[Fot] Seat belts

[robert bownes]

My dad’s Fisher Body Ltd factory (outside Belfast, N. Ireland) made seat belts for Opel and Vauxhall (and Holden iirc).

I got to see firsthand the crash test dummy in the sled in the testing department. They were mostly testing mechanisms, but they also tested the UV effect on batches of webbing. Let us just say, despite my cheap nature, I have never, ever, been tempted to push the dates on seatbelts.  At 5 years exposure, the extra stretch was about 25%, which was enough to hit a steering wheel. After that, it fell off dramatically. At 10 years, they were pretty much useless, the dummy was in the safety net. And this met regulations at the time!

By the way, the safety net had to be replaced regularly too. The dent in the cinder block wall spoke volumes. :)



> On Mar 4, 2020, at 22:19, kkjjk--- via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Understood, Phil, thanks!- Jay
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Phil Gott <vfracing at aol.com>
> To: kkjjk <kkjjk at aol.com>
> Cc: fot <fot at autox.team.net>
> Sent: Wed, Mar 4, 2020 10:13 pm
> Subject: Re: [Fot] Seat belts
> 
> If your belts are certified by SFI they will be good for 2 years from the date of manufacture. If they carry an FIA certification, they will be accepted for 5 years from the date of manufacture. SVRA enforces the dates to the month. SCCA will cut you some slack and let you go to the end of the calendar year in which they expire.
> Phil Gott
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>>> On Mar 4, 2020, at 9:31 PM, kkjjk--- via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:
>>> 
>> 
>> Hello FOT-  Does anyone know how long seat belts are good for?  I have read here on FOT that SVRA will be checking belts at the Kastner Cup.  I just got new belts from Summit Racing, and the tag says they expire June 2022.  I thought that belts were good for 5 years?   Could these belts be "old"(as in NOS) or are they only good for 2 years?  My present belts are over 5 years old.  Yikes!-- Jay
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