Hi guys,

I've got Willans 2'' aero buckle 4-point harnesses, manufactured date 2005. Been trying to work out if these are OK for IVA or not. On page 215 of the IVA inspection manual Note 1 states:

"A British Standard BS3254 Part 1 1988 or evidence of FIA 8853-98 approval for a harness belt is acceptable"

But I can't see any actual reference to this 'Note 1' in the Required Standard section before it. All I can find is this:

"3. Each seat belt must bear the appropriate approval marks or have the equivalent characteristics to that of a belt approved for the same category of vehicle to ensure the belt meets the required approval standards. (see note 5)"

And then note 5 goes on to say stuff about the type of webbing , the corrosion protection etc.

All I can assume is that 3. is refering to the BS/FIA approval in note 1 but gives an exception if these BS/FIA markings aren't on the belts....

Does this sound right?

I've contacted Willans and they say that FIA belts need 3'' shoulder straps and that they've never checked if their belts are BS compliant, therefore can't supply me with proof of compliance.

At SVA some years back the tester looked for and found the BS mark on mine, pulled the straps a couple of times, checked buckle and looked for wear.
If you don't have the correct marking I suspect it would fail at that point.
You option therefore is to replace with marked ones or run with what you have and be prepared for this to be a fail point.
If Willans won't confirm compliance you are stuffed.