nuclearfishin

I'm in the midst of getting a roll bar for my car and have a seatbelt/harness question. After a thorough search here, it seems that if I want a harness I need to replace my OEM seats (997.1 tt) because the shoulder straps won't fit properly with the Porsche oem seat. However, for DE events and such, the rules state I can use the oem shoulder belt. It seems a 4-point harness would still fit better than OEM, and with the anti-submarining design, would be preferable to an oem shoulder belt. Am I missing something, or is replacing my seats (which I don't want to do) the only way for me to properly install a harness?

Speeds5

Metro NY (I think nationally) requires bucket/race seats for 5/6 point harnesses.

If I'm not mistaken they also don't allow 4 point harnesses. Might want to confirm that one

zedcat

You'll need seats with cutouts for the shoulder straps and sub belts. Also a sub bar to wrap the sub belts. I think but not certain that the 996 GT3 seats will fit a 997.1. Do your stock seats have thorax air bags? If so the GT2 sport bucket seats may be better. The GT3 seats show up for sale from time to time. Last I recall about 3k or so. The GT2 buckets much more. Or of course aftermarket options like Sparco, cobra, etc. If you use a Porsche bucket seat you can get Schroth Profi harness with sewn in eyelet ends to mount on the factory 3 pt belt ponts for the lap belts. Makes it easy to keep the 3 pts for the street and 6 pts for track.

Edit, if you go with the seats, rollbar, 6 pt harness "system" be sure to get a head and neck restraint like hans.

996FLT6

If you thinking about running harnesses with stock seats wo the holes for shoulder harness- DON'T!!! Run your 3 point. With stock seats only thing good with rollcage it's a good spot to mount a go pro or similar. 6gt3 euro will work but probably best is the gt2 seats. As one mentioned get a head/neck restraint for any harnessed setup if you choose to change out the seats. Mike

nuclearfishin

Thanks for the info fellas, good stuff. BTW I should mention one of the primary reasons for the roll bar is because it's required by nhra if the car is faster than 11.5. One more question, I plan to do some DE's this year for the first time. As far as I can tell the rules say I must have the exact setup for the passenger seat as driver seat? Even if my oem setup passes tech, if I put a race seat on the driver side, I must also on the passenger? I don't think my wife is going to like that when 90% of the driving is off track.

996FLT6

You have to do both. Mike

linzman

Not really fair for the instructor to not have the same safety equipment as the driver. If you're driving is at the point where a 6point harness and race seat is needed, then even more reason for the instructor to have the same seat and belt set-up you do.

If you're solo, the. you can still greatly benefit from having someone jump in the right seat now and then, so same rule applies.

wildcat077

If i'm not mistaken , PCA DE rules ask for equal restraints for the driver and instructor ...

Cheers
Phil

996FLT6

If you can source the oem gt2 seats I go that route but more $$$ but resale value is very good in case you decide to sell. Just keep your oem seats in storage. Plus they are aesthetically pleasing and no hassle with install with those side thorax bags. 6gt3 seats have no thorax bags and looks fugly on a 7. Mike

zedcat

It's good you're already thinking safety gear for DE, but for the first couple of events running with the factory 3 pt belts would be fine. You'll have an instructor and will be focused on basics - learning the line, how to brake, smooth inputs, managing weight transfer etc. Speed comes later. Also you can check out other drivers set ups for seats etc. In my experience other drivers are usually very helpful and open to sharing knowledge. Best of luck.

bill3

+1 on not rushing to buy the seats, harnesses, etc. The factory seat options mentioned above make sense but if you do decide to go aftermarket, think hard about how much street driving you will do. There are great track only seats that I've seen many folks put in their cars only to find out that the car isn't drivable on the street for more than 30 minutes. Makes getting to the track or taking trips excruciating.

There are good compromise aftermarket seats that work on track and street but they aren't cheap either. I have a set of Recaro's (I would have to look up the model number) that I installed years ago and they work on the track and for 500 mile trips, including for my wife.

But the advice above is correct: drive with the 3 point belts and do your research.

JCP911S

Safety equipment is a total system... will you trust your life to some amateur "mix and match"?

The current state of the art for racing is a full cage, halo race seats on fixed mounts, helmet, HANS, 5-6 point harnesses, and right and left nets.

IMHO, as an instructor, I'd rather trust Porsche's engineering department with stock 3-points, seats and air-bags that are tested, than Joe-Backyards conglomeration of cheap crap he bought on eBay and bolted into his Subaru turbo.

Schist4Brainz

Many threads on this, but I went through the same growing pains so I will try to spare you some. I know you are straightline racing but I will gear this towards your desire to do DEs. If you have not yet even done a HPDE, dont even think about the rollbar, seats, harnesses yet. At this point, as they say, the weakest part of the car is the nut behind the wheel. First, go through the instruction and initial learning phase. IMHO, you should wait until you are a solo driver at the very earliest before you mod the interior safety components. Until then, and frankly well after, the car is far more capable than you can hope to be unless your last name happens to be Senna.

A better investment would be a set of good brake pads (e.g. Pagid yellows or similar), since by your 2nd or 3rd event you will find that your OEM pads are not adequate. You will also need better brake fluid, like Motul. Once you have advanced into a higher run group, you could consider a set of track tires, since the track will definitely shorten the life of your street tires. I suggest Nitto NT01, Yoko AD08, or comparable. These are not racing tires, but they have much better dry grip than streets and will allow your street tires to last. A second set of wheels dedicated to the track tires is a real time saver, since it is easier to swap tires that are already on separate wheels rather than having a shop swap tires on your single set of wheels. Yes, this costs more money but you're going to get some eventually, plus they dont have to be nice wheels...they will get ugly quickly.

Now, when you are ready to move up, say goodbye to the kids car seat in the back, actually say goodbye to the back seats altogether... and install in a bolt-in roll bar, some fixed-back seats, 6-point harnesses, and a HANS device. DO NOT even think about using harnesses without a roll-bar and proper rigid seats, or without a HANS, that is if you like your cervical vertebrae intact. Moving into a solo run group makes you THINK you are getting fast, but moving into the roll bar/seats/harness set-up makes you think you're name IS Senna.

However, don't ditch the comfy seats. Fixed seats will get uncomfortable and they severely limit access to the back (but since you installed the roll bar, the back seats are no longer useful anyway). Besides, it is super easy and fast to swap seats. I had a 997.1 S "dual-purpose" car and routinely swapped pads, wheels/tires, and seats for track days and after a few events I had the entire procedure down to less than 30 minutes. I could walk you through the whole thing when you make the leap.

Good luck, have fun, and be safe.

LuigiVampa

Yes.

I put in HALO seats on both sides even though it only says "restraints".

https://www.pca.org/driver-education-minimum-standards