Track n00b question about racing harnesses
10-05-2017, 01:46 AM
#31
Rennlist Member
For OP who is looking to primarily be better secured in his seat so he can drive the car vs just hang on I think there are few options before going to a full 6pt + hand + cage. For any kind of streetable car, everything is a compromise. With each safety feature we add we expose other risks but hopefully we net out being safer than were we started.
A super cheap option just to hold the OP in place better is to get something like a CG lock. http://www.cg-lock.com/ The little widget helps lock the stock 3pt in place so it helps hold you in place. The free version was to slide your seat back, yank on the seatbelt to get it to lock, and slide forward into the locked belt so both lap and shoulder belts hold you tight into the seat.
Next best thing from there is the Schroth 4pts with ASM. The ASM feature gives some flex on one of the shoulder belts to give the upper body a slower and angled deceleration in an accident like the stock 3pt and reduces the need for sub belts and HANS. This is DOT approved and, unless PCA has changed their rules, the only harness option that will pass tech in all chapters because it doesn't require cutting the passenger seat for sub belts. OP will just need a harness bar or Brey Krause mounts for the shoulder belts. A properly tightened 4pt is going to hold you in just fine at the track.
From there OP can go 5/6 pts, HANS, roll bar, front cage, whatever but once you start adding new steel bars to the interior it brings in additional risks for on the street where you're not secured in a harness and wearing a multi impact rated helmet.
A super cheap option just to hold the OP in place better is to get something like a CG lock. http://www.cg-lock.com/ The little widget helps lock the stock 3pt in place so it helps hold you in place. The free version was to slide your seat back, yank on the seatbelt to get it to lock, and slide forward into the locked belt so both lap and shoulder belts hold you tight into the seat.
Next best thing from there is the Schroth 4pts with ASM. The ASM feature gives some flex on one of the shoulder belts to give the upper body a slower and angled deceleration in an accident like the stock 3pt and reduces the need for sub belts and HANS. This is DOT approved and, unless PCA has changed their rules, the only harness option that will pass tech in all chapters because it doesn't require cutting the passenger seat for sub belts. OP will just need a harness bar or Brey Krause mounts for the shoulder belts. A properly tightened 4pt is going to hold you in just fine at the track.
From there OP can go 5/6 pts, HANS, roll bar, front cage, whatever but once you start adding new steel bars to the interior it brings in additional risks for on the street where you're not secured in a harness and wearing a multi impact rated helmet.
10-05-2017, 01:50 AM
#32
Rennlist Member
This is probably a rare thing, but a friend crashed his GT4 with LWBs and harnesses and his side/seat airbag deployed breaking several ribs and rupturing his spleen. He theorized because he was so tightly secured in the seat and there was some door impact that the bag had nowhere to go except to press on his rib cage.
10-05-2017, 06:15 PM
#35
Rennlist Member
10-08-2017, 06:56 PM
#37
Rennlist Member
10-09-2017, 07:42 PM
#38
Racer
Thread Starter
Dang... I was afraid of this. There is a lot more to consider when answering this question than I realized. I'm glad I asked.
But given how indecisive I am, it's going to be a real struggle for me to figure out the right course of action. My next track day is in a couple weeks, though, so don't think I'll have done anything yet. We'll see how that goes.
But given how indecisive I am, it's going to be a real struggle for me to figure out the right course of action. My next track day is in a couple weeks, though, so don't think I'll have done anything yet. We'll see how that goes.