FIA Harness Belts Vs Road Belts: What Is The Difference?
Harness guide, FIA belts and road belts
A customer building a kit car asked us a question that starts here: can a Sparco Club H-3 be wrapped round a roll cage? The answer depends on what kind of harness it is, and that comes down to the difference between a road belt and an FIA belt. This page sets the two side by side, with real prices, so you can see which one your car needs.
Fitting is covered in our guide to installing a road harness.
- A road belt carries an E mark to ECE R16, and an FIA belt carries an FIA label to 8853-2016 or 8854-98
- Road belts start at £75.00 inc VAT, and FIA belts at £114.00 for a four point and £202.67 for a six point
- Road belts have a push button clip buckle and mostly 2 inch straps, and FIA belts have an aircraft style cam lock buckle and often 3 inch straps
- Bolt in belts bolt to eye bolts, clip in belts snap onto them, and only belts built for it wrap round a harness bar
- Most road belts are not HANS compatible, so a HANS or FHR needs an FIA belt listed as HANS friendly or HANS specific
- For racing under FIA or Motorsport UK rules the belt has to be an in date FIA belt
The short answer
A road belt is made for the road and is the right belt for a road car. An FIA belt is made to a motorsport standard, and it is the only kind that counts at a scrutineered event. The webbing, the buckle, the fixings and the price all follow from that approval.
Three questions sort it out. Where does the car go, how many points does it need, and how does the belt fix to the car? The chart runs through the first one, and the rest of the page covers the others.
£75.00
cheapest road belt, a 4 point
£114.00
cheapest FIA belt, a 4 point
£202.67
cheapest FIA belt, a 6 point
The E mark and the FIA label
Road belt: the E mark
Road legal here means an E mark to ECE R16, on the webbing or a sewn tag. It is the approval a factory belt carries, and our listings call these belts Road and Track. TRS list their Clubman belts as road approved to ECE.
FIA belt: the FIA label
A label on the left shoulder strap naming the standard the belt was tested to and a NOT VALID AFTER year. Our six point belts are 8853-2016 and our four point belts are 8854-98.
A belt can look new and still be out of date
Check the NOT VALID AFTER year before you buy an FIA belt. Our how long do FIA harnesses last guide explains the years.
Belts listed only as Road and Track are not FIA approved, so they cannot be used in FIA regulated competition. The one exception is Schroth, whose FE belts are FIA approved and road legal, such as the Schroth Lotus II-FE ASM 4 Point at £504.91. Our road legal against FIA guide covers where each goes. Our road and race webbing guide goes through the webbing side by side.
| Road belt | FIA belt | |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | E mark to ECE R16, listed as Road and Track | FIA label, 8853-2016 for our six point belts and 8854-98 for our four point belts |
| Where it counts | Road use and non competitive track days | FIA and Motorsport UK scrutineered competition, while it is in date |
| Webbing | Mostly 2 inch shoulder and lap, often softer | 2 inch or 3 inch, with 3 inch common on saloon belts |
| Buckle | Push button clip buckle | Aircraft style cam lock buckle |
| Fixing | Bolt in or clip in | Clip in or wrap around, with some bolt in and loop fixing belts |
| Layouts | 3 point up to 6 point | 4 point and 6 point in our range |
| HANS or FHR | Mostly not compatible | Many six point belts are HANS friendly or HANS specific |
| From, inc VAT | £75.00 | £114.00 for a 4 point, £202.67 for a 6 point |
Webbing, buckles and how the belt fixes to the car
Most road belts use a push button clip buckle, like a factory belt, with 2 inch webbing that is often softer. FIA belts use an aircraft style cam lock buckle, and 3 inch shoulder webbing is common on saloon belts. The buckle is the quickest way to tell the two apart at a glance.
Bolt in
Fixed ends that bolt to eye bolts through anchor points on the car.
Clip in
Snap hooks that clip onto eye bolts, so the belt comes off quickly.
Wrap around
The shoulder straps pass round a harness bar and back through a 3 bar adjuster.
Check the listing before you wrap
Our listings say Bolt In, Clip In, or marked Wrap Around as well. Only a belt built for wrapping can do it, because it needs removable ends and the adjuster. If the listing does not say it wraps, check with the maker or ask us before you try.
Our TRS roll cage wrap guide shows the wrap on a real belt, and our Custom Cages harness bar guide covers the bar it wraps round.
How many points, and the HANS question
3 point
Two shoulder straps share one upper anchor, plus a lap belt
4 point
Two shoulder straps and two lap straps
5 point
A four point plus one sub strap
6 point
A four point plus two sub straps
Road belts range from three to six point, and our FIA belts are four and six point. A sub strap cannot be added to a four point afterwards, which our crotch strap question explains. Our 4, 5 or 6 point guide and our top ten three point road harnesses cover the layouts.
