Removing 4-point harnesses in Scuderia

I think this will become much more of a headache than its really worth. I think its a little bit more complex to do a factory quality installation job. The trim panels are expensive and trying to get a color and stitching match will be costly too.

The standard inertia reel seat belts have an electrical feature on them which is a seat belt pre -tensioner function. This is electrically connected via a wiring loom to the airbag ecu function which in the event of a detection of a heavy g-forces (crash) locks the belts in place. Some airbag computers (not sure if this is the case on the Scud's TRW ecu) also per-emptively tighten the belt in fast accelerations and strong decelerations even if no crash has occurred. I assume this feature must be software disabled on harness equipped cars since there are none installed. It could get expensive if you also need to replace the airbag ecu too to add all this back in. Furthermore there is also a seat belt warning light which is normally fitted so that it can warn you on the dashboard that the belts are not being worn.

I would seek professional advice here since trying to retrofit this without considering the properly could render the car belts unsafe (pre-tensioners also help to prevent occupants slipping under the belts during a crash, etc.).

Good luck.

 

Craig,

Despite it being done by a franchised main dealer I still think they'll have little or no experience doing this from their past, thus my concern that they will be learning on your car. There is a huge difference to main dealer retrofit items and 'factory fit' items installed at time of manufacture. Retrofitted items (mods if you like) even from a main dealer don't necessarily mean it will be perfect and Ferrari engineering standard, especially one-off mods like this.

Ask them how many times they have done this conversion before for other customers? I bet its zero, you'd be the first 'test pilot'.

*If* they can somehow talk directly to the factory (engineers back in Italy) and get their advice [I'd want to see evidence of this, particularly on the concerns about Airbag ecu changes and wiring looms] only then would I feel comfortable, particularly since this mod involves complex safety systems equipment that you have to rely on in an accident situation to save your life (e.g. how do you know it will work after in a crash?).

Good luck whatever way you take!

 

Just checked and can confirm the Airbag ECU is different between harnesses and standard seat belts.

In Europe you'll have an airbag ecu, part no. 216005 (with 4-point belts) and you'll need to swap it for airbag ecu, part no. 192789 with standard seat belts. Furthermore there are different looms too.

Once all the work to wire in new yellow safety system wiring is completed and tested you'll may also find some Ferrari computers flag up a 'mileage discrepancy' or 'potential accident' issue too (unless you can find a way to clone across the existing data) because even though mileage is stored in a different ecu, the "minutes running" is logged in the airbag ecu (among others) and it should match the information stored in other computers.

If you or your garage swaps it out with a brand new ecu the minute counter is now mismatched so you end up with a car that could look 'suspect', like its had an accident in the past and been replaced - this may indeed make your car less desirable for a resale.

Once again showing that it could get very very tricky to do a 'factory' quality installation.

 

I am in the same situation. Just bought a Scuderia and would like a 5P haness for the track and 3P for my daily use... Have any of you come with a solution for this?

If 3P conversion is out of the question, has anyone installed a 5P harness for track day use?

 

Good job! The world is full of 'experts'.

Hopefully those little old Italian ladies will hurry up with the sewing machines and get your trim panels!

 

Thanks
Not impossible then Pictures when done would be great...

 

"Despite the naysayres on the forum - many of whom appear to know ***** - the process is very easy."

Your definition of 'easy' is definitely different to mine!

All the information I posted was indeed accurate and correct and none of is was disproved by the factory. I have experience of retro fitting harnesses and removing inertia reel belts and I can tell you doing it either way its never as easy as people say it is. For example, I just 'hope' your color match on the Alcantara is good since fading does indeed change color and the color can even change between rolls of Alcantara. Of course relatively everything is 'easy' when you know how to do it and have technical support from the manufacturer.

However most whom try this modification at home will not and could indeed compromise their safety or the safety of others since the fact remains that removing 4-pt harnesses requires modifications to the SRS Airbag system - this means that actually is not quite so easy or trivial as you or your dealer source implies. Its not a recommended DIY job (or even aftermarket specialist who's not really well informed). For starters you'll need to prove and test the safety equipment with an SD2. Its required to verify the self test so you know the system works when you need it most.

In summary anything is possible including LHD to RHD, F1 to Manual, and vice versa - and its even easier if you pay someone to do it for you...

Glad you got it sorted though and pray the color match is good when it arrives!

 

I retrofitted four point harness to my 430 so I have the best of both worlds. I'm thankful I didn't do it the other way round.

 

Cesman, did you finally get this done in the UK? Am very interested to know who you went with, costs involved and final result..

Am looking for a scud and read everywhere the harnesses would be a total pain. Especially because I will have a LHD in the Uk...

Porsche are still ahead on this. Proper 5 point belt AND the OEM normal belt for everyday driving..

 

Wow.. that was quick!

Thanks, very helpful indeed, at least I don't have to write off cars with harnesses in my search..