mark b

And who runs stock dot belts/seat with helmet and hans? Ive heard that it might be too stiff for the neck to run with Dot seatbelts, helmet and hans. And can you use stock C5 Z06 seats with a harness, helmet and hans? Has anyone briefly tried this, or did you buy everything all together, seat/harness/hans?

Ive been tracking my car for years with stock everything(seat/belts and helmet), but Im getting sick of bracing myself...I want a seat that I can use on the track(10 track days a year) but still use the same seat for street/highway. I want to be able to use the the dot belts on the street and then the harness on track.. without having to switch all the time.. I'm lazy and dont have time for that.. I'm thinking the Corbeaus A4's are the only solution Are there other seats that will do the trick that I am unaware of? Caravagios are too expensive..

thanks

Jason

I have Corbeaus and 5pt harness and wear a HANS. The 3pts are worthless with my Corbeaus.

I had a very light frontal impact with a tire wall last week. Did not even crack the fascia or setoff the airbags. And I would have hit my helmet HARD on the steering wheel, and I'm sure my neck would have been sore for days, if it hadn't been for my HANS. Even with a harness, the boys were sore for 3-4 days.

These cars, bone stock on runflats, are capable of ludicrous speeds on track. The wall doesn't care if you're racing or just doing a track day.

longdaddy

you can route 3pt belt with almost any racing seat so you can use the dot legal belt on the street and harness on the track. you may need to fabricate the extension for the inside seatbelt attachment.

if you do use the car on the street for more than driving to/from the track, you should try to pick a sit that is comfortable to sit in for a long periods of time and is easy to get in and out.

you need a properly mounted harness and a seat to use a HANS device - it is useless with anything less than that.

BEZ06

Yes, but you can use a Hutchens type device with the OE 3-pt belt system.

I've got a Safety Solutions R3 Rage to use with the OE belt. The good thing about it for an instructor is that you can have head and neck protection while instructing in the right seat of cars with no harness system.

http://www.safetysolutionsracing.com/wordpress/

Bob

mark b

thanks for the replies, But I want to know if I can still use the harness and hans device with the stock C5 zo6 seats and has anyone done this before buying another seat? can you cut slits in the seat for the harness to go in? would the seat support it? Will the harness help restrict movement and keep me in place in the corners even with the stock C5 Zo6 seat?

And I read that article about the hybrid (wont fit my helmet) and the nylon seatbelt issues(weakening over time from moisture) so where do you purchase polyester racing harness (dont weaken overtime and stretch)? or are they all nylon?

John Shiels

no the belts for the hans will not be routed properly with the stock seat to work properly.

Jason

And a 5pt harness will tear the stock seats up in no time. Ask me how I know.

argonaut

Regarding the Corbeau A4 - I have them. The car is street driven and I've done several 4-5 hr trips in it. The seats have very little lumbar support and my back gets sore on long trips. I always end up rolling up a towel and shoving it behind my lower back. Other than that they are comfortable though. On the track they are much better than the stock seats, obviously, but for a track seat they do not have deep side bolsters or leg bolsters so my legs still end up moving a bit more than I'd like. The adjustability is nice but I almost always leave it in one position anyway. So in the end I think they are an ok street/track combo that will do the job but I'm not sure I'd get them again, probably look at different options.

CHJ In Virginia

I have used my stock C5Z seats for about 5 years on the track. I modified the seats by having a local upholstry shop make a proper cutout in the seat back for the pass through of the sholder belts and a cutout in the bottom seat panel for the pass through on the crotch strap. I have a RD roll bar as the anchor point for the harnesses and use a standard Hans and it works fine with this configuration. This is really a compromise as the seats do not offer enough lateral support even with the belts sinched down as tight as you can get them. There is really no way to get both street comfort and track security / lateral support from the same seat. Swap them out or you are going to have to live with a compromise.

mark b

thanks for all the replies, I figured as much that the stock seats might not work and from hearing that the Corbeau A4 seats have poor lumbar support I dont want them because I need that lower back support... what about the Caravagios? they are too expensive though,

i was looking at the sparco evo seats...maybe I will get those and try to fabricate the dot seatbelt to securely keep me in place on the street. and use harness at the track, but for now I guess im stuck with these seats... what track seat has good lumbar support? (lower back) thanks

GeorgeZNJ

ECS sells new skins and foam to go over your stock seat frames. (very cost effective) The beauty of this is it has a pass through so you can use a six point harness with a bar and the straps go over your shoulders, and you retain the use of the stock seat belts if you use the BK seat brackets.
The quality of the leather is a lot better than the stock ones, and the foam padding is a lot thicher, helping to keep your butt in the seat.......

ccj

I have a Sparco Evo on the drivers side, its adequately comfortable on 3-4 hour drives.

What about a Sparco Roadster? Very similar in design to the Carvaggio but not covered in leather. I have the EVO on the driver side and a Roadster on the passenger side.

SIK02SS

That is indeed Jim's brother. My dad used to race both of Jim's Kudzu's in ALMS (first the 3 rotor and then Jim took him to the 4 rotor after a couple races); we get all ours from Jim directly and my dad was actually Jim's official crash test dummy in the 2000 Daytona 24 hour; a French driver in a Viper put him into the wall nose/side first going 140+. The fact that he came out with his life and only a shattered foot says a lot for HANS device. Jim and his brother used my dads accident to collect a lot of data off of with how the device handled the impact and what it did (besides work).

Myself, I have been racing a year and half now and early this year my HANS worked for me (nothing like my dad's accident). Nothing life threatening, but a hard side/rear impact (from another car) none the less that destroyed the back/left of my formula ford and left me soar for a couple weeks.

As stated above, you're looking to buy safety equipment, yet you are over-looking a HANS device, to me this seems to be a bit of an oxymoron..no matter what setup you get, you need to get a HANS or at least some kind of alternative (and no, I don't mean one of those donuts..). Just my .02

Zenak

R3 or R3 Rage or R3 Hybrid.

Difference?

$1000 or $650 or $650.

sperkins

What do you do when instructing with a 3-point? I almost bought a HANS after completing the instructor clinic, but figured I need to do a little more research since most newbies aren't going to have a harness on the right seat.

longdaddy

if you have a driver who wants instruction with a 5/6pt for himself and stock seatbelt for the passenger , send him home until he fixes this crap. problem solved.

BEZ06

The expensive one is lightweight Carbon Fiber. I've got the R3 Rage, and it's a very nice unit. It comes with the hardware to hook the tethers up to your helmet. It uses the same pre-drilled holes a HANS uses. It has sliding tethers and is very comfortable to wear.

I guess if you were a pro racer and doing long endurance races, then the weight savings with the CF one might be worth the price.




You need the unit above - it works with OE 3-point belts.

http://www.safetysolutionsracing.com/

Bob

varkwso

That was cause you made Katie wait in the paddock - and miss a session.

I do not wear a 5/6pt without a Hans. 3 pts, airbags and stock seats can take a 100 mph head on hit into a concrete wall - but I do not recommend it.

Sperkins - we ended up with Hans instead of the R3 due to the package steal I got on three of them - but I was leaning toward them. All of my hard hits have been from the passenger seat. One mechanical, one antifreeze on track and one throttle lift in a 911 (bad, bad plan).

sperkins

T12 at Rd. ATL if I recall? That's the kinda stuff that keeps me up at night.