Suspension Seats and Harnesses

[OutkastBoss]

We are making some progress on our cage as you can seen here http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1133751&page=3

I hadn't originally thought about needing to do this when I started the cage. But after all the sleepless nights of researching all of this I became worried about my family or I being injured by an interior bar. The stock seats and belts certainly don't secure us well enough to ensure not being smashed into a bar in even a medium collision or flop/roll. At 4" on 33's (locked/locked) we don't get into anything too crazy really, but still.

I am used to having a laid back seat and kinda leaning forward so being stuck back into my seat will be a bit different for me but I assume I will get used to it. TBH I am surprised at how expensive I am finding proper seats and harnesses to be. Anyways I wanted to share what I have learned and am considering purchasing for perhaps more knowledgeable people to comment or for reference later.

Anyways here is what I came up with for quality, safety and value as far as seats and harnesses. Corbeau suspension seats seem to be the quality w minor compromise for cost I needed and had options for a a full MWC sized guy that looked comfortable without huge bolsters.

Looking at the Baja Rs seats in black cloth/vinyl for $598 a pair
For the rear at $497 the 42" Baja Bench with optional headrests looks like it will fit well with some fabrication for the mounting. I'd rather not have the headrests for visibility reasons but they are removable and if I cram an adult in the rear I think the headrest may keep their head out of the tube.

I definitely wanted to retain sliders, mine will rarely move but the shotgun one would get readjusted more often. My stock ones got racked a bit when being welded back together and reinforced so they are hard to move. (the seatback broke in usual spot a few times years ago). Corbeau sells a Slider bracket that is supposed to fit and retain stock height.
They are $250 for a pair with upgraded dual locking sliders. I am thinking with the seat out I would reinforce the floor where the new sliders attach before installing.

For Harnesses we came up with the crow 3" standard pull down, 5 way, 5 point, latch and link Harnesses in black, with black sewn on pads, velcro sternum straps, anti tension springs, all bolt in w adjustable submarine belt and wrap around shoulder harness mounts and black metal finish.
The set of 4 go for $742.22

As you can see safety is pretty expensive, but probably cheaper and less stressful than injury. Here is what I have come up with for installation specifics.

We would fab up dual sheer mounts and only use grade8 hardware for the bolt in mounts.

For the shoulder straps we would use wrap around mounts with stops on the shoulder bar at 0-10 degrees below the shoulder.

For the Lap belt we would mount close to the hip as possible at 45- maximum 60 degrees behind the driver and not wider than the seat.

For the anti submarine belt we would mount it slightly behind the drivers chest line at 20 to 45 degrees with the bracket facing forward and up.

Also any adjustable 3 bar slides will be as close to anchor as possible with the belt ran back through another time to prevent slipping.

I feel like I did my due diligence on the research, what do you guys think.
The only thing I am still unsure of is, how does one use an anti submarine belt on a bench seat. I saw people saying they had but no pics.
Maybe I will ask Corbeau tomorrow.

 

[David_Bricker]

I bought a set of PRP Daily Driver seats. I have a two door, so needed a folding seat back. These seats allow a lot of recline options, from near straight up to near flat. It might be something to look at, so once strapped in, you wouldn't be leaning so far back.

David Bricker / SYR

 

[MKR5150]

I run the PRP comp pros, 2"x tall/4"x wide and very happy with them along with the Crow 5 points but I went with the 2" shoulder straps with sewn on pads, the 2" straps make wearing the shoulders so easy and second nature compared to uncomfortable 3" straps. Your plan is sound and looks safe.

 

[RedHeep]

I run the rugged ridge seats. They're narrow enough to fit in the XJ, recline and have harness slots. You have to make the seat sliders work with the seats.

 

[OutkastBoss]

Gonna look into some of these other seat options. I wasn't sure about the 3" straps for the shoulder but it was all I saw on Crows site. Comfortability is a high priority because I want them used all the time now that there will be tube in there. Wish there was somewhere to sit in these seats and harnesses and actually feel them.

We made a cardboard mockup of the dimensions of the rear bench and it will fit well and sit a few inches farther back than the stock one. We will need to extend the front wall of the underseat storage area to the height of the rear cargo area and build a frame for the bench to mount on. We will probably add flip down doors to access the underseat storage. With the harnesses in the way, and the C Pillar triangulation/planned rear storage making the rear bench flip forward seems like a waste. Between the tow rig, trailer, XJ trailer, and planned roof rack we have plenty of other ways to haul stuff anyways.

Really like that Corbeau has the new slider brackets that bolt right in, the measurements on the front seats look good too. Just a little wider and a little taller in the back, so tight but doable.

 

[831_xj]

I just installed the corbeau Baja RS seats in my 2 door. I ordered PRP 5.3 harnesses and they're great quality and comfortable.

 

[freerider15]

Corbeau does make pretty nice seats, but my PRP's blow them out of the water.

As long as you're making sure your angle are all good, then you're headed in the right direction.

Seems like you have the harnesses pretty well figured out, those sewn in straps are WELL worth it.

In case you haven't already gone through it, this outlines everything you need to know:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Harness_install/

Me, personally, I went with the bolt in straps. I wasn't as much of a fan of the wrap around stuff.

 

[OutkastBoss]

We're pretty well settled on the Corbeau seats, they are tough to beat at that price. Prp or any of the other high quality brands give you more options than the mass produced Corbeau seats but at a premium.

The PRP Harnesses would save me about $160 and with the easy adjusters look like they would be easily adjusted back and forth at the shoulder straps. I am probably going to go with them now. I hear people like the comfortability so hopefully I am good there. The price is right and they just come with all of the options I wanted.

I checked out he Pro armor ones too and they look cool but I was worried about the pocket and everything making it bulky and annoying. ( as I saw on some comments).

 

[OutkastBoss]

After talking with people at Corbeau it looks like with the bench people don't run 5 points, they run 4. he said most often there isn't room to mount the sub belt in the proper location so a 4 point is used often enough that the hole for the 5th belt isn't even an option.

I suppose a 4 point is sufficient for the rear bench, when something gets a bit intimidating or we're going to do any go fast stuff (VERY rare) I usually have the back passengers get out anyways.

 

[MKR5150]

I run 4 points and a back bench out of a Rocky for a back seat in my buggy. Works great for little people, 5.3 or less is a good. No problems other than mud makes the latchs dry and a pain but regular cleaning helps.