Steamboat

I suspect our region would probably take a similar stance on the matter.

I recognize the need/advantage of seats and harnesses but assume the harnesses need to be anchored to some type of bar - hence my desire to at least understand what I'd be getting into on that front before getting serious about the other stuff. I can't say I very thrilled about the prospect of cutting holes in the bottom of my street car and would like to ensure that whatever I do could be undone should I decide to sell the car at some point. But perhaps it isn't as big of a deal as I'm imagining it might be.

"......and your car is prone to catching fire?" Nice.....

SWK6Cup

Steam:
As stated, everyone has given great advice. FWIW, last year I installed a Techquipment roll bar, GT3 seats and Schroth 6 point harnesses and got a HANS. The seats were obtained from and RL'er and they included the mounting brackets and sub bars......fairly easy in and out, (simple to "undo it") so nothing should impede the sale of your car, when and if you decide to sell her, later on. In my case there was no hole cutting, just some knuckle bleeding, but was all worth it!!!! Good luck, safe driving.
R\
Scott

Carrera51

The DAS Sport roll bar was PCA Club Race legal with their "PCA compliance kit" when roll bars were allowed in the stock classes. The compliance kit did require the installation of additional plates below the feet of the main hoop which would require drilling some holes. Not required for use in drivers ed. If your 997TT has the Bose sub woofer, you will have to remove it to install the roll bar since the rear feet attach around the rear shock towers.

As others have said, get seats (factory GT3 seats since they drop right into the 996/997 platform and they will be easy to resell should you decide to remove them down the road) that allow the use of harnesses, plus a head and neck restraint, and a roll bar.

You have a very fast car that has had some performance mods done to it and you are driving in the advanced run group in your region. Definitely time to ad safety gear.

MUSSBERGER

What everyone else said (techequip bar, gt3 seats and the sub mount bar that mounts underneath the seat) and if you must have a suit get a Stand. All us guys that don't have one will be jealous.

mglobe

JMHO, but unless you are willing to shell out huge amounts of money for the GT2 seats, the Porsche 996 GT3 fixed back seats are by the best option for DE seats in a late model car. They look great, are pretty comfortable, work fine with a HANS, and the bolt right in. Any other choice other than perhaps some Recaros will present issues in installation that you probably don't want to take on for a dual purpose car.

I can't speak for other regions, but for Lone Star (and I believe Hill Country and Maverick regions), there are no special requirements on roll bar installation. A DAS or Techquipment bar is perfectly fine in a street car for DE use.

Coaching is a great idea. Performance/$ it's probably the best investment you can make, and also the most fun.

With regards to driving suits, I'd recommend staying away from the cheap ones. They are like walking around in an oven mitt. You can find some nice deals on discontinued suits from OGRacing.

Gloves are worth paying extra for also. After going through two different sets of cheaper gloves, I bought a pair of Sparco Tides. Lots of money, and worth every penny.

Steamboat

Thanks for your reply. Can the Bose subwoofer be reinstalled after putting in the DAS or are the tunes toast?

Also, has anyone had any experience with ROTtec GT3 carbon fiber seats?
http://www.rotteccarbon.com/seat.php

Thanks for everyone's ongoing suggestions!

JerryW

The most critical information is not available from here or the PCA website. Ask **your** DE Tech chair what they accept. If you are going to do DE's in a few regions contact all the Tech chairs.

Given the disparity between different regional standards as well as organizations this would be the best way to confirm what you need. Once you have that info you'll know what can or can't be combined or installed and can make a decision. We can help once that info is available. (note that there are already threads here on differing standards from what National and other regions specify)

PJorgen

Nope, can't reinstall the subwoofer with the rollbar in place. However I did the same in my 996 C4S and didn't really notice a difference in the sound with the subwoofer gone, so I wouldn't say the tunes are toast.

todinlaw

Really? I must have missed that rule?

My two cents, your decision to go to bar, seats and a 6 point harness has to include a neck restraint system because the harness will not allow the torso to move forward in a frontal like a 3 point will to decelerate you head and neck so the Head/neck restraint is a critical requirement otherwise you are increasing your risk of harm. Ok 4 cents worth.

Steamboat

Very interesting (and probably very valuable) advice. Thank you.

So, what do I need to know about neck restraint (HANS) systems? My helmet is drilled for one. A couple guys use them at our DE's and they seem to be a pita to get in and out of but perhaps that's just the price one has to pay. Also, since my car is a daily driver and there's zero chance that I'm going to start wearing a helmet and HANS around town, does this mean a 6 pt system is inherently more dangerous on the street than a 3 pt.? I suspect the probability of being involved in an incident on the street is greater than being involved in one on the track when adjusted for miles driven, gapers, etc. Perhaps it's not really possible to incorporate the safety features of a track-only car into a dual purpose vehicle. More to learn and more stuff to consider.......

bella1

When you buy a HANS, it comes with a nice video. You will see slow motion video of a crash test dummy with and without the HANS in a six point harness. Admittedly, you have an airbag which will stop your forward motion. For those without airbags, you will understand once you see the video. I remain surprised that PCA DE does not REQUIRE the HANS when you have the six point harness. SO GET THE HANS!

bella1

You will want to leave the stock seat belts in place for use on the street.

mglobe

I completely agree with this comment about using HANS with a harness system. I think it's a necessity, to have the HANS. If you're going to dual-use the car as you've said, I would set it up to use a 3-point on the street, and a six-point on the track.

BTW, there is no PCA wide requirement wrt roll bar installation methods for DE. It's possible that some regions may have such a rule, but national does not, and none of the Texas regions do either.

rlm328

I am in the M758 club and I know Globe went the same way. You can either modify your street car and cough up around 2k to 3k for the initial mods, which is a very slippery slopei and will quickly add to over 10k to 15k or go purchase a dedicated track car. There are several of them out there that are very reasonably priced.

Don't mean to be negative about moding out yoour car, just sayin been there.