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The Schroth belts I purchased were designed specifically for the Porsche Carbon LWB seats. The lap belts come with hardware attached that allows you to secure them to the same bolts the stock seat belts use, thus securing them to the steel seat base. The harness buckle is of the push button variety (required for NHTSA approval) and attached to the right-hand side lap belt. What I don’t like about this set-up is that when you are on the street using the 3-point belt, you must drape the harness buckle over the side of the seat to get it out of the way. At a minimum that will make noise as it swings around hitting the seat and center tunnel, and at worst could potentially leave a mark on those parts of the car.
I solved the issue by modifying the right-hand side lap belt. I cut off the attached hardware and installed a seat belt receptacle in its place, securing it properly as you would to a roll bar. This allows me to plug that lap belt into the seat belt receptacle when at the track and completely remove it when I am on the street. As an added bonus, because I am using the seat belt receptacle on track, no annoying messages from the car saying the driver is not belted in.
And oh by the way, no need to pull the seat out of the car to do this. 😊
The shoulder belt installation is pretty straightforward. Make sure they are crossed at a 20-25 degree angle and use the collar locks to keep them in place. I think I got the angle right but I will fine tune once I have a proper protector in hand. And keeping with the ethos of this being a street car first, its nice that I can simply push the harnesses out of the way when not being used and leave them resting on the back “seat”. I’ll probably tie them up as well to make sure they don’t move around and make noise.
With everything complete, I’m planning a trip to Homestead in a couple of weeks to push the car a little harder and decide what’s next for the project!
The shoulder belt installation is pretty straightforward. Make sure they are crossed at a 20-25 degree angle and use the collar locks to keep them in place. I think I got the angle right but I will fine tune once I have a proper protector in hand. And keeping with the ethos of this being a street car first, its nice that I can simply push the harnesses out of the way when not being used and leave them resting on the back “seat”. I’ll probably tie them up as well to make sure they don’t move around and make noise.
With everything complete, I’m planning a trip to Homestead in a couple of weeks to push the car a little harder and decide what’s next for the project!
Very similar in design, it would seem. How do the lap belts integrate with that seat? Do they bolt to the seat base or do you use the factory seat belt location? Looks like you are also using the ASM 4 point belt, as indicated by the yellow patch on one side of the belt?
Very similar in design, it would seem. How do the lap belts integrate with that seat? Do they bolt to the seat base or do you use the factory seat belt location? Looks like you are also using the ASM 4 point belt, as indicated by the yellow patch on one side of the belt?
My race mechanic made some custom brackets that use the factory belt locations.
Yes, I still have a 4 point from my previous Pole Position ABE. I will get around to a 6 point now the Podium is finally in.
My race mechanic made some custom brackets that use the factory belt locations.
Yes, I still have a 4 point from my previous Pole Position ABE. I will get around to a 6 point now the Podium is finally in.
The 4pts can accept the sub strap, so just need to add the crotch belt if you go that route. When I installed mine, that was one of the considerations for a potential future change. Testing on the street though, I seemed just as tight in the seat as a 6 pt, and in theory, the ASM works the same as the sub strap. How did the 4 pt feel in the track to you? As planted as a 6 pt or did it feel different? My next track day is in a couple of weeks, so that is my first real test of this set-up.
The 4pts can accept the sub strap, so just need to add the crotch belt if you go that route. When I installed mine, that was one of the considerations for a potential future change. Testing on the street though, I seemed just as tight in the seat as a 6 pt, and in theory, the ASM works the same as the sub strap. How did the 4 pt feel in the track to you? As planted as a 6 pt or did it feel different? My next track day is in a couple of weeks, so that is my first real test of this set-up.
LOVE your seat, BTW!
For the most part, it’s fine. I’ve been running it for about 4 years. My only criticism is its harder to get tight. What i mean is, if you don’t tighten the leg parts tight enough, as you tighten the top, it drags the leg parts upward, and the centre release ends up climbing into an uncomfortable position. I like the idea of the 6 point being a fixed length, so no matter how hard i pull on the straps, they remain where they are. If that makes sense? Pulling the too tighter shouldn’t lift or loosen the legs.
I like to be nailed in at the track. Its a small issue, you just have to be patient and get the leg part really tight before doing the top.
For the most part, it’s fine. I’ve been running it for about 4 years. My only criticism is its harder to get tight. What i mean is, if you don’t tighten the leg parts tight enough, as you tighten the top, it drags the leg parts upward, and the centre release ends up climbing into an uncomfortable position. I like the idea of the 6 point being a fixed length, so no matter how hard i pull on the straps, they remain where they are. If that makes sense? Pulling the too tighter shouldn’t lift or loosen the legs.
