Hundreds Of Products Ready Today. Dispatch/Collection Is a 3 inch or a 2 inch FIA harness right for your car?
The inch on the label is the shoulder strap, and it settles one thing before anything else: whether that belt is homologated to be worn without a frontal head restraint. The lap strap width is a separate choice, and most of the range mixes the two.
If you wear a HANS or another frontal head restraint, you want shoulder straps built for it, which means either 44 mm all the way or 70 mm that narrows where it crosses the device. If you do not wear one, you want 70 mm shoulder straps, because a 44 mm shoulder strap is homologated only for use with a device. The lap strap is a separate call and either width meets the standard. Everything under that is us showing our working.
Inches are the nickname. The standard is written in millimetres
This one comes across the counter most weeks. Somebody has two harnesses open on their phone, the belts look near enough identical, one says 3 inch and one says 2 inch, and they want to know which is the better buy. It is a fair question with an awkward answer, because the two belts are not competing for the same job.
The place to start is a number none of us actually say out loud. Nobody at the FIA has ever written the word inch into a harness standard. What everyone calls 3 inch and 2 inch is rounded off the millimetre figures in FIA 8853-2016, and once you have those in front of you the argument settles itself.
A shoulder strap has to measure at least 70 mm wide under load. That is the belt we all call a 3 inch. There is then a second, separate specification for a shoulder strap used with a frontal head restraint, and that one has to measure at least 44 mm. That is the 2 inch.
The standard does not describe the 44 mm strap as an alternative you may pick if you fancy it. It says the use of those straps is restricted to being worn with an FHR, and that they have to carry a specific FIA label saying as much. A narrow shoulder strap is a different homologation with a condition attached to it.
| Strap | FIA minimum width | Article | What it is called in the trade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | 70 mm | 6.4.1 | 3 inch |
| Shoulder, used with an FHRTHE RESTRICTED ONE | 44 mm | 6.4.1.1 | 2 inch |
| Double shoulder, body plus device belt | 70 mm and 44 mm | 6.4.1.2 | 3 plus 2 |
| Pelvic, the lap strap | 44 mm | 6.1.1 | 2 inch minimum, 3 inch common |
| Crotch strap | 44 mm | 6.2.1 | Sub strap |
| Z strap | 25 mm | 6.3.1 | The 6 point pair |
Note the lap strap line. The FIA minimum for a pelvic strap is 44 mm and it does not move when the shoulder width changes. A 2 inch lap belt is at the minimum and a 3 inch lap belt is comfortably over it. Both are homologated, which is why you will find the two sold side by side under the same model name.
The shoulder width and the lap width are separate choices
For years we talked about these as two kinds of harness, the 3 inch one and the 2 inch one, as though you picked a lane and everything else followed. We had that wrong. What corrected us was going through our own stock list properly.
We list 133 published FIA harnesses across the two main categories. Only 48 of them are 3 inch top and bottom. Thirty-two are 2 inch throughout. The other 53 mix the two, and the most common build in the whole range, on 38 products, is a 3 inch shoulder feeding a 2 inch lap.
So the shoulder and the lap are two independent measurements that happen to get sold under one nickname. Someone asks us to compare a 3 inch against a 2 inch, we put an OMP First on the counter next to an OMP Tecnica 2, and the lap strap has quietly changed as well while everybody was looking at the shoulders.
| Build | How many we list | Shoulder | Lap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 inch to 3 inch | 48 | 70 mm | 70 mm |
| 3 inch to 2 inchMOST COMMON | 38 | 70 mm | 44 mm |
| 2 inch to 2 inch | 32 | 44 mm | 44 mm |
| 2 inch to 3 inch | 5 | 44 mm | 70 mm |
Counts taken from our own catalogue on 6 August 2026, and ten products in those categories have no width recorded yet. Treat it as the shape of the range, give or take.
