[MR2] 5 point harness

[BARRY S DAVIES]

Thanks David, that is the sort of info I was looking for.
Thanks too, to everyone else. I didnt mean this to get into a discussion of safety. If it were that, then obviously the best choice would be either a) full roll cage, Hans device, 5 point harness, window netting, fire extinguisher system, or 
b) stay at home and watch TV.
As I said, this is HPDE, and standard OEM 3 point harness system and seats is considered perfectly adequate. I just want to be more physically stable in the car. I am aware it is not without risk. Last session a driver turned his BMW into a BM after doing something the instructors warned him not to.
He walked away fine though.
cheers
Barry

 
> Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:59:35 -0500
> From: hillman at planet-torque.com
> To: bsdavies at q.com
> CC: mr2 at mr2.com
> Subject: RE: [MR2] 5 point harness
> 
> On Mon, 24 Jan 2011, BARRY S DAVIES wrote:
> > unless I missed a couple of posts, I've not seen anyone suggest a stock 
> > seat is safer than a 5 point harness. Anyway, it sounds like you have
> > solved the problem I am looking to solve. My thought initially was to 
> > use the firewall for the anchor points, but that I would need to 
> > reinforce it with a steel bar behind, so as not to pull through it. The 
> > problem is, there is a lot of "stuff" running along the engine side of 
> > the firewall that pretty much precluded that. Are you saying that in 
> > your experience just the metal of the firewall, perhaps with some 
> > pretty large washers, is strong enough? I would appreciate any details 
> > you could offer of your set up.
> 
> For years I used a 3-point harness ( make and model escape me at the 
> moment ) with a single tail-strap bolted to the infamous 'coat-hook' hole 
> under the window in my mk2. Now on the mk2 chassis, at least, that area 
> gets a bad rap. I cut up my old mk2 parts car with a sawzall, and the top 
> edge of the firewall is pretty stout... not surprising since it's a 
> structural element of the car. Don't simply stick a bolt through the skin 
> of the firewall itself, that's not much more than sheet metal in places. 
> Or if you do, a large backing plate is required.
> 
> On my current mk1 iceracer, both shoulder straps are attached to a 
> large grade 8 bolt sunk through the drilled-out 'coat-hook' hole and 
> secured with a washer on the underside ( much easier since the battery has 
> been relocated ). That install has been through about 175 races now, and 
> some pretty decent collisions over the past couple weeks. I've never had 
> the opportunity to plow it into a concrete wall to test ( well, I did run 
> this car at Blackhawk Farms once, but I didn't hit anything ). Would that 
> mounting withstand 120mph into a wall? Probably not, but since I don't 
> wear a HANS device, that'd be likely to break my neck anyway and I'd 
> rather it fail and take my chances ( not mention soaking up some energy in 
> the process ). It will withstand 70 mph into a snowbank that stops the 
> car in a few feet, because I've done that a few times, and there aren't 
> even cracks in the paint around the mounting. The whole chassis 
> is, in fact, bent after some recent hits we've taken, but the harness 
> mounting looks brand new.
> 
> --
> David Hillman