Maxhouse97

I had completed a couple of DEs in a relatively stock 87 3.2 when a family friend of my wife died on the track during a separate DE in his S2000. As far as I can tell he had something fail on the right rear of his car (rotor, wheel, etc.) on a straight which caused him to slam hard sideways against a wall. He did not have a Hans or halo seat and the presumption was that his neck fractured. Subsequently my wife became very wary of all track events in general and I am now fighting to convince her that I can continue my DE participation safely. The only way I have a chance is to max out on safety gear in my current car, or get a dedicated track car.

Even though a dedicated track car would be the safest, due to the 1 week old daughter that is peacefully sleeping in front of me, I think I will only be able to do 2-3 track events a year. Maybe more after she grows older, but not now. Therefore I do not want to dump a bunch of money into a track car that I would only drive 2-3 times a year. So I want to look into the first option - maxing out safety gear on my Carrera while still keeping it streetable.

So along the lines of Jack Olsen's car, I was thinking a full cage, Hans, 6-points, race seats, seat back brace, fire extinuisher, electrical cut-off, window and side net. I'm not sure if he has all that, but he does have the cage (Jack if you read this please feel free to elaborate!). So far I have a safety device rear half cage, Recaro Pole Positions, batt cut off and the 6-points (not pictured).

Without getting into the debate about a full cage on the street, does anyone have a good example of this set-up? Any pics of well integrated roll cage padding, fastened with something other than zip ties? I'd like to keep it looking as nice as possible for street use. Will a Hans and side nets make up for a lack of halo seats? What else can I do to raise the safety factor while keeping it steerable? Or is it a lost cause? If I absolutely had to buy a track car I could only afford a Spec Miata, which would take me away from the Porsche brand/friends and a lot of the reason for tracking in the first place. Thanks.

txhokie4life

Sorry to hear about your family friend. A very unfortunate incident.

Maybe consider just going with a harness bar instead of the roll cage and everything
else you talked about.

That would be a compromise between ultimate track safety and street use.

The netting could be taken out for street use and the 6 point harness would be fine
for the street -- although not necessarily comfortable or convenient.

I have a 4 point Schroth and harness bar with seats for my 951 drive to the track car.
I use a hans and helmet on track.

BTW, I'm not sure the HANS would completely protect you/me in a side impact from a neck injury.
But the net might limit head travel some.

A wrap around seat might be better -- but that really would be a PITA on the street.

Mike

J richard

I think the best dual use setup is a DAS bolt in rollbar (that sits on the rails and bolts in) with five or six point belts and a Hans. You already have the seats. You can keep the 3pt belts for the street and clip the harnesses in and out. I know you don't want to debate the full cage so I won't, not a good idea...

This is the same setup I have In my RSA....

roketman

I agree with JRichard. do the roll bar .Don't compromise your safety .

Maxhouse97

Thanks - don't know if its clear in the picture, but I already have the roll bar (or rear half of a safety devices cage). So how well would the bar only protect me in a roll over vs a full cage?

SiberianDVM

I have a full Safety Devices bolt-in roll cage with padding, Sparco EVO L seats on Sparco sliders, G-Force 6 point harnesses and fire extinguisher in my 911 Targa, and let me tell you: adding the front half of the cage really limits it's streetability, especially the door bars.

Getting in and out requires that I slide the seat back all the way, so no seat back brace yet. When I get the seat back brace, I will also have to go to a removable steering wheel and remove the seat sliders.

slvr993

I agree with the others. Good Seats. Roll Bar, six point belts, Hans etc. A good friend of mine rolled his 993 at Summit a few years ago with that set-up. The DAS bar did great. The car was clearly totaled but he was protected and walked away just fine. I had a full cage in my dual purpose 993 and pulled out the front half shortly after getting it. ( It came to me with a cage).

Chaos

Ruf cars have a cage built right in,including a front bar...

kurt M

Bolt in cages tend to not hug the A pillar and roof line well. Track car, go full boat including a containment seat. DE car? Good seat, roll bar, H&N and built in full car fire supression all installed well. This should add in most of the track safety with the least reduction in street safety.

Maxhouse97

Great that is the kind of feedback I was looking for. If I can count on the roll bar sufficiently protecting me in a roll over, and add neck restraint that would be good. Would you still recommend a net?

Now any advice on making the case to my wife? Is there any objective evidence and/or statistics? I know intitutively that the drive to the track on public roads is more dangerous the the track session, but how can I prove that? What has worked with your SOs?

Gary R.

Do not put a full cage in a street car. You are 90% of the way right now, stay with the roll bar. Get a Hans. Get a Halo seat and bolt it in before your event, swap it out when done. Just buy an extra set of Recaro sliders and mounts, it's 4 bolts, takes 10 minutes.

KaiB

I like this idea.

J richard

Didn't catch the SD cage in your photo. I had the full one in a 964, it is about the tightest fitting bolt in cage, and the weld in base plates make it a very stout install for a bolt in.

I'd add a suit, six point belts and a Hans. These ARE the pieces that would of protected your friend from that unfortunate result. I feel naked in a car without the Hans, was a major issue in curtailing my instructing. As far as nets go think about a right side net (the triangular one that goes from the rollbar to the dash, and there is a window net that has a bracket that slides into the factory window opening and is completely removable. It is getting common to use the triangular containment net on both sides of the driver. These will work correctly with the seats you have in keeping you in and upright in the seat and keeps the Hans doing its job. this is often overlooked they work just fine with just the roll bar, but you do have to find a solid mount for the front net mount and disconnect. Usually that goes to asunder dash bar but many full caged cars use a bolted location.

All that will be comforting to the GF and provide quite a bit of safety.

My SO was very happy to have me spend money on safety. Even though "looks" is the last thing important about safety equipment when all the padding, belts, FE all go into the car it makes quite the impression.

David in VA

Tony, not much to add as you know how our cars are set up. We've been doing the dual purpose thing for years with DAS bars, six point harnesses and Hans. Just wanted to congratulate you on your daughter, that's great news. Our 16 month old son loves going to the track. Any plans for VIR?

SiberianDVM

Forgot to mention the fire suit and Nomex gloves, socks, and balaclava.

Next up will be a HANS, followed by a fuel cell, I guess.


I bought extra life insurance. Also, she goes to the track with me most of the time, and she sees how safety conscious the PCA guys are. I also make her watch NASCAR on TV and she is amazed how the drivers walk away from the wrecks.