Three ways a shoulder strap gets built
Once you stop thinking of it as wide or narrow, the range sorts itself into three groups. Hardly anybody asks for the third one by name and it is often the one we end up selling, because plenty of drivers assume that running a device commits them to a narrow strap across the chest all day. It does not.
Full width, 70 mm the whole way
The traditional belt. Wide across the chest, wide over the shoulder. It works with or without a device, so it is the flexible option, and it is what you want if you are not wearing an FHR. Our shop tags these HANS Friendly.
Narrow, 44 mm the whole way
Built to sit properly on the arms of a device and homologated for that use under Article 6.4.1.1. The Schroth 2×2 belts, the OMP Tecnica 2 pair and the Sparco H-2 range are all this. Tagged HANS Specific.
Wide, stepping down where it crosses the device
A 70 mm strap that narrows to roughly 50 mm for the section over the device, then carries on. TRS describe their Magnum FHR version as using 50 mm webbing on the upper shoulder to suit a HANS device, and Sparco sell the same idea as the Competition H-3+2. FIA 8853-2016 also covers a genuine double strap, a 70 mm body belt running alongside a 44 mm device belt, adjusted separately.
Everything turns on whether you wear a frontal head restraint
Answer this one first. It depends on your event and your habits more than on the car, which is why we always ask it before we ask what you drive.
The reason the width matters is geometry. A device sits on your shoulders with two flat arms lying forward along the top of them, and the shoulder straps run over those arms and clamp the whole thing down. A strap that is too wide for the arm can creep sideways off it. A strap sized for the job stays where it was put. Put a device on over the counter with both belts and you can see it in about ten seconds, which is quicker than either of us can explain it.
You always wear a device
Go narrow or stepped. A 44 mm belt throughout, or a 70 mm belt that steps down over the arms if you would rather keep the width across your chest.
You never wear one
Go 70 mm. It is the wider spread of load on your shoulders and it is the version homologated for use on its own.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no
Go 70 mm, which covers both, and accept that the strap sits less precisely on the device than a dedicated one would. Club drivers who run the same car at test days and race weekends usually land here.
You are about to start wearing one
Buy for where you are heading. Belts last years, and buying a 70 mm set six months before you take up an FHR is a decision you will make twice.
Motorsport UK requires the shoulder straps to sit no more than 45 degrees below horizontal. Where a device is used they recommend no more than 20 degrees below horizontal, and the straps must never angle upwards. Work that out before the harness bar is welded in, because it can rule out a mounting point that looks perfectly sensible otherwise.
The lap strap is a comfort and fitment question
With the shoulders settled, the lap strap is a much freer choice. Both widths clear the 44 mm FIA minimum, so this one comes down to your seat and your build.
A 3 inch lap strap spreads its load across more of you and plenty of drivers find it kinder over a long stint. A 2 inch strap feeds through a tight pair of seat slots more easily, sits lower and more precisely on the pelvis, and is what most of the modern competition belts use. Both are good answers to different questions.
Usually it is the seat that decides, and this is Cameron’s corner of the job. He has the tape measure out before most customers have finished the sentence, because some shells have generous lap belt openings and take either width without complaint, while others are tight enough that a 3 inch strap arrives at an angle and never quite lies flat. Nobody can tell which from a product photograph.
Tell us the exact seat model and Cameron will tell you which lap width feeds through its openings properly. It takes him a minute and it saves you a return.
OMP
The First is the 3 inch. The 2 inch equivalent is the Tecnica 2.
We get asked for an OMP First in 2 inch and there is not one, which is worth saying plainly because that enquiry goes round in circles otherwise. The First 3" Saloon is a 3 inch belt top and bottom, homologated to FIA 8853-2016, and it is where most people start with OMP.
OMP put their narrow belts under the Tecnica 2 name instead. The Tecnica 2 Prototype and the Tecnica 2 Formula are both 2 inch throughout and built for use with a device, and they differ in which car they are cut for, with the same webbing on both. The 801 four point sits on the older FIA 8854-1998 approval, so check its label date against your regulations before you commit to it.
