Replacement seat belts

[Terry Field]

The seat belts on my ‘99 car seem to have gone a bit hard, and are difficult to adjust, especially once in the car.

I am looking at the Sabelt Caterham specific belts being offered by Demon Tweeks and wondered if anyone has any experience of them, especially the ease of adjustment. This is for road use only.

[GaryK]

I have a set of Caterham belts I replaced with TRS harnesses for sale if you're interested. They worked fine I just wanted something more substantial for track days.

Gary

Edited December 8, 2023 by GaryK

[paul richards]

I have Sabelt and they are fine although the lap belts are pull down to tighten which is not ideal as they are not easy to adjust when in the car. I have to set them and breathe in to fasten. Shoulder straps adjust really easily. However I have seen other Sabelts that are very stiff. I think it depends on which type/quality you choose.

The best belts I have come across are Schroth but they were very expensive. My advice would be to contact Simon at Meteor Motorsport and seek his advice. I’m pretty sure he does a good quality belt specifically for a Caterham. 

[Colin_T]

I recently went through a couple of sets before I found some I really liked.

i tried some caterham specific ones, had them modified, and were still not nice… or perhaps liveable a better word?? The lap belt adjusters were the main issue.

(this is with tillett carbon Kevlar seats) 

The adjusters always ended up wedged in the side of the seat, made it hard (or even harder) to get in and out of, and adjusting them properly was a pain. Just a proper nuisance, ruined the experience, many times I would mutter to myself “ffs I’ve got to get in this bloody seat again now…” 
 

I looked at the scroth ones and liked the idea of the remote “T” pull handles to release the lap belts, and the adjuster remained down side of the seat - bit pricey.

i finally decided on some TRS FHR belts…. Extremely happy with them !!! 
 The lap belt adjusters are integrated into the buckle, keeping all the adjusting mechanism very central and compact, so gives plenty of room to adjust them and release easily, they aren’t rammed into the sides of the seats, making the seat width narrower when getting in, and they are easily flopped over the centre tunnel and out the door to get them out the way. Also have some thumb loops on the lap adjusters to give you something good to pull when releasing them. 
  Being a 6 point I thought may be a problem, but actually very comfortable, and the buckle easily flops down the front of the seat and stays there as your getting in…. Very important…. As a result I haven’t had one of those shock moments where you drop into the seat only to find the buckles slipped down and tried to go somewhere you don’t want it to !! 
 I always get my harnesses in “ultralite” with the aluminium adjusters - a premium upgrade over the steel ones, not just in weight but the ease of adjustment is worth every penny. Once you use the ultralite adjusters you would never go back !

also worthy upgrade - Velcro on the ends of the shoulder straps to stop the wind flicking them into your eye, or hammering on your crash helmet as your going round the track - seriously, the first time this happened to me I was looking in the mirrors to look if I could see what had just fallen off the car 😂 

 

Hope that helps

 

colin 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Colin_T
Grammar error

[GaryK]

14 minutes ago, Colin_T said:

I recently went through a couple of sets before I found some I really liked.

i tried some caterham specific ones, had them modified, and were still not nice… or perhaps liveable a better word?? The lap belt adjusters were the main issue.

(this is with tillett carbon Kevlar seats) 

The adjusters always ended up wedged in the side of the seat, made it hard (or even harder) to get in and out of, and adjusting them properly was a pain. Just a proper nuisance, ruined the experience, many times I would mutter to myself “ffs I’ve got to get in this bloody seat again now…” 
 

I looked at the scroth ones and liked the idea of the remote “T” pull handles to release the lap belts, and the adjuster remained down side of the seat - bit pricey.

i finally decided on some TRS FHR belts…. Extremely happy with them !!! 
 The lap belt adjusters are integrated into the buckle, keeping all the adjusting mechanism very central and compact, so gives plenty of room to adjust them and release easily, they aren’t rammed into the sides of the seats, making the seat width narrower when getting in, and they are easily flopped over the centre tunnel and out the door to get them out the way. Also have some thumb loops on the lap adjusters to give you something good to pull when releasing them. 
  Being a 6 point I thought may be a problem, but actually very comfortable, and the buckle easily flops down the front of the seat and stays there as your getting in…. Very important…. As a result I haven’t had one of those shock moments where you drop into the seat only to find the buckles slipped down and tried to go somewhere you don’t want it to !! 
 I always get my harnesses in “ultralite” with the aluminium adjusters - a premium upgrade over the steel ones, not just in weight but the ease of adjustment is worth every penny. Once you use the ultralite adjusters you would never go back !

also worthy upgrade - Velcro on the ends of the shoulder straps to stop the wind flicking them into your eye, or hammering on your crash helmet as your going round the track - seriously, the first time this happened to me I was looking in the mirrors to look if I could see what had just fallen off the car 😂 

 

Hope that helps

 

colin 

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by GaryK

[Jonathan Kay]

The last time that I checked all of the manufacturers will put the buckle on the left or lap right strap (important for when you fling it sideways out of the Seven) and fit the lap strap adjusters to either pull up or pull down (preference depends on several bits of seat and anatomical geometry).  But this isn't always advertised.

Jonathan

PS: And DIY moving of the buckle is in the archives.

[Terry Field]

Gary K

Thanks but I really want the round buckle type.

Thanks Paul, I will have  a look at the TRS belts although I only need four point. Are they 3" belts?  I am sure I have had Sabelt in previous cars which tightened upwards, so no problem with belts being stuck down the side of the seat.

[7 wonders of the world]

TRS made a custom set for me using the 2" intregral tongue / adjuster (brilliant !!) on 2" lap belts, 2 crotch straps and 3" shoulder straps with their lightweight alloy adjusters, shoulder straps were made to the corret length for a 7 all straps had correct ends for bolt fittings in tight locations.

Superb company to deal with, speak to Jake he has the spec for mine, if you need it BM me as I have it one mail too, or photos if you need them.

 

[Guy Lowe]

I went through this exercise a couple of years ago and after a lot of research I purchased the Caterham specific Scroth harnesses which CC fit to their race cars.

I was advised by Dave Kimberly at Demon Tweeks and many helpful members on here, I am very pleased with them, they where big money but DaveK gave me a good deal and they have proved to be well worth the extra cash.  Easy to adjust, soft webbing and removable buckles amongst other features and the Luke/Caterham 6 point crutch straps fit the Scroth buckle..

 Trying to post link to original post, give me a minute 😃
 

TRY THIS

Edited December 9, 2023 by Guy Lowe

[Englishmaninwales]

+1 for the Caterham specific Schroth harness.