I like to be nailed in at the track. Its a small issue, you just have to be patient and get the leg part really tight before doing the top.
Makes perfect sense and I noticed the same thing during my street test. In general should not be a problem, but you have to really get the lap perfect first before the shoulders, otherwise you have to unbuckle and start the process over. You bring up a great point about the sub belt keeping everything in place while getting strapped in.
I also like being super tight in the seat. We did some coaching sessions with Patrick Long back in 2006 or so and I remember him telling me that the belts should be tight enough that they leave a mark on you when you get out of the car. He said he had calluses develop on his hips, given how much time he spent in a car. I go as tight as possible ever since.
Out of the box, there are a couple of limitations that Porsche placed within the digital dash. The first is the Coolant Temperature, which does not display the actual water temp. Instead, it smooths out the display so that 194 degree F appears on the dash over a very wide range of temps. Presumably it does this so that the average Porsche owner does not freak out and call the service department when temps hit 210 or more. Interestingly, the GT cars are programmed to show the actual temps, so I guess Porsche thinks the GT driver is more evolved. My car, while a lowly street car, identifies as a GT car so gauge reassignment is in order. 😊
The second issue is the Turbo pressure gauge is artificially limited to 1 bar, or about 15 psi. On a stock Carrera T that’s fine, but mine has a Stage 1 APR tune so I am pushing more than that. But we won’t know how much more unless we over-rule the instructions Porsche preprogrammed.
To change the temp gauge I used an Autel Maxisys Ultra to change the XY mapping that controls the gauge. X is the actual temp and Y is the temp output to the gauge. The pictures below show how X and Y do not match from the factory, to get an actual reading all we do is rewrite the Y values so that they are the same as the X value at each stage of the measurement.
For the Turbo gauge, I used the PIWIS III. The first step is to put the device into the Engineer Programming mode. A word of warning, once you do this the device only speaks German. No joke. You then go into the instrument cluster, find the turbo section, and change the values for both Normal model and Sport mode. Note, the latter Sport mode makes the change for both Sport and Sport +.
I forgot to take a pic of when I made the change, but the pic below is an example of how the PIWIS page looks and shows a Macan set at 1.20 bar. I changed my car to 2.0 bar, which should give plenty of headroom for any future changes, should they come. And in case you are wondering, a quick test drive down the street already revealed boost pressure of 22 psi. This should be my current max, but will keep on eye on things during longer drives to confirm the measure.
@jakermc Interesting posts about the gauges. Is there a reason you used the PIWIS for the turbo gauge and the Autel for the temps? Could all the gauges be done with either of those units?
I have a Softronic tune and with the MyGenius device I can return to stock configuration. Say I make the changes to my gauges as you have done above for the temps and turbos, and then say I use the MyGenius device to return my car to stock configuration. Do I lose the gauge settings that were changed or is that a completely different system?
@jakermc Interesting posts about the gauges. Is there a reason you used the PIWIS for the turbo gauge and the Autel for the temps? Could all the gauges be done with either of those units?
I have a Softronic tune and with the MyGenius device I can return to stock configuration. Say I make the changes to my gauges as you have done above for the temps and turbos, and then say I use the MyGenius device to return my car to stock configuration. Do I lose the gauge settings that were changed or is that a completely different system?
I'm pretty sure they are completely separate ecus. So you can flash the engine ecu without affecting the instrument cluster ecu. If you take your car to the dealership, it is possible they could overwrite your instrument cluster changes.
@jakermc Interesting posts about the gauges. Is there a reason you used the PIWIS for the turbo gauge and the Autel for the temps? Could all the gauges be done with either of those units?
I have a Softronic tune and with the MyGenius device I can return to stock configuration. Say I make the changes to my gauges as you have done above for the temps and turbos, and then say I use the MyGenius device to return my car to stock configuration. Do I lose the gauge settings that were changed or is that a completely different system?
Both machines can do both operations. In part I used different machines to test the capability of each. But I also found that it was easier to do the temp gauge with the Autel because the XY pages are all in one screen while in the PIWIS each value has its own separate coding line that needs to be opened. The PIWIS is powerful, but there is also a big learning curve to get the most out of it. Especially when the advanced stuff is in German! I feel like I am getting pretty good with it but still so much more to learn!!
The engine tune and the gauge tuning are in two different sections of the brain, so you can swap your tunes back and forth without effecting the gauges. The one watch-out is you do not want to lose power to your Autel or PIWIS mid-process, as if you do it will resent everything in your instrument cluster back to its stock settings. Ask me how I know ....
If you'd like to do the gauges in your car for a YouTube video, I'd be happy to do that with you.
08-05-2023, 07:14 PM