Pick the First up next to the Tecnica 2 and you have the whole argument in your hands. Two OMP harnesses, same maker, same standard, and both the shoulder and the lap have changed.
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Sparco
The H number tells you the width. H-3 is wide, H-2 is narrow, H-3+2 is the stepped one.
Sparco name their belts more helpfully than most once you know the code. The Competition H-3 and the H-3 Steel run a 3 inch shoulder into a 2 inch lap, which is that most common build in the range. The Competition H-2 PU and the H-2 PD are the 2 inch versions built for a device.
The one to know about is the Competition H-3+2. The name is the specification: a 3 inch strap that steps to 2 inch where it crosses the device. If you want the wide belt across your chest and the narrow section where the device needs it, that is the part number, and it usually comes as a surprise to people who thought the choice was binary.
The four point Club Racer is a different animal, tagged not compatible with a device and sitting on FIA 8854-1998. Fine for what it is. Check the date on it.
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TRS Motorsport
The widest range we stock, and the naming rewards a careful read.
TRS list 31 FIA harnesses with us, more than anyone else, and the model names carry the information if you slow down over them. A Magnum 6 Point is 3 inch throughout and works with or without a device. A Magnum 6 Point HANS is the same belt built for a device, and TRS achieve that by stepping the upper shoulder down to 50 mm webbing where it passes over it. The word HANS in a TRS model name is doing real work.
The Pro family goes a different way, running a 3 inch shoulder into a 2 inch lap. The Pro 6 Point and the New Pro Superlite are the versions that work either way, and the Pro International HANS Only is exactly what its name says. Superlite and Ultralite refer to the adjusters, so they change the weight and the feel in your hand without touching the width decision at all.
The alloy adjusters on the lighter TRS belts are much nicer to use, and that is worth saying because it does not show up in a spec table. You notice it when you are cinching the lap straps down in a hurry with gloves on.
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Schroth Racing
Schroth put the answer in the model name. 2×2 and 3×2 are the two measurements.
Schroth make this easiest of anyone. The number pair in the name is shoulder by lap, in inches. A Profi 2×2 is 2 inch shoulder and 2 inch lap and it is built for a device. A Profi 3×2 is the same harness with 3 inch shoulders, so it works whether or not you wear one. Same belt, same maker, one digit apart, and that digit is the entire decision.
The rest of the 2×2 family follows the pattern. Clubman 2×2 at the sensible end, Flexi 2×2 and Enduro 2×2 above it. The ASM four point belts are a separate thing again and are tagged as not compatible with a device.
Schroth hardware feels different to the Italian belts the moment you pick it up. Heavier adjusters, a firmer webbing that takes a while to soften. Some customers love it straight away and some find it stiff for the first few outings, so it is worth handling a set before you commit if you can get to us.
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Willans
The widths are printed in the product title, which saves an email.
Willans put both measurements in the listing name, so a Silverstone 632 reads as 3 inch shoulder and 2 inch lap before you have opened the page. The Silverstone 622 is the 2 inch shoulder version of the same belt for a driver in a device.
The Club T6 and the Silverstone LDT6 are the 3 inch by 3 inch saloon belts, and a fair number of the Willans four point sets carry the older FIA 8854-1998 approval, so the label date is the thing to check on those. There are Caterham and Westfield specific sets across the range as well, which matters more than the width if you run one of those cars.
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The main models on one screen
Widths and approvals read from each product record on 6 August 2026.