A HANS or FHR needs a belt listed for it
Our FIA six point belts are marked HANS friendly or HANS specific, and most road belts are marked not HANS compatible. Our guide to HANS specific 2 inch six point harnesses lists the options.
Which way we would go
Garreth: For a road car I would fit the three point and leave it there. It uses the anchorages the car already has, and nothing about it needs a cage.
Cameron: I would look at a four point clip in if the car does track days. The factory belt can go back on for the drive home, and the harness comes out when the day is over.
Garreth: That only works with proper anchors behind the seat. If the car has none, I would rather sell you the three point.
Cameron: And if it is going racing under FIA or Motorsport UK rules, none of this applies. That is an FIA belt, and you check the year on the label before you buy.
Garreth: Our on and off track guide covers the clip in route for a car that does both.
Cameron: Tell us the car and what it does, and we will say which of the three.
Belts in customers' cars
Look at the buckle. A push button clip with a red button is a road belt, and a twist release or cam lock buckle is a motorsport belt. The captions say which is which.
A customer's Mazda MX-5 with houndstooth Mirco seats and silver TRS clip in four point harnesses, fitted without a roll cage. The push button clip buckle marks it as a road belt
Yellow TRS four point harnesses on Mirco RTX-7 seats in a customer's blue Audi TT. The black clip buckle with a red button marks it as a road belt
A pair of Sabelt GT3 bucket seats with Corbeau three point harnesses fitted in an MG ZS. A road belt
Mirco RTX-7 seats with grey TRS harness straps in a customer's Renault Megane track car, with a red roll cage behind. Cam lock buckles mark these as motorsport belts
Red Schroth harnesses fitted in a customer's Lotus Exige, with twist release buckles. These are motorsport belts
Which belt to buy
These are the belts we would start from for each job, with live prices. The 6 point and 4 point FIA belts are single harnesses, so a pair of seats needs two.
| The job | Belts to look at | Fixing | Price, inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Road car, no cage, factory anchorages | Sparco Club H-3, 3 point TRS Clubman Bolt In 4 Point | Bolt in | £94.58 £81.00 |
| Fast road or track day, fixed in the car | OMP Road 4 Bolt In Sabelt 4 Point Bolt In | Bolt in | £108.00 £108.00 |
| Track day car, belt on and off | TRS Clubman Clip In 4 Point Sparco 4 Point Clip In | Clip in | £120.00 £119.94 |
| Racing, six point, FIA 8853-2016 | OMP First 3 inch Saloon 6 Point Sparco Competition H-2 PU 6 Point TRS Magnum 6 Point FIA | Clip in, some wrap around | £202.67 £222.00 £234.00 |
| Racing, four point, FIA 8854-98 | OMP 801 FIA 4 Point Sabelt Steel Caterham / Kit Car 4 Point | Clip in, bolt in | £181.44 £218.40 |
Tell us the car and how it is used and we will confirm the belt before you order. Anchor points are covered in our road harness installation guide, and our harness without a roll cage guide covers cars with no cage.
Questions about FIA belts and road belts
What is the difference between a road harness and an FIA harness?
A road harness has an E mark to ECE R16 and is made for the road and track days. An FIA harness carries an FIA label to 8853-2016 or 8854-98 and is the kind accepted at scrutineered events. The buckle, the webbing and the price follow from that.
Can I use a road harness in a race?
Not at an FIA or Motorsport UK scrutineered event where an FIA harness is required, because belts listed only as Road and Track are not FIA approved. For those events the belt has to be an in date FIA belt.
What does road legal mean on a harness?
On our site it means an E mark to ECE R16 on the webbing or a sewn tag, not an FIA label. Our listings call these belts Road and Track.
Do FIA harnesses expire?
Yes. Every FIA label carries a NOT VALID AFTER year, and our how long do FIA harnesses last guide explains the years for each standard.
What is the difference between bolt in and clip in?
A bolt in belt has fixed ends that bolt to eye bolts. A clip in belt has snap hooks that clip onto them, so it comes off faster, which suits a car that goes between road and track.
Can I wrap a bolt in harness round a roll cage?
Only belts built for wrapping should be wrapped, because they need removable ends and a 3 bar adjuster. A bolt in belt is made to bolt to an eye bolt, so check the maker before you try and ask us if the listing does not say. Our road harness installation guide covers it.
Do I need a HANS or FHR with these belts?
That depends on your class. If you wear one, the belt has to be listed for it, and most road belts are listed as not HANS compatible. Our FIA six point belts are marked HANS friendly or HANS specific.
Which harness is cheapest?
Road belts start at £75.00 inc VAT, and FIA belts at £114.00 for a four point and £202.67 for a six point. The Sparco Club H-3 three point is £94.58.
Tell us about your car
Come and see the belts side by side, or ring Garreth and Cameron on 0115 647 8650. Give us your car, how it is used, and whether you wear a HANS. We will say which belt fits and which anchor points it needs.
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