pgj98m3

I don't race but regularily do HPDE's at a small local track - Mission Speedway, Seattle - Pacific Raceway and Portland. I have pretty bad degenerative disease in my cervical spine. I put my BMW M3 into the wall at Mission w/o any physical injury but don't want to test my luck again and don't want to give up HPDE's....should I go to a HAN's set-up or would a simple "horse collar" pad be sufficent ????

AU N EGL

HANS does need a race seat and harness.

the neck colors are OK but do not really protect you head or neck in a real accident

pgj98m3

Thanks ....of course I do wear a helmet and since I use my street car I also have the airbag for the nose into the wall collision (my BMW wreck was a sliding backwards drivers side slap the wall move concrete dividers 6 in. affair)...given that the HANS role is to keep my skull from sliding off my cervical spine it may not be necessary

BEZ06

You might consider this:

http://www.safetysolutionsracing.com...p=587#more-587

The Hutchens or R3 Device does not need a harness or race seat. I saw forum member JDillon wearing his while instructing last weekend in various cars that didn't have a harness system.

The unit straps to your body to provide the foundation for support and uses tethers to your helmet the same as a HANS.

I know I'm considering one for use in my car with the OE 3-point belt.

Bob

0Vector Vette

Paul,
I don't mean to insult you, but you must be kidding. You have a degenerative disease in your spine, have already put a car in the wall, and are wondering about a HANS. Put a harness bar in your car, get a race seat, get a set of 5 or 6 point belts, and a HANS with sliding tethers. This is the best money you will ever spend!!!!! Live to tell your grandchildren about your days on the racetrack.

fatbillybob

I agree but there is more to it.

1- Active Airbags in helmets are not a good idea. Theory goes bag deploys and traps in the eye port and causes damage. So make sure visors are down. Open helmets trap on the bag during deployment and rip your head off. peaks and visors on helmets encourage bags to rip into the eyeport.

2- HANS is most effective in fore aft collisions and effectiveness decreases as the primary or secondary collision is off angle.

3- Therefore, full containment seats and seats with sidenets are a critical part of any safety system.

4- 7pt belts work better than 6 which is better than 5 and rally type ASM 4pts are just not that good at all

1-4 is just a start.

So now how committed to your safety system do you want to be or should you be?

pgj98m3

No insult taken.....

My BMW was heavily modded and I had a 4 point harness in place that I could use with the M3 seats. Can the standard seats in a 99 FRC be modded ????...I recall seeing a thread that said the cut-outs for the shoulder straps were already in the seat.
I'm relatively new to this vehicle and see no need for "power mods" , my focus will be handling, braking and safety. If safety can be achieved with modest and less expensive changes then money is available for other purposes

BEZ06

FYI, here's a section from the info regarding the NCM HPDEs this summer:

I think that some of the C5 seats have a pass through. I know none of the stock C6 seats have such a feature, although a number of owners have modded their C6 seats with holes.

However.....some of the groups that sponsor track events have gone even farther and said that if you're using a harness, you must have a race seat that was manufactured with harness pass throughs, and not a modded seat.

So....check with the groups you track with to make sure you comply with their tech requirements.

Bob

pgj98m3

So if we are talking race seats.......I don't race so minimum weight isn't necessary and the car is my daily driver. In addition to swapping wheels, brake pads, and changing fluids will I be swapping out seats as well or can I get a comfortable "race seat" for under $600 ???

GreyGT-C

Skip an HPDE, and buy a real seat with the money that you were gonna spend on that event... hell, after adding in gas, brake pads, and fluids... you're well on your way to a HANS device. I manage to make it to about 2 events per year because of being out of the country for my job, but i still run a proper seat, 6 pt harness, HANS device , 5lb hand held halon extinguisher AND a 10lb car mounted Halon system along with battery cut-off... I also run a multi-point cage . Overkill? Perhaps, but i plan to make it to the "next" event every time.

Oh yeah, forget getting a comfortable dual purpose seat.. takes less than an hour to swap them out before each event.

Horse collar just keeps your neck from getting sore from G-forces as far as i know of... i wouldn't trust my "healthy" neck with one... you already said you have a degenerative issue with yours... Just my opinion.

pgj98m3

I wish I was still young and foolish and could just ignore good advice.....

OK...next question which seat ???

RX7 KLR

Hybrid Pro user, but with a harness, full containment seat and right side net.

You can never be to careful

RX7 KLR

http://www.racetechseatsna.com/race_seats/RT4009HR.html

BEZ06

Yes, you're right!!!

Butt....the car in your picture doesn't look like it sees the street much!

My car is a daily driver GT car that sees many thousands of miles driving around the country every year.

I'll drive 650 miles up to VIR (visiting family along the way) and then 650 back.

Then I'll drive 1,000 miles up to NJMP (and visiting family in Trenton area) then 1,000 back down.

That means I'll be running those events on street rubber, but I'll run a moderately aggressive alignment and some race pads on the track.

Most race seats aren't compatible with the OE restraint belt, and a harness probably doesn't meet DOT/NHTSA requirements or those of many states for driving around on the street. Besides, I like the stock seats!!!

I could probably use a cage, fire supression system, helmet, containment seat, and full nomex body coverage for the street as much as the track, but I'm just not going to put that stuff into a GT road car that just sees a few track events per year.

So....I will probably get an R3 device that will work with my stock 3-point belt to add a degree of protection. I'm just not gonna turn my car into a track only wannabe race car and trailer it around to a few HPDEs per year.

I like the idea of the Corvette as a car that can be driven on the street everyday, driven to the track, thrashed on the track, and then driven home.

Bob

RX7 KLR

Scroth has a DOT harness system. And a number of seat manufacturers offer reclining "street" seats that have harness cut-outs and more bolstering than OE seats.

BEZ06

Uh-Oh!!! Like pgj98m3 says: "I wish I was still young and foolish and could just ignore good advice....."

You're gonna end up talking me into doing more than I ever wanted to do!!!

This thread reminds me of the cowboy after OSHA regulations:







Bob

kmagvette

Wow, a 4 pt? From what I understand that is next to useless and more dangerous that the factory three point. A five point is just nuts - you will end up with two lumps in the back of your throat Most folks suggest a six-point since you have the anti-sub and, in a wreck, the leg straps will keep the lap-belt low and tight across your pelvis rather than you soft squishy innards.

If the restraints are not mounted properly they are probably more dangerous than the stock 3 pt. It always amazes me how many folks spend crazy cash on modding their cars but skimp on safety. Like the folks above said, get a good seat first, then build your restraint system around that. A cage is even better - I am saving for one of those.

bowtiguy

I'm a 17" neck ( with no plans to go larger since I stopped using steroids )

web site lists the following

Large at 16" to 20"
medium at 13.5" to 17"

I'm 6 ' 185-190 lbs. I'm leaning towards a large, btu I like my performance gear to fit snug ( I.E. SkI Boots)

Any suggestions guys?

Lancer033

if the system is designed to be a 4-point system, it was probably designed so the shoulder straps attached to the lap belt about where the hips are vs right in the middle like a 5/6-point. That way the shoulder harnesses won't pull up the middle of the lap-belt to your stomach.

GreyGT-C

a properly installed 5 will never allow the anti-sub belt to touch your special place in a wreck. It's to keep the lapbelts from riding up your body which prevents you from sliding down and under them in a wreck.