Breathless Bar and Crow Harnesses
November 21, 2001
By:
N4C5S
Member Rating:
Total votes: 25
Ahh, the long awaited harness bar review. I figured I'd go ahead and knock both out in one review since they are so closely related, so here goes.
After reading all the information on the BK bar and examining the pictures I though there had to be something better for my application out there. While the BK is an excellent bar, I wanted something more low profile and when not in use, almost invisible. Enter the Breathless harness bar.
It's a round bar finished in gloss black and sits very low on the "wall" behind the seats and uses the fire/cam mounts to ride over the hump to prevent rotation while retaining full use of the factory belts. It's a snap to install, just remove the factory belts, install the support brackets and rebolt the factory belts through it. With the supports in place, install the bar to the supports, 4 bolts and 15 minutes. Super simple!
Install the rails under the seats which provide the mounting points for the lap belts and anti-sub belt and you're ready to install the harnesses.
The bar is shipped in a huge box of peanuts with all hardware in place and in seperate bubble wrapped pieces to protect the finish, nice. Speaking of the finish, even the bolt holes are painted (not the threads!) and no parts are missing paint, even on the backsides, a very nice job. Yes, the bar is round, not square like some of the cheaper bars out there. Overall, it looks very professional and is of the highest quality. One negative is that the bolts supplied for the harnesses were a little too long and if you use them without extra washers, they will punch through the plastic/balsa flooring! I assume this is to make up for the different harness configs but it should be mentioned in the instructions. Very minor but it cost me a trip to the hardware store where I purchased some grade 8 washers.
I selected the Crow harnesses because I was familiar with them from Ron Marks car and they looked and fit very nicely. Most cam lock harnesses are probably about the same, but hey, I like the little picture of the black crow to go with my black Z
My biggest problem is that the lap belts are a little on the short side and I only have about an inch on either side when I'm strapped in. If you have very short legs or are of a hefty build, you may find this combo won't work. I suppose Crow offers longer lap belts if you ask but I find myself asking why they are so short. Not a big deal for me since they fit perfectly for my application (I'm 170, 5'11") but could be a problem for someone else. I used the bolt in versions as they are required for the Breathless bar but I suppose you could get the wrap around models and thread the bolt in hardware on them to custom fit to any size person.
At any rate, I really like this combination and find its ideal for my usage and would not hesitate to do it again. I can say that I fully recommend this combination with the caveat that you heed the lap belt issue above. For more pictures and commentary, search the forum for harness, there is lots more info to be found.
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