The column that matters most is the fourth one. Optional means the belt works with or without a device. Required means the shoulder straps are built for one and should be worn with one.
| Harness | Brand | Points | Shoulder to lap | FHR | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OMP First 3" Saloon | OMP | 6 | 3 to 3 | Optional | FIA 8853-2016 |
| OMP 801 | OMP | 4 | 3 to 3 | Optional | FIA 8854-1998 |
| OMP Tecnica 2 Prototype | OMP | 6 | 2 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| OMP Tecnica 2 Formula | OMP | 6 | 2 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Sparco Competition H-3 | Sparco | 6 | 3 to 2 | Optional | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Sparco Competition H-3+2 | Sparco | 6 | 3 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Sparco Competition H-2 PU | Sparco | 6 | 2 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Sparco Club Racer | Sparco | 4 | 3 to 2 | Not compatible | FIA 8854-1998 |
| TRS Magnum 6 Point | TRS | 6 | 3 to 3 | Optional | FIA 8853-2016 |
| TRS Magnum 6 Point HANS | TRS | 6 | 3 to 3, stepped | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| TRS Pro 6 Point | TRS | 6 | 3 to 2 | Optional | FIA 8853-2016 |
| TRS Pro International HANS Only | TRS | 6 | 3 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Schroth Profi 3×2 | Schroth | 6 | 3 to 2 | Optional | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Schroth Profi 2×2 | Schroth | 6 | 2 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Schroth Clubman 2×2 | Schroth | 6 | 2 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Willans Club T6 | Willans | 6 | 3 to 3 | Optional | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Willans Silverstone 632 | Willans | 6 | 3 to 2 | Optional | FIA 8853-2016 |
| Willans Silverstone 622 | Willans | 6 | 2 to 2 | Required | FIA 8853-2016 |
The full range runs well past this. There are 127 belts in the FIA harness category and another 28 in the FHR harness category, plus the brand pages for OMP, Sparco, TRS, Schroth and Willans.
Read the label before you read the price
Two numbers live on the left shoulder strap and both are worth finding before you order anything. The first is the standard. FIA 8853-2016 is the current one, and you will still see FIA 8854-1998 on plenty of belts in stock, including some very good ones.
The second is the date. Motorsport UK guidance grants a five-year extension at the end of the initial five-year life for harnesses homologated to 8853-2016. Their worked example is a label reading not valid after 2018, which then runs to 31 December 2023. Add five years to the year on the label and that is your Motorsport UK date. The extension is written for 8853-2016, so an 8854-1998 belt is read off its own label.
Garreth’s view on this is blunt, and it is the one bit of buying advice on the page he would give anyone. The date is part of the price. Two belts a hundred pounds apart with three years between their labels are not the same purchase, and the dearer one is often the cheaper one by the time you are done with it. Work out the cost per season before you compare the tickets.
The five-year extension is a Motorsport UK provision for events under their regulations. If you are entering an FIA international event, work from the label date and the event regulations.
The numbers that decide where it mounts
Width is the easy half. Where the straps land is what makes a harness work, and it is the part that gets left until last and rushed. These figures come from the Motorsport UK installation guidance, and they are the ones we check when somebody sends us a photo of a mounting plan. Eye bolts and mounting hardware are in the harness mountings category, and if the straps are going to sit against a shoulder for a few hours a set from the harness pads range is money well spent.
If your question is a road car rather than a competition one, the road harness against FIA harness guide covers that ground properly.
Shoulder angle
A maximum of 45 degrees below horizontal. With a frontal head restraint, no more than 20 degrees below horizontal is recommended, and never angled upwards.
Fixings
Bolts of at least 7/16in UNF or M12 8.8. New mounting points in the chassis want steel counter plates of at least 40 cm2 and 3 mm thickness.
Looping around a harness bar
Pass the strap three times through the 3-bar slide with at least 100 mm of tail protruding, and get the slide as close to the bar as it will sit.
The complete set
Fit it as the manufacturer supplies it. The homologation covers the assembly, so straps and buckles do not get mixed between sets.
What we would actually fit
Between us we do this all day, so here is where we land instead of leaving you with a shrug about personal preference. Cameron works out the fit, Garreth decides what is worth the money, and on this subject they mostly agree.
Club car, no device, test days and the odd sprint. That is a 3 inch by 3 inch six point, and the TRS Magnum 6 Point is the one we keep coming back to. The OMP First does the same job for less, and Garreth would put the difference towards the seat every time.
