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<E36 M3> Installing Harness Q's
Folks-
I've just received a 6 point TRW harness, and am trying to figure out how to
install it in my E36 M3 (the harness came without any directions). It *looks*
as if all that's neccesary is pulling the seat (4 bolts - I have no idea what
the electric connector for the seat heater is like), mounting the harness on
the bolts underneath the seat rails, and then replacing the seat. The Y-yoke
for the upper two belts could be connected to either the hard-point for one of
the rear seat-belts or, if it's strong enough, bolted to the underside of the
rear deck (and then accessed through folding down the rear seat).
The questions I have are:
a) Is removing the seat fairly straightforward, or are there things to watch
out for?
b) Can I expect the seat mounting bolts to be long enough to pass through the
metal connectors for the harness and still hold the seat, or is there
something you need to do to lengthen them?
c) Is there a point on the rear deck that's strong enough to mount a harness
to? If so, what does it look like, where do you drill, etc.?
d) Anything else to be aware of?
I'd greatly appreciate any advice from someone who's already done it; a quick
survey at my last drivers school (Gingerman over the weekend - great track)
revealed a wide variety of approaches. The most thoroughly explained one
involved dropping the exhaust (!) and drilling multiple holes through the
floor, one of which passed through the rear seat heat ducts, for the
anti-submarine straps. While this approach worked well, it sure seemed like
an awful lot of work. Another nice set-up slotted into the existing front and
back seat belts at two points (the right side and rear), but had no
anti-submarine belts. I *believe* you ideally want to avoid having the rear
straps drop down at too extreme an angle, since that would result in downward
force being applied to your shoulders in a crash, so I'd prefer to mount to
the rear deck, but I'm certainly open to being further educated in this
matter, and I'd also be willing to pay somebody who knows what they're doing
if it's really that complicated (I live in Chicago).
Sorry for the excessive length, and TIA for any replies.
Simon Kennedy
'95 M3