Jim H.

I don't want to hear about condom usage here...

From watching some videos and reading the forum, it would appear that our cars are as fast or faster than many dedicated race cars. Perhaps ridiculously fast is a good descriptor. Given that energy is proportional to the square of velocity, it would appear that there is some very real risk of a bad outcome should things "go bad".

I'm curious as to what everyone on the forum is using as safety gear. Might be good to hear from each other as some might not be aware all the safety steps some people consider mandatory or "good ideas". In my experience as an ER doc, those who are very safety conscious are that way because of experience (usually a bad experience). Perhaps sharing why some of these safety items are important to you would be helpful as well. So what are your safety measures? (I'm trying to make this a poll but haven't done so before so standby if it doesn't work).

Jim H.

Darn I meant to put in roll bar but forgot. Anybody know how to update this? Lets assume that rollbar = harness (sorry)

Thanks.

Moogle

where is Trojan Man?

macfly

Safety can never be stressed enough, and every time I go to the track I wish I was driving a Cup car because it is light years ahead of our road cars in terms of driver safety. Of course there are other reasons it would be great to have one, but in the event of a mishap you are so much better off in a Cup car.

I fully check my car before and after every track day, and have a full service done after every 5-6 track days, including full fluid flush. That way my mechanic gets to once over everything often.

I use Porsche's own Tquipment rollbar & 5 point harness with a GT3 seat.
I wear nomex glove and shoes, but not a suit.
I have no extinguisher, and a HANS device is not compatible with the GT3 seat & 5 point harness.
(I wanted to keep all the parts I put in/on the car Porsche parts.)
I feel this is a bare minimum for the DE days I do.

I always keep my distance from anyone I don't know personally at the track, and will only drive in formation, or closely, with a driver I trust. I give everyone at the track as much space as possible, and always keep my eyes on the mirror, so as not to cause anyone behind me to loose time, or get impatient and make a dumb move.

If I was to race I would only do it in a Cup car, as it is the safest race car within easy financial reach. That said I have no interest in racing, I know I am not that fast, and I know that if I did race I'd crash sooner or later. Doing DE days allows one to spend all day on track, enjoying the car's performance with much less pressure to prove anything, as opposed to the two or three 15 minute windows of drive time you might get if you are racing.

Accidents can happen anywhere, any time, and no matter how good we are. When they do happen it just means we were powerless to avoid them in that moment. In my view the best protection you can can get is worth every cent.

MatroxMGA

What do you include in a full service done after every 5-6 track days? Which fluids do you mean with "full fluid flush"?

Jim H.

Why do you think the Hans device is incompatible with the seat/harness system you have? I spent some time on their website and it seemed like it would work fine with our GT3 seats and standard harness. In fact, I was planning a Hans purchase prior to my next track day. Please explain.

Thanks.

AW

Interesting thread... I use:
- nomex suit, gloves, head socks and driving shoes
- 6 point harness / roll cage or at least rollbar
- no hans device yet but a neck donut
- I do have a fire system in every track car. I don't believe in simply having a fire bottle. I don't think it is likely I'll manage to use it after a severe crash. I may however pull a lever or press a button


Something to realize is that the Tequipment rollbar is good to support a 6 point harness. However, it is a lot thinner than most cages hence it is unlikely it will properly support the car in an actual rollover.

Since we are talking safety, I would like to point out that having the 6 point harness anchored to the seat like it is usually done on 996s is not safe. If the seat mounting brackets snaps, so is the belt. The proper way is to have the submarine and side belts attached to the flloor.

I understand that Hans devices come in several configs. The actual angle is different to accommodate different seating positions.

On heavy cars like 996s, I would recommend bleeding the brakes before and after track events and keeping pad thickness above 4mm to minimize heat transfer to the brake fluid.

AW

AW

> If I was to race I would only do it in a Cup car, as it is the safest race car within easy financial reach

Cup cars are actually extremely expensive. Buying cost is around 100K and operating cost is above $1000 per hour counting maintenance, tires and engine rebuild.

This said, I fully agree with your principle. It is much safer to race in a real race car. In fact, most race groups won't let you run in anything else.

AW

Jim H.

AW what type of fire system do you have installed? I'm looking for a good "button to activate" system.

As I plan my safety mods more and more, I realize it would surely be better to just buy a cup car, but I can't afford the luxury of an expensive dedicated track car like that yet. Still working too hard and have too few hours to actually use it. But with "street" GT3s hitting the speeds they do and encouraging late braking, high corner speeds, etc...the fact is we ARE driving essentially full up race cars (with full interiors) without the usual obligatory safety equipment (well not everybody is but probably many of us are).

I wonder if people would be as interested in group buys on safety equipment as much as they're interested in group buys on performance equipment. I know I would be!

AW

The Radical comes from the factory with a Fire system. Also, I usually request my mechanic to install a fire system without getting into brand questions. Basically, you can get a mechanical or electronic system. The mechanical is usually harder to install. The electronic one is great but you need to make sure the battery is good before each track day.

Then you have models with 3, 5 or more nozzles. In my 993, Bob (Renntt) is installing a 3 nozzle system. One for the gas tank, one for my feet and one for the engine.

AW

macfly

Jim, in reference to the HANS system, it is noted somewhere in the Tquipment packaging that 'this system is not compatible with HANS'. You should double check with your local supplier, but it stuck in my mind, thus I passed it on. I too was a bit puzzeled by it, but as I don't have a HANS device yet I hadn't thought about it since then.

If you find a good system that is compatible with our set up please do pm me on it, as it will certainly be my next purchase.

Steve in FL

The Tequipment 6-pt harness isn't compatible with the HANS device as it has the Schroth strain relief system which looks like it's a section of the shoulder harness webbing that's been folder over and stitched together. At least that's how one of the shoulder belts on my Tequipment 6-pt harness is constructed. I'm thinking a re-web job on the shoulder belts with un-modified 3" webbing would yield a HANS compatible system.

ldw

I use all of the above when racing, doing DE, or testing.

Schroth specifically produces a set of shoulder belts that are compatible and intended to be used with HANS. These shoulders are narrower than 3 inch as they are designed to fit appropriately over the HANS and have been purchased by some as an "add on" item for Schroth belt systems. They of course can be purchased as part of a complete system with typical Schroth applications of either 2 or 3 inch lap belts, with single or double sub straps. The web relief system is not incorporated in the HANS 'shoulders' as this would negate the proper function of the HANS if needed during an impact.

FixedWing

More than US$100K new. In fact, the last time I checked it was something like €106K plus VAT for the 996 GT3Cup. But this isn’t that much more than a street GT3 is it?

As for operating costs, this only applies if you are operating it on race criteria – i.e. race tyres and race frequency maintenance (including engine rebuilds). If the same car is used as a “track-day” car with street “R” compound tyres and less frequent maintenance then I don’t see that it is going to be that much more expensive than a standard GT3.

A number of Europeans have taken GT3Cup’s and modified them for the street and then used them as track-day cars or at places like the Nürburgring:


Nürburgring, Germany, 21 April 2004. Copyright Anthony Soete.

Stephen

macfly

For how little I use my GT3 on the road that would be a gret idea for me, but it is just soooo hard getting things registered for the road here. I took me two years and a ton of BS to get a Euro spec Z8 into CA with full legality. It made my own citizenship look like a cake walk by comparrison!