Seat belt/harness options w/ street seats & no cage?

[cygnusx1]

After reading about the tragedy at Watkins Glen with the driving school:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103155

 

I am investigating my options for improving the restraint system in my 280Z. I have a rear strut tower cross brace but I have seats from an early M3 BMW, which, like the stock Z seats, dont have pass through for harness belts. Are there any devices available that would work with "street" seats and a rear tower brace? Assume the rear tower brace is strong enough to attach to; or is there a better way? This solution would be for a single track day per year or occasional autocross.

[johnc]

Over the years I've learned there are really no intermediate steps in track safety. You either go all the way or rely on the factory safety equipment.

 

We've had a thread locally about a WRX STi driver who replaced his factory wheel (w/air bag) with a non-air bag Sparco wheel and replaced the factory harnesses with Schroth 4 point DOT harnesses. On the front straigh at the Streets of Willow he swerved to avoid a piece of debris on track and lost control of the car. He went off track and hit a concrete barrier (the ONLY one) at 70+mph. His girlfriend was riding as a passenger. Both were helicoptered out and both were in ICU for a while. She has since been released and he is still in from the last I heard.

 

Lots of conjecture but the armchair engineering concensus is that the removal of the air bag was foolish and the installation of the Schroth harness contributed to the injuries because the shoulder harnesses were mounted to the rear lap belt mounting points. Too low - which allowed more forward movement then necessary.

 

If your car is primarily a street car, rely on the factory safety equipment. Even a design as old as in a 240Z has sound engineering and testing behind it.

 

If you want to improve things, you must get serious:

 

1. Properly mounted FIA approved racing seat.

2. Roll bar, roll cage, or very strong rear strut tower bar for harness mounting.

3. Properly mounted harnesses.

 

And when you get on the track:

 

1. Snell approved SA helmet (no Ms anymore).

2. Fire extinguisher.

3. Gloves.

4. Nomex underwear (at a minimum).

5. Long cotton pants.

6. Long cotton shirt.

7. No nylon anywhere on your body including your shoes.

8. Window net or arm restraints.

[JMortensen]

I'm more wary of mechanical failures or those cars that didn't even get to the track because of blatant safety issues. HPDEs are relatively safe if you put it in perspective. As Al Pacino once said "You can get killed walking your doggy!" and we all know racing is inherently dangerous, blah blah blah.

 

Having worked tech at many autoxes I've seen seat belts tied in a knot, batteries held down with bungee cords, broken off lug studs, leaks of all types of fluids, etc. And these people are always pissed because they can't race. Just don't go if your car isn't ready, please.

 

I've put out a car that was on fire because the guy put a small battery in a big battery box at an autox. The battery slid inside the box until the + terminal hit the metal brace in the box and caught fire. I watched a Z come around a turn and heard a loud "BOOF!" and watched smoke pour from the engine compartment. His battery hold down failed and the battery tipped over and landed terminals down on the starter and engine block. Last time I was at the track they put a couple pieces of duct tape over the + terminal of my battery just in case the battery came loose. Probably not a bad idea.

 

The other thing that I have personal experience with that is pretty scary is what Mike Kelly and I and a bunch of Porsches I've been on the track with have done; dropped a tire in the dirt then tried to get back on. Bad idea. If you're going off, go off. Then collect the car, then wait for the track worker to waive you back on the track. The newbie reaction to dropping a tire is to get off the gas and then turn the wheel back towards the track which inevitably ends in a HUGE slide across the track.

 

Aside from those things the other thing I saw at a track day which utterly astonished me was when an MR2 spun around and left the track backwards at about 80 mph. The driver NEVER stepped on the brakes and the car just kept going and going and going and eventually backed into a corner workers' stand at ~30 mph. The guy could have stopped the car EASILY if he had just locked up the brakes, but he just sat there letting the car roll backwards for what seemed like forever until the accident. If you go off and you aren't going to collect it right away just stand on the brakes.

 

Anyway those are my safety tips and bitches. It's surprising to me how many battery issues I've seen.

 

EDIT--I guess this response is better suited to the other thread. Sorry.

[Guest 71ZZZZZ]

Check these guys:

 

http://www.deist.com/Catalog.asp?category=410112051161116

 

They should be able to give you some good tips...doesn't seem like anchoring you're harness to the strut brace would be strong enough, if you didn't use the factory mounting points you might have to find some other method. Maybe a rollbar would help, don't know the configuration of your seats...good luck with it...

[cygnusx1]

I appreciate all the safety advice. It looks like I will just trust what I have always been trusting on the road; my ability, my brain, and my factory safety equipment. It looks like in order to use a five point harness, one would need an appropriate seat, and an appropriate structural member installed to connect to. I will shift my WGI track day preparation focus back to mechanical inspection for reliability and rules compliance.