4 point belts for 430?

You gotta get a roll bar first!

 

No they are not. You need to get the three trim panels for the 4-point belts, they come with four oval plastic trims and mounting brackets where the belts attach. No rollbar needed. A Race shop can fabricate these brackets, cut the holes in your stock trim pieces (with cloth or leather or Alcantara), and put a oval shape ring froma race seat (Recaro/Sparco) in the new holes.

I'm thinking on getting the factory Rollbar, and have it modified by a Racing shop to include a new diagonal tube (for strength reasons) plus another horizontal one to be used as harness bar. I think this is a better approach, cheaper and much safer.

Once I get the actual weight from the seats, I will determine which seats will replace my stock seats, as I want and need a 6-point harness. The stock seats are wonderful and they keep you in place, but under heavy loads I find myself making a substantial physical effort to stay in place. Driving with a 6 point harness and a race seat is so relaxing. There are plenty of comfortable race seats in the market.

 

Rad,

If you are just doing auto-x why not weld anchors to the rear bulkhead and modify the trim panels? If you do a rollhoop it will only bolt in at max 4 places and that is with modification to your car. Also if you do a diagonal you will need to unbolt the unit to get to the front of the engine and while the diagonal is critical for rollover strength you still are connected at only 4 points. It is really difficult to design a good dual use system. I have tried many times and just ended up with a full racecar in attempts to be as safe as possible. Your car is smokin fast and basically speed kills. You hit a wall at over 100 easy. A miata can barely get to 100 you know what I mean?

To the OP if you do a 4 point make sure it is a schroth ASM design or do a 6pt parachute which is easy to do even with stock seats.

 

If you are going through the effort of installing proper belts, make sure you install 6pt at a minimum. Without a crotch strap you run the risk of sliding under the lap belt if an incident occurs. A good set of FIA belts can be found for around $200. I have used Sparco, Schroth, Sabelt, and RJS belts in my race cars.
http://www.schrothracing.com/store/Competition/clubman/clubman-III

 

For auto-x only, the anchors and belts are more than fine, for track use I don't feel comfortable without a 6-point harness and a rollbar.

I assume a Ferrari factory Rollbar for a F430 is better than nothing, and reinforcing it should make it even better. I agree that a Scuderia is a very fast car, it is a lot faster than any of my previous cars on turns and straights, hence my restraint to bring it to the track until I install better safety equipment. In all these years going to the tracks across U.S. I have seen accidents, from Pro level down to DE level, some of them with fatalities.

At a minimum, a Hans, 6-point harness, rollbar and fire extinguisher are required.

The stock seats are not suitable for a 6-point harness, that's the reason I'm replacing them.

 

Do they make a factory 430 rollhoop or just the 430C full bolt in cage? Either would be very expensive but very cheap to fabricate. Metal is metal and all you need is about 1.75" 0.102" wall DOM 1020 steel tubing and it can be custom made. I can give you some tips and we can talk about safety compromises. I have made my own cages several times and unfortunately tested them. I make good cages.

 

My 2 cents...
I was also using my Scuderia for track purposes only and was never completly satisfied with the handling (understear), tires and safety ( no cage, no harness, no fire suppression, seats). Now the Scuderia stays in the garage (or on the street) since I bought a used 430ch. for the track. I have zero regrets the car handle way better (gt package), lap time are faster and a lot safer.

 

Let me ask you a question, though. How's the slow shift time feel compared to the scud. I am considering a similar switch, but I am doubtful about the "feeling" of the gearbox.

 

This is my pros and cons for the both car on the track since I owned both of them.

SCUDERIA

Pros:

- Gearbox
- Very easy to drive fast and very forgiving
- Maybe faster than any other street car on the track
- Drive the car to the track
- Very good for the street and a little track

Cons:

- Safety (roll cage, harness, fire suppression )
- Suspension, car height and body roll.
- Too much electronic assistance (no feedback) and not as rewarding.
- Seats and no harness
- Tires and the electronic does not work well with slicks
- Price and high depreciation after tracking on a regular basis.
- Concerns about rock chips and the value of the car etc...
- Same budget to maintain than a challenge car (ceramics etc...)
- Scuderia is only a track oriented street car not a real track car

F430 CHALLENGE

Pros:

- Handling and Grip (suspension and slicks)
- Custom Car set up (Springs,Shocks, Roll bar)
- Driving position harness, seats
- Safety seats, harness, hans device and fire suppression
- Very rewarding with a lot of feedback
- GT package
- No worries if the car gets some chips (it is a race car)
- Sounds great (cat off)
- Real 100% track car

Cons:

- Transportation to the track
- Not cheap to maintain and run (slicks etc...)
- More difficult to set up
- Slower gearbox
- Track car only!

 

By the way, what is GT package?

 

Hello, I'm new to this site, but already it looks like there are far more knowledgeable postings that I normally see. Nice.
If there are people that want 4 or 6 point seat belts fitted correctly to F430 cars, my company, www.atenmotorsports.com, can do a proper job. We were responsoble for engineering and preperation of the Tafel Racing F430's that won four race's in the ALMS last year. We also can do quite a lot of very neat suspension changes if you want something different. To finish off, we also have a very high downforce rear wing and mountings. We are in the Atlanta area.
Here ends the commercial and I promise I wont do it again.
Tony Dowe

 

Also, FWIW I was told that you should not weld mounting points into the 360/430 chassis as the heat can disturb the integrity of the rest of the aluminum. The proper way to do this is just as the factory has done by bonding the aluminum.