for a crash course on automotive lighting.

what i've learned?

3 types of light

1. driving light - midrange throw. enough for cruising. (eg headlamps)
2. fog light - short range throw. installed below the bumper, less than 24" from the ground
3. pencil beam light - long throw paired with driving light. ideal for rally and racing exceeding speeds of 80mph or 120kph

Fog Lights Installation

i'll be installing a pair of fog lights and i need a diagram to follow. where do i go? the net, of course! then i found the site: old burb club. the specs on the page is identical to what i'm working on. so, i'll post it here just in case. many thanks to the site and all people involve.

"This is the right way to wire a set of fog lights. The relay switches the heavy current to the fog lights with big wire, while the dashboard switch wiring can be very small. This keeps high current and large wires out from under the dash and in the engine compartment where they belong. A typical set of 55 watt lights will draw about 8 amps for the pair. The dash switch will pull only about 0.3 amps to operate the relay.

Be sure to run extra ground wires from the fog lights themselves. Don't depend on the cheap spring or case ground to work. Take the light apart if necessary, and add a real ground wire. Run these to the frame somewhere handy. This will keep the lights from being intermittent.

This diagram shows the wiring using a Bosch relay. These are found just about everywhere."

Subaru Time Lapse Rally Car Assembly

just amazing! a very good inspiration in building cars

mighty car mods.com

checking out a video from youtube.com about rolling fenders led me to mightycarmods.com's own video on rolling guards.

also, check out their forums. there might be something interesting there for you.