Re: racing harness installation (archive)

Stan, Thanks for taking the time for your thoughtful response. My daughter & I run what is a high speed Road Rally in South Central Nevada called the Silver State Classic Challenge in Sept. and the Nevada Open Road Race each May. There are speed classes from 90 to 180mph in 5mph increments plus an Unlimited class. The open road course is simply 90 miles of highway closed for a half a day so we can play Cannonball Run on highway 318 between Hiko & Lund (between Ely & Las Vegas). There are now over 230 entries & a Guiness (sp?) World Open Road Speed Record set this last May at 207mph!! That was the average speed over the entire 90 miles! This road is approx 35' wide, a 2 lane highway. My daughter & I won our class in May with an average speed of 110.0018mph & took 2nd "Most Accurate" award over all classes except "Unlimited." As you enter higher speed classes you must meet more safety equipment requirements. Touring Classes through 110mph can run bone stock vehicles with only a fire extinguisher added and the appropriate speed rated tires on the ground. Where else can you unleash your Ultimate Driving Machine & blow out the carbon legally? This event is sanctioned by the Nevada Dept of Transportation. For more info: www.silverstateclassic.com Thanks again for your input, I have a car to prep now. We hope to move up to a target speed of 125mph for the Sept Race & then, maybe up to 140mph soon there after. We could use a few more beamers if any one is interested for future events. Thx Larry

: Larry,
: That's a tough one. There's a few issues that I can see.

: First, no matter what, you'll have to drill some holes in car to bolt in the mounting brackets. The lap/anti-sub belts can come from mounts on floorpan on either side of the driver seat and slightly behind and below. The issue is that unless you want to get under the car and undo the bolts between events, you'll have to leave the mounts in place. You'll also want large washers on each side of the mounts to spread the load (which may eventually damage the carpet or the floorpan). The good thing is the mounts will not be easy to spot down near the floor. Ideally, anti-sub belts should come up through the seat (racing seats have cut-outs for them), but you should be OK just coming around from the front.

: Second issue of course is the shoulder belts. I can't see where you'd run a harness bar inside the cabin, as you'd have to make some ugly holes. One suggestion would be to mount a bar in the trunk, and then figure out a way to run the belts inside. Possibly between the back seat and the back deck, or remove the back seat and come through the back wall (but remember that your amp and phone is behind the left back seat, so you'll have to remove them as well). Another issue may be the headrest design, the left shoulder belt may end up closer in to your neck and chafe.

: Another issue is the driver's seat itself. If you have the standard seats, they're a bit wide and flat for racing. You may find yourself flung all over the seat and that will cost on the track. If you're serious, investigate a good lightweight seat.

: That said, if you don't mind, a personal question - what type of racing are you going to do and...why race an E-31? IMHO, the 8's do not make good race cars and weren't designed for it. Even the CSi's and Dinan twin-turbo's are not good racing candidates (except possibly long distance highway events). The cars are very heavy and power-to-weight ratio is so important in racing. Even if you have a modified, high HP 850, all that weight is working against you, especially in a turn where the lateral forces come into play (remember, it's not how fast you enter the turn, it's how fast you exit). And, your competitors may be running cars half your weight and with the same HP. Now if you're going out to have some fun, I still think you'd be better off buying something that has more track breeding. If you're a novice or intermediate racer, the 8 would be a tough car to handle as you're learning and honing your skills. (As usual, just my opinion... :-)

:
: Stan C.
: '92 850iA
: SCCA CSP Regional/Division Champ 1994 (retired)

Follow Ups:

What a blast! Stan 19:12 7/09/2000 (1)
- Re: What a blast! Larry Hall 23:19 7/09/2000 (0)

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