The new year is upon us and we are very busy here at TCD! Lots of new cages and a few new race car builds. It is time to start thinking about the new season and getting your car through its annual inspection. We will focus on two safety items today, seats and harnesses.
Seats: Do you have a composite seat? Is it with-in the 5 year date window? If it is past it is time to start thinking about a new seat. Yes some sanctioning bodies allow you to install a seat back brace after the 5 year window, but that is really defeating the purpose of having a composite seat. They are designed to flex in an impact, lengthening the impact time, reducing the peak forces. We like to use the Recaro and Racetech seats, preferably with side head protection.
If your seat is still valid, check out the mounts. Are the bolts tight, is there any fatigue cracks in the sheet metal of the car, are the sliders still tight? We find a lot of cars with cracks in the sheet metal where the seat mounts to the car. Also double check that if it is through bolted that you have a very large back up plate to distribute the forces.
Harnesses: Again, check the dates. If it has a SFI label it is good for 2 years, if it has a FIA label it is good for 5 years. This does not mean that your harness is still good though! Look at each belt, does it show and signs of fraying? Is all the metal hardware in good condition. Have someone help you check all the angles of the belts with you in the car, HANS on, and belts tight. We recommend Schroth harnesses and nothing else, I have personally used them in all of my track cars for 10+ years. Guidelines for harness mounting can be found here: http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/2009_Competition_Instructions.pdf
Seats: Do you have a composite seat? Is it with-in the 5 year date window? If it is past it is time to start thinking about a new seat. Yes some sanctioning bodies allow you to install a seat back brace after the 5 year window, but that is really defeating the purpose of having a composite seat. They are designed to flex in an impact, lengthening the impact time, reducing the peak forces. We like to use the Recaro and Racetech seats, preferably with side head protection.
If your seat is still valid, check out the mounts. Are the bolts tight, is there any fatigue cracks in the sheet metal of the car, are the sliders still tight? We find a lot of cars with cracks in the sheet metal where the seat mounts to the car. Also double check that if it is through bolted that you have a very large back up plate to distribute the forces.
Harnesses: Again, check the dates. If it has a SFI label it is good for 2 years, if it has a FIA label it is good for 5 years. This does not mean that your harness is still good though! Look at each belt, does it show and signs of fraying? Is all the metal hardware in good condition. Have someone help you check all the angles of the belts with you in the car, HANS on, and belts tight. We recommend Schroth harnesses and nothing else, I have personally used them in all of my track cars for 10+ years. Guidelines for harness mounting can be found here: http://www.schrothracing.com/sdocs/2009_Competition_Instructions.pdf
posted by Tony C at
8:16 AM
1 Comments
