Takata Harness Fake or Real (how to tell the difference)

[kulo]

[Lo-Buck EF]

someone move this to 'the propper forum'

[Stinkycheezmonky]

Legitimately, a fake FIA cert is probably majorly illegal. I don't know wtf you contact about that sort of thing, but...

[hachikid]

fakes are proper with the fake fia cert. no one will ever know.

[Lo-Buck EF]

and the rr/ax forum just dropped another 10% in worthwile substance.
and yes, if someone is making fake belts with fake fia tags it is illegal. if someone gets hurt, that company is done for.
and they don't look like fake belts, they look like older style belts that were referb'd with new fia tags on them.

[robble36]

i have seen both in person and i think the "fake" really is an older style belt.. I have seen a few in different cars and the newer style i have owned personally but the quality seems the same if they are imitations they are done good

[drewbie]

wouldnt price be a good indicator on the real or fake issue

[nonsense]

Originally Posted by drewbie

wouldnt price be a good indicator on the real or fake issue

Yeah "fake" ones probably cost as much as a non-bling harness, and the "real" ones cost double that. Just avoid all confusion and don't buy blingy JDM harnesses.

[turboteener]

The only thing worth covering in this discussion is the argument about SCCA requiring new harnesses every two years. Could someone just print new tags every couple of years to not have to sink money into harness replacement. I don't know about you but my race car lives most of its life inside so sun damage isn't an issue. Maybe we just start printing new tags and replace them every two years. Then at least we could get the useful life out of our harnesses.

[Stinkycheezmonky]

If you're willing to possibly risk your safety for such a thing, go for it. That's your personal compromise, should be your call (beyond the litigious aspects for SCCA, which you'd be covering). Just like you don't HAVE to use the best 1lb $1500 helmet, you can use a 5lb $250 one.

Only thing I'd question is this (and I seriously don't know the answer): at what rate does sun exposure degrade harness quality? If the car sees daylight 10 days a year, is that enough to compromise it's integrity in a two-year period?

[turboteener]

Lets put it this way. The FAA says harnesses are to be replaced every 15+ years. I don't know about you but the harness in my car doesn't get abused. When the car is at the track it sits under a canopy and I am not running an open top car yet.

The whole two year rule was pushed on SCCA by the SFI. The SFI doesn't give a damn about the racer. Their job is to promote their member manufactures. What better what to ensure good business for your business than pushing a race sanctioning body to mandate equipment changes every few years. Same thing with the HANS device. Why is there no other unit allowed? Not because there aren't any better units out there, but because HANS lobbied the best to get their unit as the only one allowed.

As for Harnesses lifespan. If you feel that the SCCA can mandate a better time period than your personal visual inspection of your own equipment, then by all means go with their recommendations. But I feel I can personally maintain my race car than some stupid lawyer somewhere.

[Stinkycheezmonky]

I have no feelings one way or the other, and I'm completely unaware of the reasons or sanctioning bodies behind those rules. The 15+ year FAA thing is surprising, but the SFI nonsense isn't (I have followed the HANS BS). Given all that, I agree with you

[pimpinblackcivic]

the older style one still has the same closure as the one on the left - right hand side one is definitely a fake

[FifthGearOnline]

or just get a cheaper one from summit that works just as fine and isnt some over priced jdm shit

[essex]

The only thing real about those green belts is they don't come with crotch belts. Nice.

[essex]

Originally Posted by Stinkycheezmonky

If you're willing to possibly risk your safety for such a thing, go for it.

That's quite amazing you think belts are only good for 2 years? seriously?

[slammed_93_hatch]

Originally Posted by turboteener

The only thing worth covering in this discussion is the argument about SCCA requiring new harnesses every two years.

They don't require new harnesses every two years.

The ones shown above, if real, are good for 5 years just like any FIA cert harness.

[turboteener]

Sorry, I shall clarify. SCCA requires all SFI rated harnesses be replaced every two years. They allow longer on FIA certified?

[Stinkycheezmonky]

Originally Posted by essex

That's quite amazing you think belts are only good for 2 years? seriously?

You obviously didn't read anything else I wrote. No, I don't think belts are good for only two years. FWIW, I am using 5-year old FIA belts in my own car.

[beanbag]

Normal "seat belts" are good for forever, so why should a harness expire?

[Kamin]

because racing harness' arent a normal seatbelt.

they are subjected to MUCH more abuse and load than a car seatbelt.

[Stinkycheezmonky]

Normal "seatbelts" are also not good forever. They do wear out and go bad.

[ExospeedAMcrx]

If you buy from certain manufacturers that actually do in house manuf. such as Deist Safety, they can reweb the belts using the same hardware.
Let's say a $150 belt can be sent back and redone using the same hardware for about $70.00

SFI does not allow to use the same belts, but you can reuse the hardware. So chose a brand that you know you can come back to and get the belts redone. Much cheaper that way, than buying belts every couple years.

[Lo-Buck EF]

Originally Posted by nonsense

yeah "fake" ones probably cost as much as a non-bling harness, and the "real" ones cost double that. Just avoid all confusion and don't buy blingy jdm harnesses.

amen

[heel_touge]

Originally Posted by essex

The only thing real about those green belts is they don't come with crotch belts. Nice.

SHAZAM! heres mine. they have a 6 point option as well.