It's long but seriously I can't get enough of the those little tricky corners, I love that ****

 

Cool, LETS DO IT

I have to go move more of my honey buns stuff from the old house so I'll check on the traqmate stuff later.

I'll pick up a good HD video camera and hopefully I can stop looking like some old fool with this dated tape player thing I have

 

Mark did send me the traqmate data which is pretty cool but I can't make heads or tails of it at this point but I'm sure I'll see lots of holes that should shave some time once I figure out what's what.

The good news is the best lap was a 2.59.2 so the 3 minute barrier was indeed broken but the bad news is I'm way outside the center friction circle which is probably not ideal

 

I'm lost like last years easter egg when it comes to the actual data. It's cool to see everything quantified though... entry speed, exit speed, braking zone, lap times, etc.

Did you hear back from NASA? You instructing and doing TTS?

 

I'm going to sign up w/ NASA now and I hear what you're saying on the data

BTW my speeds are WAY off, the data indicates 133 on the back straight but I'm in fourth gear at red line so you know it's over 140, also my tires are about 1 inch taller than stock. Anywho hopefully he can synch up the video w/ the software data which will help me figure out what's what because traffic plays a huge part in what that data will represent.

 

Well considering I haven't driven ANY corners since my one-day outing w/ you in May, I think I'd take 'em. Looking to resolve home situation in the next month, so I might be able to sneak one in before the end of the year. In the meantime, I'm stockpiling mods :-)

 

I'm having trouble the last couple of years doing 6 or so events so I know you're suffering.

Audi in NOV?

Tell me about the new mods

 

Hey Fritz, et al.,

now that most of us are reaching some serious speeds at the track, and most of us only have roll-bars (not full cages) and helmets, has anyone purchased a Hans or equivalent to reduce basilar skull fractures ?

I'm thinking about getting a shifter kart, and I've noticed many people are using these as well.

:-) neil

 

I noticed that as well. I know you were hitting around 145 or maybe more when I was in the car. I was looking at my data and thought the mph seemed off as well.

Neil,
Fritz runs a Hans with the Sparco Circuit seat. He also has John Magnuson's old M2 roll bar that John very nicely converted to a full cage. He hasn't added all the attachments that john did, but I'm sure he eventually will.

I'm running the full M2 roll bar with all the attachments minus the door bars. I have a sparco evo seat and a g force 6 point, but am currently running the Recaro RZ seats. After seeing some accidents at the track and Fritz shedding some light on his experience, I think the side impact seats are just as important as the head/neck restraint(obviously they need to be used together) based on most wrecks are side impact and a head/neck restraint will only help you in a head on impact. I'm trying to find a good place where I can try on several different head/neck restraints to find one that fits me the best.

BTW, I REALLY want a shifter kart! I always see those guys at the AutoX and it looks like a whole new kind of fun.

 

I have the RaceShop rollbar with all diagonals/hoops, except the door-bars.

Fritz- what mount did you use for your Sparco Circuit ? How's the fit ? Any interference ? Any pictures ?

memphisraines82: same questions but for you Recaro RZ seats. Got any pictures ?

Did any of you adapt the stock seat's sliders to work with your racing seats ?

Or did you adapt the Recaro slider which is FIA approved ? http://tinyurl.com/yaakh6x

Anyone running the Racetech 4009 RT-4009: http://tinyurl.com/yetp5e8

or the Racetech 1000 RT-1000: http://tinyurl.com/ybbyr2b


Thanks,
:-) neil

 

Mine are the stock rails that came with the RZ seats I put my Sparco Evo in and it sits a little high in the car then I'd like for it too. That's why I ended up with the RZ's. I feel better with those seats in the car on the track then the stock seats. One of my main purchases over the winter will be one of the seats that works with the hans. I meant to sit in Fritz's this weekend, but never did. Ideally, I'd like to sit in several of them before I purchase. I might have to hit up Discovery Parts one time when I'm at Road Atlanta.

 

Can't say I've seen much of the track at all recently but I have been using a HANS for neigh on 5 years now. IMHO a must have.
Minimum 5 point harness...PROPERLY THREADED and mounted. Want to go nuts also get the window net and arm restraints for the shifter side...just look at what's required for racing and you will get a sense of what "should" be in your car if you track it often.
And I recently installed some seats Sparco, courtesy of Mr. Flynn, that sit on modified stock sliders.
And for heavens sake use the right roll bar padding! I cringe when I see the lightweight foam stuff in a region where a helmet could impact a roll bar.
My 2 cents,
Crispy

PS Yeah, what mods Pete?

