mom'sZ Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 You mean rollgcage no? Shouldn't rollbar be far enough back to be out of the way? Cameron: is the rollbar far enough back that there is never any chance of hitting it with any part of your body? How about the passenger? How about if your seat belt is loose, or not on, or you slip out of it partially? (ask Jon about that one) What about if the seat back breaks loose from the botttom? That's why you must have a one piece seat to race. My point is not that a rollbar is unsafe. My point is that the interior of the car and the safety features of the car, seat belts, seat, dash, everything is engineered as a package deal. Once you start messing with the package, you have to consider what you've done very carefully. I didn't even realize until recently that my 77 has a breakaway rearview mirror. Try it, grab that baby and yank (the one in the center of the windshield inside the car that is) It is held up there with spring steel, it snaps into place. Why? so if you beam it, it will give (so your face doesn't have to). I was a body guy for years, saw a lot of wrecks. There are a lot of very sutle safety features built into every car. Did you know almost every car's hood has a weak spot made into the middle of the inner bracing, so it will bend in a frontal collision, why? So it doesn't come through the windshield and become a gullatine (sp?) Once you start changing things like the seat, the belts, ect. you become the safety engineer. I always have to laugh when I see the ricer guys with the fire extinguisher hanging on the passenger side a-pillar. That way everybody can see it (kinda like the monster tach on the dash) I had a buddy whose sister got brain damage from hitting her head on the a-pillar because there were three people in the front seat and no belts on. Imagine what would happen in a wreck if your passenger hit that extingusher. ouch What about hanging stereos or gauges off the bottom of the dash? I had a friend who had an amp or eg or something hanging off the bottom of the dash and got in a wreck and took a good bit of flesh off the front of his leg with it. When a race car is built, and a cage installed, the builder is taking on the job of safety engineer. The seat mount, the seat, the harness, it's mounts, the roll cage, the padding, it all must be thought out very carefully. not saying a roll bar is dangerous. Sorry for the rant. just saying think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 all good points there Mom'sZ. Now that I have a daily driver I am planning on my Z being for the weekends and track days. I will be doing a full rollcage. The bottom of my aluminum dashboard is higher than the stock one just so that my knees would have more clearance in case of a wreck. I think I'll open up the door and weld a tube into the door instead of having that thin little C channel of sheet metal. It just makes me feel better than having a tin can door. I'll still do a low-ish door bar sort of like Mull's so that I can still get into the car. If I have to do a removable steering wheel then so be it. Safety is definitely important and I agree that harnesses without a rollcage can be very dangerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Mark: just curious, and not that I necessarily disagree with you, by why don't you like a race seat for a street car? EDIT here is old thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=102401&highlight=road+racing+stuff When you say race seat, I'm thinking of an aluminum seat with some sort of thin cover, maybe some form fitting foam inserts. THese seats fit like a glove. You wear them. You don't adjust you driving position,(easily) it is set, you can't move around when your left but cheek goes numb. If I'm in a street car that I drive regularly, this is not my idea of comfort. But for a track driven car you can't beat a purpose built seat. I have sparco milanos in my street driven 240 and they have some adjustability but have much better support than the stock seats. Something along those lines are what I (jmo) think works well in a street driven car. But I'm also 45 so that has alot to do with my decisions. So to directly answer your question, I think the answer is I'm old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Mark: fair enough, I suffer from that same affliction, I'm 44. Also, another down fall is they tend to wear out, uphostery wise, a lot quick for sure. Plus, because you're kept firmly in position it makes it harder to crane your neck around and see behind you / around you in traffic. It's worse with deep bolsters or halo. Most race cars have extra mirrors covering the blind spots to make up for that. I've got one of those wink thingies with the multiple angled panes and some fish eye truck mirrors. (inside the cabin, out of the air stream) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I think I'll open up the door and weld a tube into the door instead of having that thin little C channel of sheet metal. It just makes me feel better than having a tin can door. pretty good idea olderthenme, and here's some food for thought. Look at most modern cars. You'll notice one of the common features is 'aircraft style' doors. In otherwords the frame around the windows is wider and sort of becomes part of the body. One of the advantages of this type of design (other then superior aerodynamics) is intrusion protection. Because the door is bigger then the hole it covers, it makes it harder for another vehicle to breach the passenger cabin. A lot of newer cars have 4 to 6 inches of overlap all the way around. Think of that as you design your door bar. Run it as far to the front and back as you can, that way it doesn't become a spear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I have sparco milanos in my street driven 240 and they have some adjustability but have much better support than the stock seats. Something along those lines are what I (jmo) think works well in a street driven car. But I'm also 45 so that has alot to do with my decisions. So to directly answer your question, I think the answer is I'm old. mark, do your milano's have provisions for 5 pt harnesses? i'm in the older [45], tall [6'3"], lean [175 lbs] crowd and in addition have a herniated disc [in the waist area] so i'm looking for new seats. the old recaro's just don't cut it anymore. need something; low, light, narrow-to clear the main hoop for the autopower cage and most important-comfortable for the old back. some track days, auto-x and daily driving combo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 mark, do your milano's have provisions for 5 pt harnesses? i'm in the older [45], tall [6'3"], lean [175 lbs] crowd and in addition have a herniated disc [in the waist area] so i'm looking for new seats. the old recaro's just don't cut it anymore. need something; low, light, narrow-to clear the main hoop for the autopower cage and most important-comfortable for the old back. some track days, auto-x and daily driving combo... I do use a 5 point harness. The seats fit me well. 6'4" and 200 lbs. They have pass thrus on the back for the shoulder belts but no provision for a crotch strap. I just run it up in front of the seat. The seats were a tight fit in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 mark, can u post and/or shoot me a pic of them installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Sure,Give me a day or two to get a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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