Road Racing Safety and Visibility Equipment Questions
03-03-2008, 02:56 PM
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Road Racing Safety and Visibility Equipment Questions
I am looking into upgrading the safety equipment in my stock C6 coupe to allow some occasional racing with my daily driver and have a few questions/issues.
Here is an event that looks interesting:
http://www.openroadracing.com/
For the Grand Touring Division I need a 5-6 point racing harness.
The next division up, the Grand Sport Division, also requires a competition approved roll bar or some OEM roll over structures will be acceptable.
There is some indication that the C6 coupe does meet the "roll over structure" requirement, so a roll bar _may_ not be necessary.
I still want to use my car for a daily driver and it may be a long drive to these events (couple of days of travel?) so comfort is an issue and space in the car will not allow for changing seats, etc. At least I (barely) fit in the coupe with a helmet with the seat nearly all of the way back. This may be an issue for some regulations if the helmet height and roll bar height are closely compared.
I must get a harness. There has been some concern raised that a full harness could cause more trouble than regular seat belts if the roof collapses, so don't get the harness without a roll bar or roll cage. There has also been some references to certain events not allowing the use of harnesses and stock seats.
I was thinking of just getting a BK, shark or hardbar and adding the appropriate clip in hardware attach plates at the mounting points of the seats. This would not address a roof failure, so I was looking at the Pfadt chassis stiffener. Probably called that because it doesn't meet some spec for being a real "roll bar"?
http://www.pfadtracing.com/products/...&search=&page=
The problem is that I think the view out the rear view mirror is already minimal and putting a bar across the inside top of the roof will make it useless.
Is there a roll bar, hoops, something that can add support in case of a roll-over but not block the view for my daily driver?
This also has the harness attach pretty low, so would probably require another harness attach location or require racing seats.
How can I get the current safety and comfort features of an unobstructed view out the rear window, side airbags, current seat comfort for long trips and still be able to have a harness and additional rollover protection when I get to my destination?
Here is an event that looks interesting:
http://www.openroadracing.com/
For the Grand Touring Division I need a 5-6 point racing harness.
The next division up, the Grand Sport Division, also requires a competition approved roll bar or some OEM roll over structures will be acceptable.
There is some indication that the C6 coupe does meet the "roll over structure" requirement, so a roll bar _may_ not be necessary.
I still want to use my car for a daily driver and it may be a long drive to these events (couple of days of travel?) so comfort is an issue and space in the car will not allow for changing seats, etc. At least I (barely) fit in the coupe with a helmet with the seat nearly all of the way back. This may be an issue for some regulations if the helmet height and roll bar height are closely compared.
I must get a harness. There has been some concern raised that a full harness could cause more trouble than regular seat belts if the roof collapses, so don't get the harness without a roll bar or roll cage. There has also been some references to certain events not allowing the use of harnesses and stock seats.
I was thinking of just getting a BK, shark or hardbar and adding the appropriate clip in hardware attach plates at the mounting points of the seats. This would not address a roof failure, so I was looking at the Pfadt chassis stiffener. Probably called that because it doesn't meet some spec for being a real "roll bar"?
http://www.pfadtracing.com/products/...&search=&page=
The problem is that I think the view out the rear view mirror is already minimal and putting a bar across the inside top of the roof will make it useless.
Is there a roll bar, hoops, something that can add support in case of a roll-over but not block the view for my daily driver?
This also has the harness attach pretty low, so would probably require another harness attach location or require racing seats.
How can I get the current safety and comfort features of an unobstructed view out the rear window, side airbags, current seat comfort for long trips and still be able to have a harness and additional rollover protection when I get to my destination?
03-03-2008, 05:21 PM
#2
Melting Slicks
My buddy has the Pfadt roll bar. It doesn't block the rear view mirror. I would get it welded in. The bar fits quite far behind your head. Almost at the rear glass. That's good for your head not hitting it, but since the bar is so far back it will not protect you very well.
I had a custom roll bar put in and it blocked my rear view mirror. It's not really a big deal. You just go down to GM and order the piece that glues onto the glass. Re-mount your mirror a little further down the glass.
Steve
I had a custom roll bar put in and it blocked my rear view mirror. It's not really a big deal. You just go down to GM and order the piece that glues onto the glass. Re-mount your mirror a little further down the glass.
Steve
Last edited by mountainbiker2; 03-04-2008 at 05:32 PM.
03-03-2008, 09:41 PM
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Interesting - I hadn't noticed how far back that sits. It may not really support the roof structure in a rollover.
For your custom roll bar did the base tie into the floor or to the side structure like the Pfadt does?
It would be interseting to see if there is enough structural stuff in the area behind the seat to use as a base for the roll bar or if it has to go to the floor behind the seats.
The seat is all of the way back and it would be good if the roll bar did not require the seat to move forward. I do have some concern about how close my head would be to the bar, but a lower bar could make sure the seat does not deflect far enough back that my head would contact the bar.
I am also a little leery of lowering the rearview mirror mount. I had another car that the mirror was low enough that it blocks the view out the front windshield and made it hard to see if cars to the right at intersections. Maybe it is related to how high I sit in the car. I like the visibility under the mirror right now... I can always hang something on the bottom of the mirror to see if it blocks my forward view. This is certainly a time it is better to be shorter!
For your custom roll bar did the base tie into the floor or to the side structure like the Pfadt does?
It would be interseting to see if there is enough structural stuff in the area behind the seat to use as a base for the roll bar or if it has to go to the floor behind the seats.
The seat is all of the way back and it would be good if the roll bar did not require the seat to move forward. I do have some concern about how close my head would be to the bar, but a lower bar could make sure the seat does not deflect far enough back that my head would contact the bar.
I am also a little leery of lowering the rearview mirror mount. I had another car that the mirror was low enough that it blocks the view out the front windshield and made it hard to see if cars to the right at intersections. Maybe it is related to how high I sit in the car. I like the visibility under the mirror right now... I can always hang something on the bottom of the mirror to see if it blocks my forward view. This is certainly a time it is better to be shorter!
03-04-2008, 05:41 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
When they built my roll bar they welded to the bottom corner behind the seat. When I get a chance I'll take a picture. The plastic is back in, so it might be hard to see. When I say lower your mirror it's just a inch or so. Where the Pfadt bar mounts is not that great. You better talk to them about it first, because they know more about it. If you couldn't get a custom one, I would buy there's and get it welded in. Don't forget that if you use race belts they attach to the horizontal bar. If that whole unit comes loose your shoulder belts would come undone.
Steve
Steve
