Break my neck or Crush my skull?

[NJ 03Mach1]

I was told a racing harness is NOT DOT approved! :read:

I got a ticket for wearing my harness instead of my OE. While showing a guy at work the point of the harness, I didn't feel like taking it off so I drove home with it on. I wound up beating it because the judge was a drag racer and agreed with my arguement that the harness would provide more protection in the event of an incident then the OE one would :banana:

 

[1995COBRA-R]

I have a 4-point rollbar in my '94 Cobra. The rear bars go through the speaker holes into the trunk. The back seat is unusable at this point. The car is now retired from track events.

I do not see any danger to my head in the occasional drive in this car. My head is well away from the bars, and the head rest on the seat is between my head and the padded bars. I don't care what the DOT says; I feel that I am safer with a five point harness than a single stock shoulder belt.

The car as it looks today:

 

[brkntrxn]

I got a ticket for wearing my harness instead of my OE. While showing a guy at work the point of the harness, I didn't feel like taking it off so I drove home with it on. I wound up beating it because the judge was a drag racer and agreed with my arguement that the harness would provide more protection in the event of an incident then the OE one would :banana:

I don't care what the DOT says; I feel that I am safer with a five point harness than a single stock shoulder belt.

While I do not dispute that a 5-pt harness is safer than a 3-pt seatbelt, I have always heard that the reason DOT does not approve of a harness is because in the event of a crash where you are knocked unconscious, a by-stander or rescue personnel may not know how to work the latches in order to remove you from the car (e.g. the car is on fire).

I dunno. Maybe I will go post this over in the LEO forum and ask for certain.

 

[1995COBRA-R]

While I do not dispute that a 5-pt harness is safer than a 3-pt seatbelt, I have always heard that the reason DOT does not approve of a harness is because in the event of a crash where you are knocked unconscious, a by-stander or rescue personnel may not know how to work the latches in order to remove you from the car (e.g. the car is on fire).

If anyone hits me in my 1994 car on the street so hard as to knock me unconscious, the last thing that I will be worried about is my 5-point harness. The rescue personnel can just cut it off. What would you rather be nailed in on the street? A car with a 5-point harness and rollbar, or a stock car with a shoulder belt?

I use every safety device when on a race track.

The wires and button on the steering wheel are for radio contact to the crew which can run over to the pit officials so they can notify the ambulance.

The cage that surrounds me and is double boxed at each 90 degree angle. It extends around the fuel cell to the shock towers. We have an easily accessed pull handle that can be used for any fire. We use three layers in our racing suit.

We also occasionally test the safety equipment:

 

[ac427cobra]

We also occasionally test the safety equipment:

It would seem to me you guys could save quite a bit on your racing budget if you didn't test the safety equipment so often!? ;-)oke:

 

[1995COBRA-R]

It would seem to me you guys could save quite a bit on your racing budget if you didn't test the safety equipment so often!?

These old Mustangs are easy to fix. The black car actually ran better after the new front clip was welded on.

Here's the video on the red car. It was just cruising around a turn and found a Studebaker sitting in the middle of the road. :shrug: Then the burgundy car had to go into the grass trying to miss hitting everything.
SporcarPlayer07

This picture of the black car was from last year's Mitty. A Porsche spun in T-1 and stopped in the middle of the turn. The Mustang followed and hit him. :shrug: The Porsche driver still blames the Mustang. :??:

Hint: If you don't want to get hit on the race track, you should not spin and stop in the middle of the track! The Porsche was totaled. Mustangs are heavy and can cause damage to a lighter car.

They put a new oil cooler and radiator in the Mustang, and it won its class.

 

[GR-40 Pat]

Safety ALWAYS comes FIRST!

These cars we run are extremely fast and it's not always your fault... Case in point below:

SN95 vs Miata/K-Wall

This was caused by a Miata driver making a wreckless move and clipping the rear wheel/quarter while the Mustang was passing at over 100MPH up the front straight at Laguna Seca several years back. Needless to say the driver walked away with a few bumps and bruises thanks to a properly designed and executed case. We also learned a few things and made changes to the design of the cages. I had to follow this poor car back to NorCal with it on an open trailer, you should have seen the looks I got as people passed us...

My ORR car in my sig was deigned for sustained speeds upwards of 200MPH, it's one of the reasons my wife and I bought the car in the first place.

 

[sunburned]

4 point cage, no questions. If you have proper seats and belts and all that, no way your head will hit those bars. If you are really worried about it, pad them up.

Just for reference, our Baja SAE car was completely built out of 4130. Frame, suspension arms and everything else structural made of chromoly. It was the lightest and strongest steel we could get at a decent price and to meet the rules. I think the rules actually specified that you had to use 4130. SAE isn't going to take any chances with a bunch of college kids racing wheel to wheel through the woods where there is a good chance you could hit a tree or roll over at speeds up to 30mph.

 

[pkwest]

I have a maximum motorsports 4 point bolt in with a welded diagonal and harness mount in my 03 cobra vert. I had it installed by a race fabricator who not only welded the rear pads and down tubes to the hoop in per the instructions but also welded the front plates to the bottom of the car as well. He also spot welded the nuts to the plates from under the car to make it easier to R and R. The nuts are always in the proper location and I don't need to reach under to hold them with a wrench. I remove it when I drive on the street and you would never know it was there. It takes around 30 minutes to take it out and 45 to put it back. I also have Cobra Misano carbon fiber seats and schroth 6 pt harnesses. I didn't go with autopower because the pads are much smaller and the rear down tube is bolt on.