For the first time I am looking into purchasing legit safety gear for my track car. I am happy enough with how the car did on course that I am ready to sink some money into something that I have always neglected in the past. I rode in chip’s S2k (crx18)at Mid ohio and he had 5 point harnesses with cam lock release and I really like those. Does anyone have any feedback on brand quality or things to avoid. Also I was researching HANS restraints but I still feel as though I don’t know nearly enough about them to make a educated purchase. I will also need a set of good racing seats so I can ditch the factory 90 lb seats.
looking for reviews, general info, or personal expierence.
I have a previous back injury and in all honesty any significant crash will likely fuck me for life so I would like to give my body any advantage I can get in keeping safe. Flying into turn 1 at Road America with the car very sideways is enough to get me to take safety seriously thing time around for my passanger and my self
I have the Hans Sport 2 with the quick release straps and I love it. It’s less bulky than others while allowing for wider harnesses. I know they’re expensive but I wouldn’t want to be on track in a car without a hans.
It is much easier to control a car when you’re not flopping around, which in my mind adds some safety. Make sure you have good harness mounting points, and pay attention to the angle of the shoulder harnesses. DO NOT use a 4 point setup.
I have two helmets, an open face for cars with air bags and a full face for cars without. The front of a full face helmet could be lever arm if an airbag were to hit it at an indirect angle.
I am a open book when it comes to safety equipment. The entire car is aluminium so I may have to do some in depth research to find alum bar that exceeds the required strength of typical roll cage. The chassis has very thick alum reinforcements that should be more than enough to weld plates on to. From what I read on many forums I have come to the conclusion that many setups are installed improperly, I do not want to be one of those people.
You’re planning on adding some roll protection with the 5 point harness right? Harnesses without roof support is an almost guaranteed way to break your neck if the car ends up on it’s roof. The roof will still collapse but now the harness won’t allow you, and specifically your head, to be pushed down.
I briefly looked into a hardness for the GTO when I was tracking it because for 2 days after a track day the side of my knee would be sore from bracing against the tunnel. When I realized I’d need a cage to do it safely I decided against it.
I spend a lot of money on stupid stuff and this is not an area I want to cheap out on. even if I am 3 grand per seat into safety gear that is still cheapier than just about any injury this equipment is designed to prevent.
the OEM 3 point belts are a joke and the OEM seats in an A8 are not designed with any support in mind, however I am confident that I was the most comfortable person on track the last 3 events over the weekend. I used a 5 point with in a S2K on monday and it held me in very solidly. My only question on a 5 point is the nut crushing aspect of it. The belt between the legs is very uncomfortable. Perhaps I had it tightened incorrectly or is that just how they are?
The air bags have all be removed or disabled in the case of the driver bag which is still in the steering wheel…
2001 Audi A8L the entire vehicle is alum to help reduce weight. The only steel on the car is the bolts, front and read subframe and the brakes, wheel bearings, CV shafts ect…
Such an odd choice to build a track car from though. Seems like you’ll end up spending way too much in brakes and tires if you push something that heavy with that kind of power near it’s limits.
That was my issue with tracking the GTO. I was comfortable enough with it to push it to 9/10th, but at that level it’s 400HP and 3800lbs would just eat tires and brakes. If I were going to get serious about track days I’d look for something light that I could get several events out of a single set of brake pads.
I think that wide backing plates and spreader plates and steel cage are the way to go. I’ve seen a couple “cages” on NYspeed that wouldn’t even meet LeMon’s requirements. C’mon, at least do that.
There are several H&N restraints out there, ISSAC, R3, NecksGen. Just don’t drill bolt holes in a regular helmet for mounting, or do, I don’t know…
Buy a used seat that is out of date and bolt the back to the harness bar. All aluminum floor, makes me think HUGE backing plates.
I like G-Force belts because they are FIA certified and that little tag magically makes them last longer than SFI tags. Again, HUGE backing plates for lap and anti-submarine.
But to have a proper welded in cage with enough surface area not to blow through in a flip, and all the rest of the equipment that goes along with it would be way to much money relative to how often I track the car.
The A8 is lighter than your GTO by a good bit. It also has larger brakes from the factory and makes less power. 310hp can move it around OK but speed wise it is about the same as my 1990 SHO track car mainly because of the stupid long gears in the auto trans. Once the A8 has a manual and sheds another 100lbs off the front wheels and racing seats and looses another 100+lbs it should be easier to manage. When it is caged I can remove the sunroof and the inner doors which includes the stiffiners in the doors as well as the window and upper door frame. I think in all I can pull another 300lbs from this car while still keeping the 4.2 V8 which I was planning to swap to a 1.8T which is another 50 lbs lighter. The 4.2 is so healthy I don’t know if I want to put in all the work and money on a engine swap at this point. Based on the last 3 events I did I think I could go 10 events on a set of brakes and 6 or 7 on a set of tires. See the pics from my track day thread. Those pics are end of the 3rd day pics.
You are 100% correct that the better move would be to race a lighter car but I am curious how well I can prep this $1800 car for track duty on a budget. Budget aside safety needs to be addressed this time around.
even if the scale is 100lbs off it is still pretty light compared to where is started. Front seats are 90 lbs each so there is 180lbs and the auto trans is over 300lbs according to the crate one shipped in on so a manual swap will pull quite a bit out of the nose. My goal is to hit 3200lbs eventually. Hell my car still has heat and AC (full disclosure AC compressor is siezed but the components are still there.)
I’m shocked that it’s that light, and exact! Those scales are pretty accurate.
I use a 5 point and it doesn’t bother me. You could always move to a 6 point if you’re worried about comfort, but you should definitely have some sort of anti-submarine strap.
I agree with fairgentlemenZ in that it makes sense to bolt on big backing plates to aluminum vs welding to it for a cage, unless maybe the structural bits are 1/8" thick.