I am considering replacing my stock 4-spoke 993 steering wheel with a 3-spoke. My car has roll cage, racing seats, five point harness and I use a Hans device. I drive the car to the track and occasionally on early weekend mornings. I wear the belts tight for street driving to help keep my unhelmeted head away from the roll cage in the event of a crash, but they are not race-track tight when I am on the street. Trailering the car is not an option for me.

Here's the question: Should I buy a 3-spoke with or without airbag?

Opinions please.

(I have searched, but did not find this scenario addressed.)

 

Delete the airbag. Better pad the cage areas, but it is still a risk in the event of an accident. I have heard you can actually get sited for using racing harnesses instead of stock belts. There are harnesses that are street legal. I am not certain what makes them so.

 

Thanks. Rollbar is padded. I have only been stopped once in this car, but no ticket or mention of harness, rollbar, lack of muffler, cat, etc. Also got some very friendly assistance from Florida State patrol on the way to Sebring when my battery shorted and lit a fire in my helmet stowed in the trunk. No comments regarding the legality of the car. I think they were fixated on the lifted fron tlid and smoke coming out of the front of the car. Both troopers thought it was clever to tell me my problem was "you got no motor up there".

 

No airbag! Imagine if someone brake checks you on track, or any other situation where the airbags go off and you can't see anything at speed.

Other scenario. airbag goes off while you are wearing a helmet and breaks your jaw. It's happened and you're a sitting duck in your harness.

 

I'm no airbag expert, but I doubt the airbag would do anything useful if you're running a harness. It could however do some damage to you if you're wearing a helmet.

Is the airbag even useful when you're wearing 3-point belts?

 

Depends how you hit it. Theres more then one plastic surgeon that has fixed the face of someone who was all crossed up when it went off. Or even on the street drive with one hand at 12 and the other off the wheel you'll have a mark on your forehead that looks like a watch. I'll take that over dead any day though.

I'm not saying airbags are bad , they save lives sure. But on a race track with a cage and hans no thanks. Not the Time or place

 

Having experienced a 993 airbag going off with race seats and harnesses, I will never run with one again. I hit the tire and cement wall at Shennendoah head on at about 40mph (my best guess). It blew my arm partially out the window and almost broke it. I believe it might also have broken the windshield ($$$), but it could have been impact. It caused the cabin to fill with smoke and made me think the car was on fire -- I ran like Ricky Bobby!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the great feeback. Sounds like a consensus...no airbag. My new steering wheel will also save weight, so I like the answer!

 

Be sure to de-activate the passenger bag also.

 

I too have a 993 with cage etc. but happily I don't drive it on the street - and I am really glad I don't, as the roll cage near my head would be, it seems, pretty dangerous.
Are you using real roll cage padding? The good stuff is more $ but a lot safer than the foam padding that (I am told) is too soft to really protect you from the cage.
Also - my wheel doesn't have a horn button, and I wish it did (maneuvering around the paddock strapped in with Hans etc. I can't see around too well, and neither can my fellow drivers). Does yours have a horn button?

 

Yes, my new wheel will have a horn.
I have read the posts regarding the dangers of driving, unhelmeted, with roll cage on street, and it is a concern. Based on my seat position and height, impact to the side, top bar seems to be limited to a graze through the padding, without real impact on the metal portion of the bar. If, somehow the force of impact lifts me higher than I have been able to simulate with harness attached or really stretches my neck, I could have more serious impact.
The padding you refer to is quite hard. I understand it is better for a helmet impact, but I am concerned that it would make a hard landing for my unhelmeted head, which otherwise will probably avoid a hard knock on the bar. Of course there is always the side of the seat and the window to worry about.
I can't seem to find a foolproof system, so I know I'm living with some risk.