THSCC Forums

I'd like to think the driver has a little bit to do with the "if" vs. "when" thing. Sure we all know that anything can happen, but if I thought I was more likely in the "when" category I'd probably stay at home.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Thanks for all the input. It is educational and very helpful. Differences of opinion and debate are good.

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Rubbin' is Racin'

Walter... what it comes down to is this: what exactly are your plans for the car? You said track/autocross car, but will it be a towed, or driven-to-the-event kinda car? If it will be driven on the street at all, that pretty-much gives you your answer... no cage.

If it will be a non-street car, your options open up of course...

Do you plan to drive it competitively on track? (time trials, or w2w) If so, how SOON do you realistically think you'll do it? There's a huge difference in driving a car competitively, and driving a car to learn its and your limits. (At least there should be).

This is a very subjective topic, and there never will be a consensus on what the best approach is. For my money, I'll be investing in seats and a head & neck restraint before I upgrade my 4-point bar to a 6-point or more cage.

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Stacy King
Midlife Crisis Participant

From what i've gathered, you need to have proper seats (w/ braces if necessary) and harnesses if you're running a rollbar. The two go hand in hand. If a stock seat collapses in an impact, you don't want to end up in a mess of bars.

That said, proper seats and harnesses w/o a rollbar is also a no no.

It all needs to be done at once.

Edited my post above to clarify I was talking about my 4-point roll bar, not harnesses

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Stacy King
Midlife Crisis Participant

Can't wait to see it out there! You already know it is good for bump-drafting

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One of those LeMonHeads...
91/95 Miata, 02 Focus SVT, 01 Ford F250, 09 Suzuki SV650SF
rusty 84 C4 Vette, tiny piece of the General Lei
Irish Sport Horse - 1hp NA!

i love a good pissing contest. yeehah. Walter, the typical progression of a track car is as follows.

1) street car goes to track
2) street car needs track mods, say CAI & maybe suspension tweaks
3) street car & driver are getting comfortable on track, getting faster
4) street car needs r-compunds
5) street car needs safety equipment; seats, harnesses, and 4 pt bar
6) street car stays street legal OR BECOMES TRAILERED TRACK RAT

personally, i believe there are only two kinds of people on the track.

those that have gone off & those that will.

i actually did safety before r compounds. i had a bar & harnesses for my second track event. seats came later.

truth be told i am sure you would agree as you progress higher in the run groups you are going to push the threshold. shit happens Walter. i ran over something at VIR and ended up in the tire wall. with more experience i might have been able to keep it off the wall. kinda bothers me actually that i did not keep it out of the wall. fortunately it was not a hard hit.

my point is, definitely consider adding safety mods early in the build process. 4pt bar with seats & harnesses will run you $1000 to $1500 minimally.

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BenchWarmer Motorsports

another one of those damn LeMons heads

just another Chump

we are an Autocross Club Dammit............