Racing with a device every time out, go to a 2 inch belt. The Schroth 2×2 family is lovely if the budget reaches, and you can feel it in the hardware. The Sparco H-2 PU is the sensible one.
Wearing a device but hating a narrow strap across your chest, look at the Sparco H-3+2 or the TRS Magnum HANS. This is the one we push hardest across the counter, because most people have never been told it exists and it fixes a complaint they had written off as the price of running a device.
And if you genuinely do not know whether you will be in a device this time next year, buy 3 inch and revisit it. Nothing gets locked in, and Cameron can talk you through the swap when it happens.
Harness width questions we get asked
Is a 2 inch harness weaker than a 3 inch one?▾
No. FIA 8853-2016 puts both through the same webbing strength and dynamic tests, and the breaking loads in the standard do not change with the strap width. The narrow shoulder strap exists so it sits correctly on a frontal head restraint, and the standard restricts its use accordingly.
Can I use a 2 inch shoulder harness without a HANS or FHR?▾
A 44 mm shoulder strap is homologated under Article 6.4.1.1 of FIA 8853-2016, which restricts its use to being worn with an FHR, and those straps carry a specific FIA label saying so. If you are not wearing an FHR, choose a belt with 70 mm shoulder straps. If your event mandates an FHR anyway, the point is academic, you will be wearing one.
Does the lap strap have to match the shoulder strap?▾
No, and on most of our range it does not. Of the 133 published FIA harnesses we list, 38 pair a 3 inch shoulder with a 2 inch lap. The FIA minimum for the pelvic strap is 44 mm whichever shoulder width the harness uses.
What is the difference between HANS Friendly and HANS Specific on your product pages?▾
HANS Friendly means the belt works whether or not you wear a frontal head restraint, which in practice means full width 70 mm shoulder straps. HANS Specific means the shoulder straps are built for use with a device, either because they are 44 mm all the way or because they narrow where they cross it. Those are our own shop terms for sorting the range, so read the harness label and the maker instructions for the homologation itself.
What does the 3 inch stepping down to 2 inch mean?▾
Some belts use 70 mm webbing over most of the shoulder and narrow to around 50 mm for the section that passes over the device. TRS describe their Magnum FHR version as using 50 mm webbing on the upper shoulder to suit a HANS device, and the Sparco Competition H-3+2 is the same idea. You get a wide strap across the chest and a narrower one where the device needs it.
How long is an FIA 8853-2016 harness accepted by Motorsport UK?▾
Motorsport UK grants a five-year extension at the end of the initial five-year life for harnesses homologated to FIA 8853-2016. Their guidance says to add five years to the year shown on the label, so a label reading not valid after 2018 runs to 31 December 2023. That extension applies to 8853-2016 only. Read your own label and your event regulations.
What angle should the shoulder straps run at?▾
Motorsport UK requires the shoulder straps to be a maximum of 45 degrees below horizontal. Where a frontal head restraint is used they recommend no more than 20 degrees below horizontal, and the straps must not be angled upwards at all. That is worth checking before you decide where the harness bar goes, because it can rule out a mounting point that otherwise looks fine.
Can I mix a 3 inch shoulder strap with a 2 inch lap strap from another set?▾
No. Buy the complete set as the manufacturer supplies it. The homologation belongs to the whole assembly, and a lot of these belts are sold in width combinations already, so the pairing you want almost certainly exists as a part number.
Which width is more comfortable?▾
On the shoulders the wider strap spreads its load over more of you, and most drivers who do not wear a device prefer it. On the lap it is less clear cut and depends on the seat as much as the belt. Send us the seat model with your enquiry and we will tell you which lap width feeds through its slots properly.
Bring the seat in and we will put a belt through it with you
If you are anywhere near the showroom, bring the seat and we will feed both widths through the slots on the counter so you can see which one lies flat. If you are not, send us the seat model, whether you wear a frontal head restraint and what you compete in, and Cameron will come back with a part number.
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