SimXperience G-Belt review

[metalnwood]

@RCHeliguy yes, I also wasnt implying that you are doing something wrong and it could work for you. You have tried a few and found what works for you. I was just saying some of the things that could be giving people issues.

My cable tied is not for the pulling, it is because it is a 3" belt and that helps so that the side of the belt doesnt rub on the inside of my legs. a 2c solution.

Real race drivers have an issue that we dont and that is they actively have forces that are moving them forward out of their seat that could cause more uncomfort.

I don't mind anything that works, I checked out the video of you putting it on and that solution, for me, would unfortunately have me not using the belt all the time. The amount of times I could be in and out of the rig. The number of times I have had to try and get a toilet stop in after qualifying and get back before gridding... That belt wouldnt be going on again. There are many practicle sides to all of this.

 

[RCHeliguy]

@RCHeliguy , I checked out the video of you putting it on and that solution, for me, would unfortunately have me not using the belt all the time. The amount of times I could be in and out of the rig. The number of times I have had to try and get a toilet stop in after qualifying and get back before gridding... That belt wouldnt be going on again. There are many practicle sides to all of this.

I probably should have reshot that section. It normally goes faster than that, but I decided to leave the futzing there. You are correct that there are more steps involved, but it really does go quickly most of the time. I generally make sure to take a pee break right before qualifying.

 

[5teveC457]

@RCHeliguy Thanks for your recommendation on the belt. I've gone ahead and placed my order! Now I just need to wait for it and my G-belt to arrive. I noticed you have your G-belt mounted up on the seat right behind your head. How did you mount it up there? Did you drill through your seat and make a custom bracket of some sort?

 

[RCHeliguy]

I drilled M6 holes using the supplied template and masking tape.

I through bolted using large washers and some non drying caulk.

This required that I pry open the left seatbelt grommet. Since it didn't quite snap back together I got some tiny screws to hold the two grommet halves together. The itsy bitsy C-clamp held the grommet in place nicely while I drilled tiny holes and put the little screws in. So be very careful prying the halves apart.

 

[5teveC457]

I drilled M6 holes using the supplied template and masking tape.

I through bolted using large washers and some non drying caulk.

This required that I pry open the left seatbelt grommet. Since it didn't quite snap back together I got some tiny screws to hold the two grommet halves together. The itsy bitsy C-clamp held the grommet in place nicely while I drilled tiny holes and put the little screws in. So be very careful prying the halves apart.

Thanks for the photos, that looks relative straightforward. I was planning on mounting the G-belt down at the base of the seat. I may give that a try first and see how it feels, even though I realize mounted it up by your shoulders so it pulls straight back probably works better.

 

[metalnwood]

Thanks for the photos, that looks relative straightforward. I was planning on mounting the G-belt down at the base of the seat. I may give that a try first and see how it feels, even though I realize mounted it up by your shoulders so it pulls straight back probably works better.

it certainly is better pulling back on your shoulders than down. You will see most people have some sort of seatbelt tower behind the seat to keep the belts high if they have the belts connected to something lower.

 

[anton_Chez]

What is the reason for the caulk behind the washer? It's not going anywhere once tightened down, is it more for cushioning against the fiberglass shell? The fact that having a tower for the belts to run through, or rollers 3D printed up and having to mount those to my seat instead was all the reason I needed to just put the actual G-Belt unit on the seat itself. It's so easy to install, as long as you have a seat that doesn't give you any dramas with the shape and it's a fiberglass shell bucket seat, it's definitely the best way to go. You get used to seeing it up there pretty quick and there is almost no fuss in getting it up and running that way quickly and easily. I've never even bothered to see how it feels down below, I mounted it behind the ports and it's been there ever since.

 

[5teveC457]

@RCHeliguy I just received the Crow belt you recommended and it looks great. I still need to wait until I receive my G-belt before I install it. One thing I noticed was that there aren't springs on the adjusters, which my cheap $60 did actually have. I did notice, however, that the adjusters use a knurled rod so perhaps that prevents them from loosening. Do you have any issues with the belts loosening on you?

 

[RCHeliguy]

None at all! They hold very tight!
And they cinch down very easily.
You won't be disappointed.

