HPDE / track day safety gear flow chart !!
#301
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We talked earlier about head and neck restraints, one main comment was the higher the price the lighter the weight which translates to a more enjoyable experience. Has anyone seen anything on this restraint below? I assume its a bit heavier, but the entry level price point is quite nice compared to the competition. I'm sure this will be viewed similar to how this size views eBay parts, but if its safe to use, does the job correctly, and lets me save a bit to put towards another track day, that seems like a win win.
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#305
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One other question perhaps people can chime in on. My car came with an aftermarket steering wheel, lots of people on here run aftermarket wheels as well. What is the preferred action for maximum safety on a street car that sometimes sees the track? (assuming ill be using stock seats and stock belt)
- Re install a 1990 stock steering wheel with air bag and hope it works after 25 years?
- Keep aftermarket wheel, cut out seat belt stitching so you hopefully don't slam into the wheel?
- Use my existing full race seat, 6pt belt, and hope my neck doesn't snap in a collision?
- Re install a 1990 stock steering wheel with air bag and hope it works after 25 years?
- Keep aftermarket wheel, cut out seat belt stitching so you hopefully don't slam into the wheel?
- Use my existing full race seat, 6pt belt, and hope my neck doesn't snap in a collision?
#308
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Deezums, I did "read the ******* thread", the thread goes all over the place. Aftermarket wheels allow your face to slam into the wheel. Race seat and full harness snap your neck so you must have neck bracing. Cutting the stiching on the OEM seat belts removes the slack so you don't hit the wheel, but now you're modifying OEM and tested equipment. And one person commented on the safety of using a 25 year old air bag.
So at this point OEM is the safest on the street, but you still have the issue of using a car with a quarter of a century old exploding gas bag in your face. Ideally I like the idea of putting a modern steering wheel with bag in, but most people say it can't be done due to the differences in computer and electrical systems. The question narrowed down to; is the original air bag considered something that will save you, or fail and do nothing or maim you.
So at this point OEM is the safest on the street, but you still have the issue of using a car with a quarter of a century old exploding gas bag in your face. Ideally I like the idea of putting a modern steering wheel with bag in, but most people say it can't be done due to the differences in computer and electrical systems. The question narrowed down to; is the original air bag considered something that will save you, or fail and do nothing or maim you.
#309
Boost Pope
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As for the reliability of old airbags, I did a fair bit of reading on this about a year ago during the original thread. Academic data is hard to come by, but I found several anecdotal reports from both automotive engineers and people who work at scrapyards who, in the course of their normal job, routinely detonate old airbags prior to disposal. The data can be summarized as this: an undamaged airbag has an essentially infinite lifespan. I couldn't find a single report where an airbag failed to detonate during the disposal process, and that's a sample set consisting almost entirely of very old airbags.
EDIT: I did find one article suggesting a failure rate of approximately 1% for a large sample of Takata-brand airbags, mostly due to rupture of the fabric rather than a failure to detonate. This study was focused on build and materials quality, and did not correlate failure rate with age.
The closest thing I found to an official report was this article, in which Douglas Campbell, president of the Automotive Safety Council and 25 veteran of the airbag industry, noted that "airbags from 1990s vehicles are operating correctly in today's accidents."
While the electronics inside the SRS module (principally the large electrolytic capacitors) may degrade after a few decades, there are self-diagnostics in the module to detect this. If the airbag light comes on when you start the vehicle, and then goes off, chances are very nearly 100% that the airbag will function correctly in an accident.
#311
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What is the ruling on the HANS 2" shoulder belts without a HANS. I'd like to put the matching set I got in drivers and passenger, but most of the time my passenger doesn't have a HANS.
#312
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a 3" belt will work with a hans. i would recommend using a 3" belt.
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#313
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Interesting thanks. I just picked up a couple sets of schroth HANS belts. And because I always wear a HANS when I wear my harness I figured I would move my current 3" belt to the passenger side and use the HANS belt on the drivers side.
#316
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there are no stupid questions. seriously, no joke at the end of that one.
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#318
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The answer that you really don't want to hear is that your passenger shouldn't be wearing a harness without a HNRS.
#320
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Even if they were, what system is it prepped for? I'd like to see the new sfi standard have attachment points from the factory and a standardized attachment so whether it's a Hans or other, it works. But that's never gonna happen.
I'll just hope that more people are getting HNRS themselves I guess. I'll probably buy a second one anyway on the rare chance that my wife comes out to the track so I don't have to borrow one.