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Posted by animal in another thread (was off-topic) : -
Not wanting to take this any further off topic, but that photo concerns me Robin - are those your seats?
Bucket seats such as those shown here are rarely strong enough to actually take harnesses through the cut-outs, they are purely cosmetic. It was the same story on the old RS Focus - people we putting harnesses through the seats, but the backs of the seat aren't designed to take the load from a harness and can buckle and distort in a heavy impact, offering little or no support and potentially fatal consquences as the seat collapses around you. Just thought I'd let you know in case you weren't already aware of the dangers. The seat backs are separate from the base and arent stiff enough, like proper one-piece bucket seats, to handle forces exerted on them.
I don't mean to preach, but it's quite a serious safety concern - particularly on a track. They look lovely though... I hope I can source some.
....I think this is a question of safety best answered by both Recaro and Schroth. I will attempt to get some info from them and post accordingly in due course.
Meanwhile, my tuppence-worth is that the Recaro's are probably (hopefully!) stronger than those in an old Ford RS Focus. But more importantly, do you know of any fatal or serious injury crashes where these Schroth Quikfit belts were installed?
Also my Recaro versions don't fold forward very well, although they aren't a one-piece shell. There must be plenty of one-piece shell bucket seats on the market which are neither TUV approved nor of a material which won't shatter/break under severe duress, but I haven't researched this point.
Also, the Schroth literature accompanying their Quikfit harness makes a big point of where the rear straps should and shouldn't be anchored and surely this is with seatbelt safety uppermost in their mind.