 

Nice seats CrispyRX7 !

Fritz: are those your old Sparco EVO's (https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...3&postcount=10) ? Are the Sparco Circuits that much better ?

:-) neil

 

Nope, that's not an Evo, but the reason for the circuit is to protect from a side impact. Here is a picture of the circuit(note the wings on the side that conform around your head to keep it
from hopefully breaking someones neck in the event of a side impact):

 

I'd like to see them installed.

I remember reading a FD seat thread, saying the "wings" should not be more than 22-inches wide so it doesn't rub with the door.

The Circuits per the Sparco website are 23-inches wide and the Circuit Pro 22.8-inches wide, hence the reason to see them installed, preferably with the door closed.

:-) neil

 

Former FD driver here. In any case, I fully support the halo seat from RACETECH. I use with the Hans. Despite what any seat looks like or what people say you MUST sit in it and test the fit. I sat in a store for more than an hour trying to decided between 3 seats. Many of these seats are for skinny or narrow shouldered drivers. My $02.

Anyone going to Chin in early November ?

Ramon

 

Very good advice

The circuit seat is small but I'm 5'9"s and 150 so it fits me like a glove.

I used an old rail I had laying around so the seating position isn't ideal for me. It's too high and I'm leaning back a little too much but I didn't have time to get a rail made. The seat fits in the car fine w/ the door closed. It's a bit more narrow than the standard evo which barely rubs the door. However if I had to cut a chunk out of the seat or the door panel I wouldn't sweat it because my track car is certainly not show quality

I like to sit as low as possible and this seat also has a fairly big hump under the seat on the bottom side so you can't get it as low as I'd like but sitting higher does give me a better driving position from the standpoint of view

If I had to do it again I'd probably go to the trouble of sitting in a variety of seats as Ramon mentioned and picking the best fit but there's not a race shop near me and I knew the evo fit me well but was just a bit big so when the sales rep said this was just a bit smaller than the evo I figured it would work well and the fit is indeed perfect but as mentioned I wish I could get the seat lower in the car. I also got a decent deal at 800 shipped

 

On the fitment note, as I may have mentioned before, when Mitch Piper did my EVO install, he removed the cover and carved a bit out from the shoulder wing so it would clear the door. Barely noticeable. It's sitting on custom sliders. The EVO is definately the best fit of seats I've tried (5'9", 175 lbs), but it really is hard to get the perfect position.

Sparco does sell a separate head halo that can be affixed to seats like the EVO. That's the route I'd go on a street car, I'd think the built in style might be almost dangerously obtrusive on the street.

 

The sparco circuit seats do indeed obstruct your view considerably so definitely not a seat for driving on the street. I may even go to the trouble of swapping seats if I drive my car at any lengh on the street because it's truly very difficult to see.

PS Mods, Pete, what sort of goodies are you piling up

 

Crispy,
Seats are looking good

The padding is one thing but I really hate to see a stock seat or one that can fold back into the roll bar. If you have a roll bar installed it's very important that you also have a seat that won't flip back when you have a rear impact which is very common at the track not to mentioned someone running into you at a redlight etc...

 

I'm 5'8" but with a 36-inch waist and 215-lbs!

Wish there was a shop nearby in JAX, FL, . . .

:-( neil

 

One of the best options, if you're large and value function over form, are the Kirkey Road race seats. They fit bigger people and take up less space, are slightly adjustable (because it's alluminum), and can be mounted on the stock sliders.

Fritz had Gene Felber's car for a while with such a set-up, and the seat was too big for me (Gene's 6 foot plus, and big dude I believe).

I don't personally love the looks, but I might love them more if I was 6'3".

 

Glad someone else brought up the Kirkey seats. Especially, since you can add the side head-restraints, only when on the track.

I have the RaceShop roll-bar along with a seat-brace for the driver, so maybe I'll take that route. . .

Still wish I could sit in one for a while . . .

:-) neil

 

Fritz- did you have to do any welding/fabricating on the stock seat-rails for the Sparco Circuit installation ?

Thanks,
:-) neil

 

In terms of managing seats, I too was concerned about having a halo seat for the street. Of course changing seats is a pain in the ****, but I made it much simpler by having two sets of rails. This way all I have to do is remove 4 bolts and pull out the whole setup (seat and rails). Takes 15 minutes if that. This makes sense for me as I only do about 5 events per year and because I'm officially retired from any auto-mechanical work. BTW, I think seats are a pretty good investment (not just safety) but from a value standpoint. If kept in good shape they are easy to sell and you can get a good percentage of your investment back. Not true of most of our other go-fast goodies on the car.