 

[5teveC457]

None at all! They hold very tight!
And they cinch down very easily.
You won't be disappointed.

Awesome thanks. I can’t wait to get them installed!

 

[anton_Chez]

Any legit belt should never suffer from coming loose, at all. The design of the buckles are probably far superior than the cheapo belts. My first couple had no spring, came loose. The one I have now, still knock off, but does have the spring. Doesn't loosen at all, but also doesn't loosen easily when you want it to. There must be a reason why some harnesses have the springs and some don't and they seem to also come from various degrees of quality.

If anyone is concerned with getting a knock off that might disappoint, I would suggest heeding Mark's advice and just go for the cheapest legit harness that suits your needs, that being 5 or 6 point.

On another note, even after making sure all my USB selective suspend settings were set to DISABLED, my G-Belt dropped out last night while doing some laps in iRacing. I recently installed a power supply, in which all my USB devices were dis and reconnected. Prior to that, I had not had a single drop out since receiving the unit, which was when it was brought to my attention by they guys at SimXperience to make sure those settings were correct. I have since swapped the connection over to the OSW extension cable which has also swapped the USB port on the PC. I'll keep swapping until I can confidently say that it's not going to happen anymore.

USB really is a devil of a thing.

 

[wajdi]

I have a 6 point/3inch belt from AliExpress costed me about 90$ And I’m very happy with it and it doesn’t lose at all.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I have a 6 point/3inch belt from AliExpress costed me about 90$ And I’m very happy with it and it doesn’t lose at all.

I'm glad that's working for you.

I think the issue here is that some of us had to go through multiple purchases to find something that works and getting a known good eliminates that hit or miss process.

I had a 2" harness with springs and it held well, but was a bit of a pain to release. I definitely like 3" wide belts better with the G-Belt, but my 3" Sabelt knock off didn't have springs and was a beast to adjust. It did not loosen well and it didn't hold tight. The Crow harness is super easy to adjust and cinches down nice and snug.

Given the amount of use your seatbelt gets, I don't understand the push back towards getting something that looks great, works great, and has detachable anchors so no cutting is required for the G-Belt. It's not that much more expensive. We are talking another $150 and given how much we spend on our rigs for authentic feeling steering wheels and many other things this does not seem like a big expense.

 

[NetLawMan]

I am ordering from Crow. Was working with Fred From Cros last week on the specific design. I believe the spring tensions are an option, and Fred said that they are not necessary.

 

[NetLawMan]

I have a 6 point/3inch belt from AliExpress costed me about 90$ And I’m very happy with it and it doesn’t lose at all.

I guess it is important to me to support local businesses (for me, that is in the USA). That is a strong reason for me having selected Crow.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I am ordering from Crow. Was working with Fred From Cros last week on the specific design. I believe the spring tensions are an option, and Fred said that they are not necessary.

They called me after I ordered mine to ask me about the bolt hole. I forget which size I ordered, but I wanted the closest size that an 8mm bolt would fit through without drilling. That was important for the lap belts and the anti-submarine belts.

 

[Clover11]

I bolted the anti-submarine belts right to the NLRv3 There is an 8mm hole where I mounted mine. The other is mounted to my seat bracket.
View attachment 553301


You could optionally use the seat's slot and use a bar like you mentioned.
View attachment 553307

I have a piece of profile under my NLRv3 for my flight stick quick release. I initially tried using that for the above using a slot.
View attachment 553309

Did you order any of the archer stuff with the harness or are we okay with what is included? I think I am going to order the same Crow 6 point harness as you and want to get everything I need to attached it to my rig. Thanks.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Since I done know what the archer stuff is, I would say no.

 

[anton_Chez]

I think he means anchor. What I have done it just remove any of the eye bolts and clips and just use a bolt that goes through the plate at the end of the strap into a channel of the 8020. It's probably the easiest way to do it. If you're like me, you only need this for one strap, the 5th point, connected underneath the seat. The other 2 belts are into the G-belt itself and I've used the method of threading through the control arms inside the unit and rolling up and zip tying the remainder in a nice little bundle. They hang neatly just under the unit.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I only pulled the anchors off of the shoulder straps. I used some velcro straps to secure the rolls.

I used the provided anchors for the lap belts and anti-submarine belts.