Official Safety Discussion Thread

[OGstackadoIIa]

I'm a bit disappointed I took out my OEM wheel, but it had to be done

 

[MiketheDyke]

I thought to myself that since I sit pretty close to the wheel (im 5'5), the airbag might hurt me instead of saving me.

 

[OGstackadoIIa]

It pushes your head back and prevent wiplash/smashing your face. I chose a regular hub instead of shortened, so the wheel sits pretty close to me, which I absolutely love. So much more control

 

[dlo253]

Today I'm picking up an ITR non srs steering wheel. I gave it some thought, but I decided to get it...

If you change your mind, send it my way!

 

[MiketheDyke]

It pushes your head back and prevent wiplash/smashing your face. I chose a regular hub instead of shortened, so the wheel sits pretty close to me, which I absolutely love. So much more control

Oh. I must be super careful when driving then. Its a good thing that I'm not like those teens who street races and speeds :roll:

If you change your mind, send it my way!

You made a wtb thread for that back in the day lol. If I do change my mind, I'll definatley sell it to you :thumbs up

 

[Samurai_Blue]

Especially since almost every one of us has modified OEM safety equipment in one way or another

I actually thought about it the other day. There is no way in hell im ever going to track a car for time without the stuff i have. Ride alongs with other people is scary enough.

 

[OGstackadoIIa]

I'm still a lil shaken up about everything at CVR because of my accident, so I'm still ok with taking a little more time away and getting my safety equipment in order

 

[Samurai_Blue]

you should. when youre ready lmk and ill go with you to EGR and introduce you to John.

 

[OGstackadoIIa]

Yee, for sure

 

[Samurai_Blue]

I could probably get Oscar to take me to EGR too and pick up your car too. Just take off the splitter blade so i dont destroy it. Which we should trace.

 

[OGstackadoIIa]

I have it off right now. I need to redo my brackets and I really need to trace it.

 

[Samurai_Blue]

I can ask Justin if he has spare boxes. I really need the back pieces and where to mount the brackets lol. I'm gonna make it longer.

 

[dlo253]

Oh. I must be super careful when driving then. Its a good thing that I'm not like those teens who street races and speeds :roll:



You made a wtb thread for that back in the day lol. If I do change my mind, I'll definatley sell it to you :thumbs up

Fasho! Haha. Yeah, then I ended up buying sumthn else lol.

 

[Samurai_Blue]

This is what im running:
4 point roll bar with custom X brace by Evil Genius Racing (NASA inspected and will probably pass for SCCA)
Takata MPH harness (Short) aka the jdm harness with anti sub strap
Schroth FIA backing plates
Schroth eyelet bolts
Schroth wraps
Recaro SPG (out of date)
G Force helmet SA 2010

 

[Samurai_Blue]

Back from the dead!

NO HARNESSES WITH STOCK SEATS! taken from Honda-Tech

Street legality: http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread...hlight=harness
Some mounting information: http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread...hlight=harness
Some more mounting information, Schroth specific but applicable as general guidelines: http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/2...structions.pdf
Mounting how-to: http://www.sandmracing.com/ssabelt.html
Harnesses are another form of a seatbelt; they keep your *** in the seat where it's supposed to be. They typically do this job "better" than a stock seatbelt, but also differently. See the ATTENTION! bit above for some more information about harnesses.
-There are 3-4 types of harnesses:
3-point (both stock and aftermarket)
4-point (shoulder straps and lap belts)
5- and 6-point (shoulder straps, lap belts, and crotch belts [6-point has two crotch belts])
7-point (shoulder straps, lap belts, and 3 crotch belts)
Which one you use is your choice. 3- and 4-point are generally used by either street drivers or autoxers. Most tracking organizations do not allow these, and require either the stock seatbelt or a 5-7 point harness. The lack of a crotch strap can result in submarining, where your body can slide under the lap belt and squish itself into the footwell. This is possible because the shoulder straps won't allow your body to fold over the lapbelt. Schroth makes a certain type of 3- and 4-point harness with an inertia reel, similar to what is mounted on the B-pillar/door of a stock car. They also make an ASM shoulder belt that sort of allows the same thing. Basically, that design DOES allow your body to fold over the lapbelt, and should keep you from submarining.

There are also various safety ratings for harnesses, with the two US-applicable ones being "FIA" and "SFI". FIA harnesses are legal for 5-years, SFI harnesses are legal for 2-years (for competition). Some HPDE organizations now follow that rule, and some do check the dates on belts (there is a tag on the belt that has a date "stamp"). Regardless of the organization, these things must be kept in good shape. If they are torn or frayed, they're garbage.

Harnesses are also designed to be used ONCE! That means if you get in an accident/hit a wall, they're garbage. The reason for this is that the webbing is designed to stretch a certain amount in an impact. After stretching, they can't stretch again. There are some companies that offer re-webbing services, which can be cheaper than purchasing a complete new harness.

-Seats
There are stock seats, there are aftermarket reclining seats, and there are one-piece seats. Stock seats are...stock. Some are better than others for spirited driving, with higher/tighter bolsters and so on. Popular Honda options are ITR seats (the material is different, and the seat foam is actually different), Del Sol seats, and JDM Recaros. Seats are like helmets; they come in different sizes, and fit people differently. The JDM seats are made for tiny Japanese people, and so won't comfortably fit the average 250lb American. The same applies to one-piece seats. Some are skinny, some are short, some are tall, and some are wide. Also like a helmet, your best bet is to go to a shop and sit in a few to see what fits you best. Things you want to consider are shoulder bolster height, shoulder strap hole height, and width. You'll be sitting in this thing a lot, and so want it to be comfy.

There are also generic eBay reclining seats. While it is always your personal choice, I can't stress enough that these no-name companies typically have no kind of safety testing, and generally are garbage. I have been on track as a passenger in a few of these and the experience was horrendous to say the least. The biggest problem I saw was that the hinge mechanisms are weak and poorly constructed. That allows the seat back to move A LOT. Try putting your faith in something like that in a collision. If you want to go with a reclinable seat, pick a known brand name (Sparco, Recaro, etc.) or stick with an OEM offering.

One piece seats have two mounting options: bottom-mount or side-mount. Sounds pretty self-explanatory, right? The holes for physically mounting the seat are either on the bottom of the seat, or on the side. Side-mounts typically allow the seat to be mounted lower than bottom-mounts. Both are legal. There are also aluminum seats available (Kirkey, Ultrashield), and for these you drill your own holes, and so mount them however you want.

There is really only one type of safety approval for seats, and that is FIA. All others are just classified as "non-FIA". For track use, non-FIA seats usually require a backbrace, which is some type of device that braces the seat back against the harness bar. FIA seats are designed to flex, and if kept within their date (5 years) do not require that brace.