syncspeedinc

Gums,

Heed the very good advice provided for you here, your seating position is completely wrong and dangerous! Your head should be no where near the front of the header bar and in no way should your helmet be level with the top portion of it. I am shocked that no one on a grid ever talked to you about it, there are many different safe mounting options to get yourself lower in your seating position, talk to your favorite race prep shop about it ( just not the folks who put it in the current position for you

gums

Yeah, you can bet that I'm going to address this issue this weekend. I guess I just grew accustomed to cramming into race cars and banging my helmet all the time. I didn't really question it until I saw that view that I showed you, my son mounted the GoPro to get it, as you see in this clip.
And I remain open to any and all suggestions you guys may have, thanks so much!

(Incidentally, this clip is about the same time frame as the first one, in case anyone is trying to figure out what is going on outside my window.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByEvjsCFg-k

jerome951

Frank,

Shoot a static pictures of where your header bar is in relation to the top of the windshield and a side shot of where you are in relation to the window/door opening.
Based on that camera angle and your relation to the window and roll bar, you appear to be normally positioned for someone your size (though maybe a little high up). If this is the case, whoever designed your cage put the header tube way too far rearward.

Couple other potential issues I see (but I am by no means an expert)...
Verify the position of your right side net. Looks too low to catch your shoulders and head if you slip out in a side imact.

Are your shoulder harnesses exiting the seat hole then going upward and over your shoulders? Hard to tell from the video due to the shadows. I had this issue when I started using a Hans (I'm long-torsoed) and had to make adjustments to my Sparco EvoII.

How is your window net mounted? The leading edge looks awfully loose and not secure. A object hitting it at an angle could push it rearward and enter the car.

Not criticisms: just concerns from a fellow racer...

onefastviking

Obviously you have a long torso which makes solving this a little more work although it should be an issue that can be solved. I have redone cages, moved seats, and lowered floors for concerns like this over the years.
Another issue I see a lot,especially with the long torso guys, although hard to tell on you from your picture, is spine compression. Do you find yourself getting pulled lower in the seat from the belts, sore shoulders or neck ? Especially if any impact ? Check to make sure your shoulder straps are not at too great of an angle. I would guess you will need to replace your seat with something better suited for your body as well as lower the seat for more headroom.

Sean F

It's pretty amazing how much your head moves with even small contact. When I wrecked at the Glen, my first hit was a car hitting me door handle to door handle and you can see in the mirror in my video that my head moved a lot even with that kind of hit. If I had your setup, I would have hit the bar pretty hard. The second contact would have been lights out.

BrianKeithSmith

hey that's me!!!!
That's a hilarious pic! Jim's seat is SO LOW that when my 5' 7" body gets in there, its just nuts. I looked like a NASCAR driver in the COT with 12 inches of room above my head...

Mahler9th

Well... that doesn't look good. I cannot say whether you have a long torso or anything else about your body, or your seating position in general, or your cage design in general...I don't think you have provided enough information and I am not a safety expert.

However...

I am a big believer in getting local professional advice and services when it comes to this type of thing. In my experience, this is much better and more appropriate than advice gathered here on the internet. Sure there are some helpful folks that respond to things like this, even some professionals. But as I started in this "hobby" in the pre-internet days (1987 at LRP in a 944), and was a relatively early-adopter on the internet stuff (car and driver 944 list... then porschefans, porsche list then rennlist, et cetera), I'd say local help trumps internet "advice" every time on topics like this. I love lists like this when it comes to HD cameras with flash memory, but when it comes to stuff like this, I prefer and always recommend local professional advice and services. These cars have been raced for a really long time. 911s, 944's and the like. There are plenty of pros around most areas with experience that can help. My advice is to find your way to these folks... often times the local PCA region is the best way to find them. Or contacting active pro racing teams.

For example, if I had a specific question about 911 race engines, I might ask Jerry Woods his opinion... saw him yesterday with all kinds of racing Porsches around the shop. He was IMSA mechanic of the year in 1977 and as far as I know was active before then and of course is still active. I don't think he responds to many posts on the internet.

Anyway, doesn't look too "optimal" to me.. I hope you get a professional to look at it and get his or her assessment and are able to make changes if they are recommended. And don't forget, if you change seat height, check to make sure your head and neck restraint still meets specs with respect to the shoulder belt angle... you may have to make mods to get this back to specs.

- Mike

93 FireHawk 968

Frank, pm sent.

thingo

As some have already suggested I would recline the seat back and get a spacer for the steering wheel or a deep dished wheel like a cup wheel.

multi21

Can I suggest something no one else has, because I have this EXACT same problem. From the first video, it looks like the cross bar is too far back and needs to be moved forward. I'm in the process of cutting the bar and moving it forward. Had to take out the front windshield to do it, but it was cracked anyway and had to be replaced.

333pg333

Perhaps a stupid idea but a lot of people have longer torsos and shorter legs (proportionally), is it possible to shift the seat back, extend the wheel and extend the pedals or get a pedal box repositioned?

Whatever, that position looks drastic.

gums

All great suggestions,guys, I'm gonna dig in this afternoon and see what comes up. Thanks to all, including the PM's and professional insights, I'll also be tapping those.
I hope to post pictures of a solution for more insight.
Keep it coming in the meantime.

RedlineMan

Check Post #10 Pete;

At least 50% of the cages I see have the header tube in the wrong place, and that includes the custom built ones too. No excuse for it. Pure ignorance of what is important. The header tube should be here on EVERY cage. I have no trouble placing them there at all. Neither windshield was removed either.

930
944

multi21

Ha, didn't see post #10 due to the header tube being in my line of sight

Potomac-Greg

Same here. 6'1" with legs shorter than my 5'3" wife. And my 944 has Recaros with sliders and I still have lots of headroom with a helmet on. Good news is that you have options.