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What are acceptable anchorage points for seatbelts on monocoque chassis?

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Views: 6971
Votes: 2
Comments: 0
Posted: 13 Feb, 2008
by: Madabout-Kitcars ..
Updated: 18 Feb, 2008
by: Madabout-Kitcars ..
In all cases the manufacturer of the kit car should either provide adequate seatbelt mounting points in the structure of the car or at very least guide you in the best and safest method of mounting your seatbelts.
 
Below are also some points VOSA have on the subject which will hopefully provide a good understanding of what the examiner will be looking for.
 
ALL VEHICLES
 
What to look for:
 
• Evidence that anchorages in a vehicle of the same, or a very similar type have been subjected to a seatbelt anchorage strength test to "European Standards" by a recognised
authority. This may be acceptable where there is clear evidence that the structure is identical
to the vehicle originally tested.
 
• Welding should appear neat and of good quality; whilst it is impossible to judge the
quality of a weld just by looking at it, messy welding is rarely strong welding.
 
• Bolts used in structural areas should be of grade 8.8 or better. Such bolts will be marked
8.8 or 12.9 on the hexagonal head, however, cap-head bolts or 7/16" UNF seat belt anchorage bolts (with an anodised finish} not marked in this way may normally be considered to be of equivalent strength. Bolts should be M8 or larger.
 
• Threaded bushes should be welded (at both ends} through the tube, and not end mounted on the surface. (A threaded bush may be attached by its side surface to a structural component} See Fig below:
 
seatbelt anchorage points
 
Cause for Concern:
 
• Welds of poor appearance, gaps or visible lack of penetration.
 
• Anchorages in thin and/or flat panels with little stiffness or re-inforcing structure or in thin walled tube.
 
• Low grade bolts (less than grade 8.8}.
 
• Insufficient bolt capacity, eg number of bolts and/or diameter of bolts.
 
monocoque structural points for seatbelt anchorage
 
 2i. Steel Monocoques
 
What to look for:
 
• Structural box sections.
 
2ii. Composite Monocoques.
 
Composite materials such as glass re-inforced plastic (GRP - also known as fibreglass) are fairly common in the specialist vehicle industry.
 
What to look for:
 
• Box Sections with heavy lay up (i.e. material thickness} .
• Re-inforced areas, for example using folded metal box sections laminated into the vehicle structure.
• Material lay-up of good quality with absence of air bubbles. • 7/16" UNF threaded fixing of suitable surface area, or welded to a spreader plate of suitable surface area. Cause for concern:
• Threaded fixing/spreader plate of insufficient surface area.
• Threaded fixing and/or spreader plate only retained by a thin layer of laminate on the outer surface of the structure.
• Material lay-up poor with obvious air bubbles or delamination (separation of material layers}.
• Cracking or flexing of structural areas.
• Loads from anchorages being transmitted to weak areas of vehicle.
Others in this Category
document Do I need to fit an anti-theft device to my kit car?
document What are the minimum seat belt anchorage points needed?
document Where should I anchor my seatbelts?
document Do the seat belts themselves need an approval rating to pass?
document There is some slack on my inertia reel seatbelt, is this ok?
document The seatbelt is rubbing against another part of the car. Does this matter?
document What are acceptable anchorage points for seatbelts on steel tube chassis?
document Can I use the roll bar as anchorage points for my seatbelts?
document Can I fit an airbag?
document Can I fit a TV or DVD player to my car?


All the SVA information supplied on Madabout-Kitcars.com is done so on a "best efforts" basis and is meant as an informal guide only. We do no warrant or guarantee the information supplied due to the way SVA guidelines can be interpreted from test centre to test centre and because of changes in SVA guidelines by VOSA that we are not made aware of. It is up to you to satisfy yourself on any aspect of your build and SVA by researching the subject, contacting your kit car manufacturer, VOSA or getting hold of the SVA guide from VOSA and making an informed decision based on those factors.


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