mkk62

larry

oh yeah, forgot to tell her about the gt3 control arms and r comps i am thinking about too...

Larry Herman

What can I say...safety equipment is expensive!

mkk62

and wife told me to spend the money getting more life insurance rather than spending more money on the car

Gary R.

She's WAY too intelligent for this hobby to work for you....

TR6

Interesting timing of this post. Not trying to hijack, but I'm at the same decision point. I just bought Recaro SRD seats with guide holes for harnesses, a BK harness bar (no roll bar), and I'm buying 6pt harnesses (which I'm going to pay someone that knows what they are doing to install). So, what's the consensus of the debate (for DEing) of using these components with no roll bar in a 964 coupe? Is there really a serious concern that, compared to a 3pt oem belt setup, I am going to be more likely to have my head/neck snapped if the roof caves in? Wouldn't the same likely happen if using factory 3pts? And of course, if I do put in a roll bar, now the debate comes up about driving on the street with no helmet (car is dual purpose) and bashing your brains out against the roll bar (although it seems that would be difficult with a roll bar behind you).

kurt M

What are the chances that you will be in a roof crushing wreck? Real low. What are the chances that you will be in any kind of wreck? Rounded out I see about one a weekend at the track . The roll bar itself will ONLY help you in a "b" pillar area roof crushing wreck. It will not help you in side impacts, rear impacts, front impacts, off angle impacts, T bones or other non roof crushing wrecks. Roll bars are overrated in modern coups. Drop top? Don't leave home without one.
A roll bar by itself does not even help when you flip and cave in the front windshield/ roof line in the "A" pillar area which is the most common roof intrusion. On the other hand the seat and harnesses will help you in ALL of the above.
The more held in place the more likely you are to survive a hard hit. You don't "duck down" when the roof crushes in, you are slammed into the roof with the same blindingly violent force that is being used to crush the roof. Use a roll bar if the downsides don't negate the up sides. Please don't forgo the greatly increased safety of a race type seat and 6 point just because you can't or don't want to install a roll bar.

Back to my popcorn.

mkk62

TR6 I AM With you..i think i am going to stick with the bk harness bar (very sturdy to meet DOT mounted to floor and side pillars unlike some truss bars..) and get a set of racing seats...i am not convinced though that the gt3 seats are as good and supportive as they are good looking and expensive...one nice fella recommended sparco s2000? i may look into the recaros srd's? i think i will go that route and save the adaptic sport seats for the resale also save $ and wait on the rollbar...if i go any further probably will be safer getting a dedicated track car with cage etc.....

what a great site....getting addicted...

mk

ECS

For what it is worth. Just got off the phone with the major racing shop in the area. They do all sorts of fabrication for Porsche racing cars. The statement from this group was as follows: The newer coupes will stand up to a roll over accident. They are designed to ensure the roof doesn't collapse. The roll bar's purpose is primarily to prevent catastrophic events. An example given was if another car on the track were to plow into your roof after you were lying on your side. No doubt it is better to have the roll bar. However, there does seem to be a variety of input that indicates the newer cars are pretty darn strong.

mglobe

...and I feel like I've been here before...

JCP911S

Hello... the point is not to protect your car from damage... it is to protect your body from damage. It doesn't do you much good if your roof is intact and you have a broken neck.

Safety systems are designed to work as a total SYSTEM to protect your body. Massive G-force decelleration on your body is what hurts you... you need to manage that.

Factory 3-Point/airbag systems are developed by the smartest engineers in the world and crash tested to work.

Racing safety systems are developed by engineers and tested every Sunday to work.

"Mix and Match" stuff is a potential death sentence.

While Larry's recommendation might seem a bit over the top, think it through.... every piece is there to cover a weakness presented by one of the other pieces...

One example....

5-point racing harnesses may seem safe because they hold you tighter that 3-points... but...

In a side impact, without a full containment racing seat, your body will go sideways at high speed and the only thing stopping it will be the shoulder harness against your neck... basically this is equivalent to being hung.

In a frontal impact, your body is held stable but your head is not... without a head restraint device, the result can be a fatal basal skull fracture.

With a 3-point belt, neither of these would happen... something else bad may happen, but not these.

I'm not trying to scare you, but you have to think about the physics here and the potential results.

Current race car safety systems have evolved to address as many of thse issues as possible...

If you are going to modify your car for safety, you must install a complete racing system. Anything in between is in my opinion more dangerous.

ltc

Oil viscosity and tow vehicles coming up after the break.....

ltc

Rather than get a headache thinking about all of this, I took the easy way out....buy a factory designed/prepared race car.....and hope you never have to test it.

Gary R.

So what should I use, Mobil 1 and then add an additive or the Mobil 1 V-Twin oil... or Redline... or Motul?

NAO

I would get the GMG roll bar.I have installed alot them over the couple of months.The fit is superb and don't look to bad either.

ltc

You are talking about using it in your tow vehicle, correct?

I can't answer that question until you tell me which H&N restraint you wear in the tow vehicle.