fishguy,
I am, of course, aware of your concerns. And I do take them seriously. Differing from the Elise, the Opel Speedster / Vauxhall VX220 do have crash structures mounted to the roll bar that are designed to "catch" the seat in rear impact.
so what is the plan to keep you in the seat when the slot you cut breaks apart and the harness goes flying off your shoulders?
maybe just push against the steering wheel really tight, and keep you body in place.
really, how much material is left on the outboard side of that slot, maybe 2 inches at the most.
I do firmly believe that the customers of that seat grommet cut out for the Elise stock seat are truely "crash-test dummies".
a few reasonable (rhetorical) questions to think about;
1)do you really think there was any safety testing done on that product?
2)do you think there should be some, or any for that matter, testing done on a product that may be called upon to withstand a great amount of force, with your personal well being on the line. .............people do wear seat belts for a reason.
3)do you think that schroth only put that warning i linked to earlier to scare people into buying expensive seats instead of a $25 seat grommet and cutting out thier own holes in a seat?
4)do you think there might be a reason, no racing group that i could ever think of would allow that set-up you have pictured to be used in an event....................ever?
5)Do you believe in darwinism when it comes to home done safety modifications?
I am not selling anything, i have no interest other than wanting to not see people putting themself at risk, when they think they are making safety improvements.
I saw an impact that was so huge last month that it ripped the harness bar right out of the car, harness still attached to the bar(which was now bent).
I still race my cars 1-2 times a month, but I also have respect for the physics and g-forces we are toying with, and therfor prepare myself properly with items that are well tested.
new (proper)seats are not that expensive when you really think about the big picture.
best wishes