what would you guys think

[bmx-guy]

so i'm thinking of stripping out my back bench seat and putting 2 bucket seats, possibly 4 point, what are your people's opinions on that? like if you were to see a buddy's car for the first time and he had that set up, what would you think

[8695Beaters]

Tuning Myth 11: Racing harnesses are safer than seatbelts.

ABSOLUTELY FALSE!!! Racing harnesses are meant for race cars with rollcages. Rollcages are meant for racecars, not daily drivers. And harnesses have to be securely mounted to a harness bar or to the same locations as the rear seatbelts.

Putting in buckets is going to be really hard to do. First of all, the rear seats are not mounted in any way like the fronts. Most have a couple of tabs that just slip into holes in the frame. The fronts have bolts and brackets and frames that all bolt very firmly into the frame of the car (that section of frame is also heavily reinforced). Also many cars (like the DC Integra and CRX) have their fuel tanks under the back seat (well back seat area for the CRX). So there's no good way to put a seat in there. Also a harness needs a solid point to bolt in the frame so that the straps aren't angled more than 45 degrees over the seatback. In the trunk of a sedan, there's no place to mount the harness safely. And NEVER skimp on harnesses. These things have to save your life and if mounted improperly, can kill you in an accident. My friend installed a 4-point harness into his Mini a few months ago. He did all the work himself (the setup was ingenious. It used the rear seatbelts to mount it, no drilling required!). Anyway, the first time I saw it, I had him sit in the car and I made a few adjustments to the length and angle. Took about 2 minutes. He said it immediately felt better. In a crash, if the harness is mounted at too stepp an angle, then it can compress your spine, and too much of that can severe nerves, which ends up with you using a wheelchair for the rest of your life. From a safety point of view, drop this idea since there is no way to safely mount the seats or the belts.

Also, four point harnesses aren't very safe. In a frontal collision, you tend to "submarine" or slide out from under the harness, since there is nothing holding your legs in place (then again the stock 3-point belt has the same problem, but it comes with the car). If you do upgrade, always ALWAYS go for a 5 or 6-point harness. But then again, like I already said, harnesses are for race cars.

[dre5491]

I say do it but don't put harnesses instead leave the stock belts. I've never seen a car with bucket seats in the rear so it will be some thing new and unique. The gas tank shouldnt be a problem cuz on my accord atleast the gas tank was directly under the seat. Just don't throw the seats in there take your time watch what your doing and everything should be fine. Just watch for and wires and stuff like that that might be hidden or make sure theres nothing under the car that putting the seats in can affect.

[8695Beaters]

The reason I said seats won't work is beacuse there is nothing to to bolt them to. The front seats have reinforced brackets that are nearly impossible to break off. And aftermarket seat brackets bolt directly to the existing points to make them safe and secure. Rear seats don't have anything like that. Most rear seats have a couple of hinges that are reinforced, but there isn't any good way to mount a seat on to that. And don't even think about just drilling into the floor. It's too weak. The floor will bend under a strong impact sending your passenger flying.

Aside from the physics, think about the legalities. You are mounting a custom seat into an area that's not meant for it. If you are ever in an accident, and one of your passengers is hurt by your custom mounting, then they can sue you for damages. Any good lawyer would eat that up. The reason that this doesn't happen for front seats is the same reason I already mentioned.

If you REALLY wanted to do this, you would have to have a shop add lots more sheetmetal to the floor of your car and build an OE style mounting bracket. Then they have to make the seatbelts work with the new seating location. That's hella expensive and not worth the work. There's a reason nobody has done this before.

There are a lot of things that are great to fab up. And I say go for it. But some things you really need to leave to the professionals. Setting up seats and seatbelts is one of those things. There is way too much risk involved to skimp out on those details.

[dre5491]

Lol i never said it would be cheap. Like I said though you would have to do things the right way no short cuts cuz of things that could happen and on a more less extreme side it would look tacky

[8695Beaters]

I wanted to make it crystal clear to anyone who sees this post that trying to modify seats and seat brackets is a very risky job. I don't want anybody else getting the same idea and trying to pull it off.

[J_Baby60]

Originally Posted by 8695Beaters

Also, four point harnesses aren't very safe. In a frontal collision, you tend to "submarine" or slide out from under the harness, since there is nothing holding your legs in place

This is not a completely true statement. Actually, its not true at all.

You never "submarine" in a frontal collision. Anyone who has been in a front end impact accident knows that when your car stops (because it was hit), you (as in your body) do not stop moving. In fact, you can test this theory on your own any time. Stomp on your brakes real hard when youre moving at more than 10 mph. What happens? Your car stops, but you move forward towards your steering wheel until your seatbelt catches you. Forward and UP. Its how people are thrown through their windshields. They go UP, not down.

4-point harnesses are safe if installed and used correctly. They are slightly less safe compared to 5, 6, or 7 point harnesses, but still safe.

HOWEVER, I must concur with the others as far as replacing your factory rear belts for harnesses. Bad idea! I have personally seen a rear bucket seat conversion (in a 5th gen civic), and it looks great. Do it if you want, but leave the factory belts in.

[bmx-guy]

wow lots of thoughts haha...but no i was going to leave the factory belts in, i was just thinking of getting 4 point seats just cuz they look cool, i wasn't going to put in 4 point harnesses....and would getting the mounting brackets just welded in not work? cuz i know someone that's willing to weld it for me once i get the seats...but i'm going to get either the same 4 point seats (reclinable) all the way around, or buy 2 4 point seats and put the factory ones (with seat covers) in the back

[8695Beaters]

JBaby, in an accident your body goes wherever it can. In a four-point, that ends up begin down. Think about it: You go forward, the belts pull and slide up, and you start sliding down. In an unrestricted accident, you go straight forward. You hit the steering wheel and bounce up, or your feet hit the floorboard and you bounce up. The windshield just happens to be the softest point in the car, so you through it instead of backwards again.

BMX, the answer is probably not. The brackets are thick gauge steel and welded on very well. You need to brace the floor pan where the brackets are going, and then find a way to cut off the old brackets and mount them to the floor. That will be the hardest part. If you can get that far, putting the seats in shouldn't be a problem. The other thing is that you have to get the new seats to end up being about as tall as the old seats, otherwise the seatbelts will not protect as they were designed to (possibly causing more harm than good). A friend who can weld isn't enough. You need someone who knows exactly what they are doing to redesign your floor and figure out how to mount seats that aren't designed to fit there. Again this is not something to screw around with. And again, if you get this done and someone is hurt in your seats, you become liable. It may look cool, but not worth the hassle in my opinion.

[PrimeTimeV6]

I would check with local law enforcement and check with them first, but personally I was thinking of the same thing. Just use the stock belts. Good Luck