99SH

I'm planning to do a few trackdays with the car and have a concern about the Harddog roll bar. I currently have the Schroth harness and the shoulder belt slips through the openings of the seat. With the harness bar too high, will I fail tech inspection at track days? The bar works great for slow autocross events, but at higher speed I'm feeling that this thing may not be too safe ?

BrianZ

You need to check with the organiser of the track day.

I only know NASA's rules
[QUOTE=NASA CCR]
11.4.8 Seatbelts and Harnesses
The seatbelts should be in good condition. No damage may be present on the seatbelts and they must be the factory configuration. Any harness or any restraint system, other than factory stock, shall conform to CCR section #15.5, in all respects* except for the expiration regulations. Harnesses that are expired for racing may be used providing that they are in at least very good condition. The use of a lap belt without any shoulder restraint is not permitted. Passenger seatbelts must meet the same minimum requirements per the CCR as the driver seatbelts if being used by a passenger. Note passenger equipment need not match the installed equipment on the driver

GinoGT

By the wording of that, it seems like any harness that's above 20 degress downward from the shoulder is OK. That doesn't read like it says anything about the harness itself being more than 20+ degrees up, just not 20+ degrees down.

Clark

There's ideal, and there's reality/practicality.

For HPDE track days, whether NASA or a less formal club, I've never seen them break out a protractor and check the angle of your harness mounting.

Additionally, when adapting harnesses into a primarily street driven car, you do make some compromises. Your mounting may not be per ideal spec in the Schroth installation guide (I have the same bar & problem), but for HPDE you are also in a situation of significantly less risk of a high G direct impact (hell, stock belts are okay).

Some people on this forum will be purists and suggest you're putting a gun to your head if EVERY parameter of belt mounting isn't perfect. I look at it as more of a sliding scale of risk/safety and decide from there.

Some things are a bad idea (e.g. racing harness with stock hoops, or that guy that welded a bar to the stock hoop for a harness = bad load path plus head too high). But in this case I think you're fine unless you had a REALLY bad incident, which can happen in HPDE but it's unusual and in that case there are other variables (no driving suit, etc.) that are just as bad.

-Steve

BrianZ

Steve,
I agree there is ideal and practical. I have no say (or information) about other clubs other than NASA (nor cal specifically) and I know they follow their rules(if it modified from stock it must follow the ccr). I have seen many people prevented from going out on track because if improper use/installation of harness or even cages. I don't like it when it happens but it is ultimately for YOUR safety.

Just because a tech inspector did not see it in the morning does not mean they wont notice it on pre-grid and inspect it. Its good that people come here and learn what the track groups are looking for before showing up and not allowed to run (possibly).

In this case I bet he would be asked to discontinue use of the harness and use the stock seatbelt.

robrob

I agree with your interpretation. It's not ideal but it's safe and will pass tech with NASA. Most track day tech inspectors aren't going to analyze your harness angle anyway since they're better than the stock belts that most people run with. It might be different if you were doing an initial racing inspection for your car's new logbook.

Feffman

99 SH:

As long as you can pass the broomstick test with the roll bar, you are OK to run with MVP Track Time (www.MVPTrackTime.com) at the tracks insisting the S2000 have a roll bar.

Feff

INTJ

That is a very weak setup. I would be concerned. Compare that to the guides. Tech is hit or miss, but crashing is not. I would get a bolt-in bar or even use a G8 ring bolt in the middle to a reinforced bulkhead point.

faiclub

Besides getting pass tech inspection, I think the more important thing is to make sure your harness is set up properly to do it's job. You didn't put the roll cage/seat/harness in just for show or to please the tech inspectors. You want them to protect you when something unexpected happens. You should check with the harness manufacturer for their specification on harness mounting. They may specify a mounting angle range within which the harness is designed to be most effective, and you can use that as a guideline for your setup.

99SH

Thanks for all the reply guys. I'll be stopping by TC Design to weld in a new harness bar which is at/below the shoulder height.

-Arax