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Old 19-07-2015, 03:43 PM
Bram Bram is offline
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Default Race Car Crash Safety.

Hey all. Just pondering how safe my car is if i had a crash/roll in it while at the track. And what sorts of things can be done to improve my safety. Ive got a bunch of questions and hope some people can chime in with answers. (some Q's are probably pretty stupid, but Im going to ask anyways). And also get some discussions started on the subject. Ive kind of broken it down into categorys, but alot of it is cross related.

Its intended for my SG forester, which is pretty much a track toy now. It is road registered, but only goes to and from race days now. Or to and from tuners/tyre places etc.

First off. Is there any good reading online on the subject that i can look over. something kind of official and not just random un-verified guess's. (CBF trawling countless threads on the internet to decipher out good info.)

Fixed back race seats.
Can they (and race harness) be used without a roll cage? Have heard this isnt the best idea cos the roof will squash you in a flip over etc. But even if so, would the added benifits outway the risk of such a thing actually happening?

Head protection/full encapsulation seats. How much (if any) better are these over race seats without the wrap-around head guards? Pros and cons? At what point would these be needed over standard race seats?

Is there anywhere in perth that stocks a good selection of seats so i can try out a seat for fitment? A bit worried about buying online and then getting something that doesnt fit my body shape.

Mounting the seats. What is the best way to do this. Are there conversion railings to fit race seats to Subarus. Is so, is this a better way to do it?

Are race seat mounts interchangeable. Eg. can you bolt a Sparco seat in with non Sparco rails?


Racing harness.
What is the best way to mount a harness? I understand its very important to get the angles correct for the top straps etc.

Does it require a roll cage? Can it be done effectively/safely with out a cage as far as mounting up the tie in points etc? And also as far as what happens to the car in crash. (roof coming in, car bending/tearing apart etc)

Harness bars. Are these required to fit harness's?

Can different brands of harness and seat interchange. Ie, could i use Omp seats with Sparco /Takata/whatever belts etc?


Head and neck support.
Can existing non HANS helmets be made fit a hans device? Or do you need to get a helmet designed to match a HANS?

Whats the best one to get?

Can HANS be used with any race harness/seat combo? Or does it need to all be matched?


Roll over protection.
What different types of cage are there? What levels of protection can you get?

Is there a place in Perth that does custom cages? Ball park price for an install?

Crome moly vs steel. Pros and cons.

Getting cages certified with various motorsport organisations. cams, andra, fia etc? Whats the go with that. Im only doing amature stuff now. but if i got a cage, id want it to comply with as many different requirements as possible.


Driver apparel.
Race suits. Are these just for wankers, or have a usefull purpose? I guess flame proof and also protection from abrasions/cuts etc in a crash. But how important is this in the scheme of all the other safety stuff?

Gloves, shoes, nomex undies etc. same deal how important in big picture?









Id like to oneday get the car setup with a super swesome saftey kit. but cant fork out for all of it one go. So im thinking of doing it in steps as i progress. What would be the best priority to do things in. bear in mind im only just starting out and only doing RAC at this stage. So its not too high speed, and its got a fairly safe track surrounds etc.
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