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Driver restraints for Racing


TomoHawk

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'78 280Z-

Is there anything you can do, either in addition to, or in place of (reasonably!) the stock seat belt to help a driver stay on the seat on a road track? I've done a few laps of AutoX in my 280Z and for that short time, the stock belt is fine, but on a road track, the turns are longer and probably with higher speeds, so there's more opportunity to slip off.

 

My car is basically stock, with Eclipse seats swapped in. I might have a stock Z seat stored somewhere, but I'd assume not for now. I also go to car shows, so I'd need a way to put things back to stock.

 

thx

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Sorry, you can't have a rollbar because Z's didn't come with them from the factory. What about an extra-wide lap belt cover (with sheep's wool?)

 

Are there plastic/foam/rubber seat covers you can put over the seat bottom to shoe your butt like a racing seat? Something like a kiddie booster for the driver, but not to elevate you?

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well a different seat would be my recomendation. somthing with bolsters that would hold you in the car better....

 

For road race we use 5 point harnesses, but roll cages are necessary too...

 

I would suggest that you consider what you are going to do with the car as dual purpose solutions will not work well for both solutions, there are always compromises....When road racing especially, we stress safety...I would look for Safety first.

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Yup, What RC said. I'd go to a race shop and test sit some seats. Fixed back seats are best if you can find one you like. You'll get the Anti-Sub slot for the front, which is important in a frontal impact. It keeps your body from sliding UNDER the lap belt and injuring your lower extremities.

 

Mike

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Yup, What RC said. I'd go to a race shop and test sit some seats. Fixed back seats are best if you can find one you like. You'll get the Anti-Sub slot for the front, which is important in a frontal impact. It keeps your body from sliding UNDER the lap belt and injuring your lower extremities.

 

I'm not sure that's really correct. My understanding is that the sub strap is designed to keep the belts low so that the load is spread across the larger bones in your body. If they belts rise then you do nastly things like blow out spleens or worse.

 

From what I've read you really should be using 6-point belts as they do a better job. Mounting for all this is critical and a number of people do it incorrectly and most people don't have the belts tight enough when they are in the car. And if you're running at speed it makes sense to add a head and neck restraint into the equation.

 

And if you have a dedicated track car then you should have a proper seat and it should be mounted correctly. Aluminum seats with bead liners work well.

 

I never used to worry about all this but as I've seen a few wrecks in the last couple of years that could have been far worse. And I'm building a car that will be a lot faster than anything I've ever had before. And when Newton is driving you typically have little input on where you go.

 

Cary

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When I went to one of the SEMA shows a few years back Simpson gave an indepth talk on their product line and the use of an Anti-sub belt. The main focus of the anti-sub belt was on the driver SLIDING under the lap belt during a headon collision impact. They had a video showing crash testing using various restraints. The Anti-sub does keep tension on the shoulder straps, which coincidentally was the initial reason for the belt design. But the benefit of keeping the torsoe in the seat bottom and seatback was seen instantly. Less knee/leg/ pelvic damage occured in the same accidents duplicated with the anti-sub vs. without. The 6 point belts are an evolution from the five point and surely a much better design in keeping the driver from sliding down the front of the seat.

 

It was quite informative and removed any doubt from my mind why these harnesses should be mandated in all motor sports events.

 

Mike

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Sorry' date=' you can't have a rollbar because Z's didn't come with them from the factory. What about an extra-wide lap belt cover (with sheep's wool?)

 

Are there plastic/foam/rubber seat covers you can put over the seat bottom to shoe your butt like a racing seat? Something like a kiddie booster for the driver, but not to elevate you?[/quote']

 

Actually I believe the 432z did come with a rollbar from the factory and was a production car, unfortunatly it was not sold in the US.

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Sorry' date=' you can't have a rollbar because Z's didn't come with them from the factory. What about an extra-wide lap belt cover (with sheep's wool?)

 

Are there plastic/foam/rubber seat covers you can put over the seat bottom to shoe your butt like a racing seat? Something like a kiddie booster for the driver, but not to elevate you?[/quote']

Nice. The sheepskin seatbelt cover... old lady neck abrasion protection at it's finest! Make sure you get one of those sex toy looking "massaging" steering wheel covers too. http://www.midwayautosupply.com/detailedproductdescription.asp?4198 I hate it when my hands go to sleep right as I enter the braking zone. :lol::wink:

 

Time to choose: racecar or concourse car. Never the twain shall meet.

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