analogmike

Grand-Am is now requiring a Kevlar SFI 37.1 drivers side net in all cars. I think it's a pretty important safety feature so I just ordered one for my cup car. I also have a Recaro pro racer HANS in my '73 so I will put one in there after I see how the first one goes.

The "C5R Driver Net" is about $145, you can get it direct from Safety Solutions:

http://www.safetysolutionsracing.com/wordpress/?p=253



I would recommend these for any serious racers.

Let me know if anyone has tried these, any mounting hints?

924RACR

$145? Wow, seems like a lot - is that the kevlar one, rather than the poly webbing? Mine was about $80 IIRC with the poly webbing, maybe 4-5 years ago...

Veloce Raptor

Why kevlar, Mike? They worried about stray bullets??

analogmike

Yes, I got the Kevlar. Since Grand-Am is requiring it, I thought other clubs may do so in the future. I think NASA also requires side nets (not Kevlar but why scrimp). Kevlar will hold up in a quick flash fire, poly won't.

I don't know if I should have gotten the 2 strap VIPER version instead...



Check out the videos on the website, some NASCAR goober (Parsons) is in them but the in car movement is valuable to see.

Skip the John Force videos, the rest are pretty good. See
the ones in BELT DUMPING, the sled tests, and the
SS NETS SPEED with Benson's crash really shows you why the side net is such a good idea.


http://www.safetysolutionsracing.com/wordpress/

DanR

I fitted mine a couple of weeks ago, took ages to tighten and then slaken the 3 straps so that they all had equal tension. For the sake of $100 or so it seems like one of the most cost effective safety items I have bought

bgiere

call Linda at Apex Performance.... she will fix you up!

Cory M

I heard that GrandAM is requiring 3 (yes 3) nets. Kevlar driver restraint nets on both sides and a window net...

gbaker

They are trying to avoid some of the dog leash material that comes out of China.

RedlineMan

It's about time;

I wondered how long it would take people to realize that a driver spilling out of the left side of the seat was just as bad as the right side. It's a bit of a guess on my part, but I bet John Nemechek might still be alive if he had had one.

GaryM05

Great choice - especially going with the C5R model with the ratcheting attachment on the front (the non-C5R model from Safety Solutions doesn't seem to have this, and from what I've seen is a real pain to attach and tension up after it's been released).

A quick mounting tip: go to your local Fastenal (or their online store) and look for some collars to help keep the straps from sliding around on your roll cage (these are also good for keeping your shoulder harnsesses from spreading.)

Mahler9th

NASA has been requiring these for some time in cars without seats with head protection. I did quite a bit of research on Porsche application since I am part of the Porsche Racing Club and run under NASA sanction. I discovered that there aren't too many experts out there in terms of a fully appropriate installation. Not surprisingly, the best resource I found was Joe Marko at HMS Motorsports.

Proper installation is not trivial, and a lot of these things are not installed properly.

analogmike

Thanks for the info, any other recommendations for mounting?

Here is more info from Grand-Am:

Left and Right side nets: Grand Am will require the use of SFI 37.1 Kevlar left and right side nets in all Grand-Am series cars. For seats without lateral head supports the nets should be parallel to longitudinal centerline of car and as close to helmet as possible. For seats with lateral head supports, the installation is similar but the net must be in contact with the head support and attached behind the driver slightly inboard so as to partially wrap around the support. The nets should be installed with some tension. Upper strap of net must be at or above cg of helmet. Caution should be used when purchasing these side impact nets as there are a number of companies offering these types of nets with the SFI 37.1 rating but are not made of Kevlar. Only nets made from Kevlar will be considered compliant. BSR offers a selection of the approved nets. See below for illustrations related to the proper use of these nets.

The entire document with a picture may be downloaded at:

http://www.grand-am.com/assets/2009R...terforKONI.pdf

RedlineMan

Hey;

The principles of the mounting are easy. The implimentation is anything but.

The side net is intended to catch your body if it exits the seat and/or if the seat comes adrift from its mounts in an offset hit. This is best accomplished by having a strap that will catch a majority of the head, and also the shoulders (which then stops the entire torso). The illustration below shows roughly where the straps should ideally be relative to the bolsters on the seat, and the shoulder and head of the driver. Some variation is possible depending on which type net you choose.



Like with the halos on a containment seat, the height of the top strap should be at the tip of your nose so that you can look over it (or in the case of the three strap net, through it) when you glance to the side. The longitudinal angle front-to-back is not overly important. It simply needs to be terminated on either end at a position that gives the proper parameters for clearest vision and proper position on the body.

The lateral angle is more important. You should attempt to make the net as longitudinally parallel to the chassis as possible. If you can achieve 10-20*, that is likely optimal. This will offer the best cradling effect. To some extent, the side net is meant to convert lateral motion of the body into forward motion. This is a good thing since any restraint devices (belt and H&N) are most effective in this direction, and you also have a better chance of avoiding impact with the cage or roof structure. The toughest part is having to clear the shifter on the right, and any important controls on the left.

It is also a good idea to try and terminate the side nets slightly closer together at the rear mounts than the width of the seat, in effect preloading the nets when installed. I would offer that anything but a ratcheting adjustable tension net is going to be far less effective, particularly in this last scenario, as it being lose will not see it take up tension very quickly when loaded. A loose net is not only slow to react to load, but flaps around and can be distracting. Finally, a three strap net is usually far easier to configure than a two strap version.

It's hard to describe this, but it's even harder to install!
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EDIT - I just went and looked at the document Mike linked to. My comments would be that what they depict is not ideal. Yes, you would like to have the top strap above the CG of the head, but not at the expense of obscuring side vision, or having the shoulder strap too high. It is important to catch the head and not allow it to "roll over" the top strap, but it is arguably more important to make sure the torso is collected completely by catching the shoulders. They seem to be most concerned with the former. However, catching the head, but allowing the shoulders to slip under the straps will create just as bad a neck twisiting scenario as if the head rolled over the top strap.

Ideally, you'd like to split the difference and optimize BOTH. That is tricky.

analogmike

THANKS!!!

DWalker

If it was dog leash material they were worried about my guess is it would come out of Detriot before Asia since those guys will literally do anything and skimp anywhere to increase thier profit margins.

They are specifying kevlar-reinforced because it stretches less than pure poly straps and is more fire-resistant.


EDIT: The way the right-side net is depicted in the Grand-Am .pdf is pretty close to how I have mounted them in the past as well as the way I am seeing them mounted now, once your in the car you pretty much forget its there and it doesnt impair vision.