seat belt age?

[abarnum]

anyone know a definitive way to figure out if seatbelts aren't original? I recently picked up an 86 carrera... belts look stock but in the maintenance book one of the entries (1998) has a note "+seatbelts" in addition to notations like "+oil filter", "+air filter", etc.... if I can avoid a couple hundred bucks for seatbelts in order to ax the new toy I wouldn't complain. thanks...

[Dan Chambers]

Check for a production tag on the belts. There should be a date. No tag? Too faded to read? These are clues...

There are also ways of telling the age of the belts based on the size and shape of the "male" clip that goes into the "female" release mechanism. How 'bout take a few minutes out of your lunch-break and drop by a shop like Dieter's, Black Forest, All German Auto's etc. and have someone look at the system. A knowledgeable Tech or Supervisor can sort that out pretty quick.

On the other hand, do you really want to aggressively drive with 20+ year-old belts?

My thoughts: a little investment in belts might be better than a big investment in medical bills.

Dan

[ttweed]

This was covered in the 2008 rule change explanation document that was posted here for a year. Unfortunately, we are on to the 2009 rules now, so that document is gone from the site. Here is the relevant section:

Question:
How do I tell if my stock 3-point belts are out of date? If the car is over 20 years old do I
have to replace my belts with new ones?
Answer:
This rule reads:
Factory belts more than 20 years old or visibly frayed or damaged at any age, must be
replaced with new belts. This is a little fuzzier as factory belts have no date coding. As a
rule 3-point belts must be in good condition. If the belts show signs of wear (fraying,
curling of edges, twisting or sticking inertia reel) they will be disallowed, regardless of the
age of the vehicle. Newer belts and replacement belts have a few visual clues that tell you
their age. First, there is a tag where the belt attaches to the floor. That tag should be
black, not white. On the other end of the belt is the buckle. (The chrome flat part that
goes into the receiver). This part should have hole in it. If it is actually a round hole it is
definitely out of date.
The hole should be a small rectangle like the photo below.



If the belt is even newer it will have a large rectangle or square hole in the center.

HTH,
TT

[martinreinhardt]

Since we are on the harness subject

The 6 point harnesses in my 911 were manufactured in March, 2004 and apparently are expired after March 31st, 2009 . I think the expiration date may be debatable as the only expiration date on the Sabelt label says "Not valid after 2009". I could not find any documentation from the manufacturer which explained the expiration date or indicated otherwise, therefore I have to take a break from PCA events until my new belt show up in the mail.

Either way I understand the safety part, but the part in the rules which makes no sense to me is: if I still had my 15+ year old 3 point factory crap belts and reinstalled them, I would then pass tech.

[ttweed]

The 6 point harnesses in my 911 were manufactured in March, 2004 and apparently are expired after March 31st, 2009 . I think the expiration date may be debatable as the only expiration date on the Sabelt label says "Not valid after 2009". I could not find any documentation from the manufacturer which explained the expiration date or indicated otherwise, therefore I have to take a break from PCA events until my new belt show up in the mail.

I agree, Martin--this has been pointed out before. It is kind of an unsupportable contradiction in the rules, IMHO. If 3-point factory restraints up to 20 years old are allowed in any class for autocross, as long as they aren't frayed or in poor shape, it seems silly to disallow 5-point harnesses that are in good condition just because they are a few days over their 5-year life. It has always been justified as a "safety" consideration, but I do not see the logic in it.

That said, you can save a little money by having your existing belts re-webbed instead of buying new ones. I have used Crow Enterprises in Anaheim for this service and they have been very good. http://www.crowenterprizes.com/Pages/Recert.html
TT

[sean_v8_914]

the nylon material used in a race harness is a different spec than an OEM 3 point. UV degredation and life expectancy is different for each material