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Harnesses Buying Guide
15th November 2024 | By Patrick Crow
View our full range of harnesses
Where should you start? The first thing is to do is establish if your car will be used on the road, for track days or FIA events?
Road Use
Road approved harnesses can have a 3 point, 4 point or 6 point fixing.
Most people go for a 3 or 4 point harness with road only approval and a normal buckle similar to a buckle you would find in any production car. In most cases these will have 2 inch webbing and lap straps that ‘pull-up’ to adjust. Examples of these include:
Some enthusiasts prefer a quick release rotary buckle to go with the performance look of their cars. In this case a 4 or 6 point harness with FIA approval will be required. These are also approved for road use. The only exception is FIA harnesses that are ‘HANS only'. Examples of these include:
TRS Magnum 4 Point FIA and Road Harness
Willans 6 Point FIA and Road Harness
Track Day Use
Any of our harnesses can be used for track days. Obviously if the car is to be used on the road it makes sense to use a road or road and FIA approved version (as detailed above), however some customers prefer certain harnesses that are manufactured to exactly the same standards but for simple commercial reasons has not gone through the FIA process (i.e. the manufacturer hasn’t gone through the costly process of having a harness in a particular specification FIA approved). A few examples of these are shown below:
Willans 4 Point Track Day Harness
Willans 3 Point Track Day Harness with Quick Release Tail
FIA Use
There are three categories in this section:
1) Harnesses that are approved for FIA use without a HANS device
2) Harnesses that are approved for FIA use exclusively with a HANS device
3) Single seater harnesses
FIA use without a HANS device
As stated above in the road section, FIA approved harnesses are also approved for road use if they are not “HANS only”. Therefore, the following examples are perfect for FIA use without a HANS device, and road use:
TRS Magnum 4 Point FIA and Road Harness
Willans 4 Point FIA and Road Harness
TRS Pro 6 Point FIA and Road Harness
FIA use exclusively with a HANS device
These harnesses are specifically for use with a HANS devices (also known as an FHR device). They all have 2 inch (or 3 inch reducing to 2 inch) shoulder straps to accommodate the device. Examples of these include:
TRS Pro 6 Point FIA (HANS Only) Harness
TRS International 6 Point Quick Adjuster FIA (HANS Only) Harness
Single seater harnesses (with or without a HANS device)
Both Willans and TRS offer FIA approved harnesses for single seater racing cars in both standard and HANS only configurations. Examples of these include:
Willans 6 Point Single Seater Harness (HANS Only)
Off Road Harnesses
It’s also worth mentioning that we offer a small range of harnesses designed specifically for off road motorsport events. These include a lever latch release buckle that works well in outdoor, dirty environments. 4, 5 or 6 point versions are available. You can view the range here
Harness Options
All options are clearly shown on each listing. These include:
Upgrades to aluminium adjusters
Colour
Contrasting thread colour
Shoulder pads
Etc. etc
Each harness has its own specific options that can be selected via dropdown menus on the product pages.
Car Specific Options
A few vehicles need specific harnesses as they have tight cockpits or other restrictions. These include Caterham, Westfield, Lotus, Mazda MX5, Porsche and Classic Mini. The following links will take you to the buying guides for these particular vehicles:
Caterham
Westfield
Lotus
Mazda MX5
Porsche
Classic Mini
Cost of Shipping
All UK orders, including Highland, Islands and Northern Ireland are shipped carriage free. We also ship to:
Ireland
Channel Islands
Europe
United States
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Japan
You can view the latest carriage charges for these areas on the harness product pages and on our Shipping Charges page.
UK VAT of 20% is removed from all export orders, including the Channel Islands.
Delivery Time
Our range of harnesses are all made in the UK.
Some harnesses are kept in stock, and some are made to order. If a harness does need to be made to order the turnaround is fast as we have negotiated this with our manufacturers.
The estimated delivery times are shown on each listing, but we often deliver even quicker.
Once the harnesses are ready to be dispatched, they are shipped on a next day service (UK mainland) and express services to the rest of the world.
Willans, TRS or Cobra?
Not sure which brand to choose? It is similar to choosing between Volkswagen and Audi, or Rolls Royce and Bentley. The quality of TRS and Willans harnesses is like-for-like, and both companies produce excellent harnesses.
Some customers will have memories of Willans from the Jackie Stewart days, when they were pioneers of safety harnesses, and will therefore feel some allegiance to the Willans brand. Others will prefer the TRS brand and its association with all forms of modern motorsport. Also, some harnesses in the Willans and TRS ranges will have different features, and this may well help determine your choice.
Cobra harnesses are manfucatured by TRS in England, and are available exclusively from us at Carnoisseur. They are the perfect choice for customers with Cobra seats, or if you are just like the Cobra brand.
At Carnoisseur we are big fans of all of these brands and are very happy to recommend either of them to our customers.
You can click here to view our buying guide to the TRS range: TRS Motorsport Car Harnesses Explained
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We are happy to accept orders online of course and design our web pages to be informative and easy to navigate but if you need some help or advice feel free to email or give us a call. We even answer the phone! Call on 01582 787377.