Schroth Quick Fit and Race seat

[biggsy]

I know the best way to go is OE system or all in for seat/bar/harness.
I am just wondering is it even somewhat safe to run a race seat and a quick fit pro with HANS? I know the danger is in an event of a rollover the seat won’t collapse. I am only doing HPDE1 and 2 this year. Last two years I did the quick fit pro but due to suffering a herniated disc before my last track day, I was in pain halfway into a 20 min session. Trying to be pain free while enjoying the drive. Would like to get a race seat now to keep me from using my glutes for stability. It is a possibility I did not have the lap belt where it should’ve been. To be honest $1400 additional for a roll bar + harness cost is not in the budget right now but will be later this year.
So is race seat + HANs + quick fit pro a big no no? Or okay for HPDE?

thanks in advance!

 

[mwjscn]

Coming from someone who uses the Schroth QuickFit, I think it's a good solution for those looking to keep their car mostly in street-trim and still has the airbags and other safety devices in play. The ASM patch keeps it DOT legal and performs in the same manner as the OEM shoulder belt (breaks free, extends, and allows rotation under a crash situation). Most commonly, I see people really mucking up how to put one on, though. Remember when you fly on airlines the attendant tells you to tighten the lap belt 'low and secure across the hip'? You need to do the same with the lap belt on a 4-point (or any harness, really). The lap belt should be done up first and be tight prior to tightening the shoulder straps. If the buckle rises up when you tighten the shoulder straps, the lap portion wasn't tight enough, so start over. I see people running with the buckles around their belly buttons or higher and it causes me mental pain. Anyone who rides with me gets a lesson on how to properly wear them before we head out. I find briefs are especially important with passengers, since if for any reason I'm incapacitated in an unforeseen event, they should know how to access and operate any fire extinguishing devices and be able to exit the vehicle.

Sorry for the rant! If you can, go to a race gear shop and try out some race bucket seats. They all fit differently and have different padding. Some have modular seat bottom padding, which may be important due to your back condition (especially if you plan to use them for road use). OG Racing just over the border in Virginia may be a good spot, since they're in the general area and have seats on display you can try out.

 

[biggsy]

Thanks for the reply!

I wish I adjusted the lap belt better but I’m not sure if that would prevented me from being in pain.

I actually went by OG Racing in December. Already know I’m going with the OMP WRC XL due to my size and the fit.

I guess I just want to know if race seat and Quick Fit Pro with HANS is okay for the time being but I also know it only takes one second to get in an incident. The way I see it is that I get the benefits of the harness and the ASM feature and it breaks away like a stock belt. I guess the concern would be the race seat not being able to fold like stock seat.
If the consensus is still quick fit and stock seats only then no worries I’ll wait for when I can get the entire safety system.

 

[mwjscn]

I think it would be fine, but other members with more racing experience may have more valuable opinions. I think eventually investing in a harness with a sub-belt would be ideal when you have a race bucket seat, which is in your plan.
One thing you may want to do, if you believe you didn't have the harness correctly adjusted would be to try it again and see if it alleviates your back pain (take a street with some bumps and/or some freeway onramps). The majority of the force holding you to the seat should be done by the lap belt. If, however, the lap belt was mis-adjusted and you instead cranked down on the shoulder straps, it's now your shoulders holding you down into the seat instead of your hips. This would be effectively compressing your back on bump events with your shoulders as the bump stops for the rest of your body's momentum. You may find you mis-attributed the pain to the harness adjustment rather than the seat, which may save you some time and money if you feel you're otherwise laterally controlled by the original seat & harness combination.

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

While a bucket seat without a roll bar is generally regarded as unsafe, it is actually possible that doing so with a Quickfit Pro is safer than doing so with harnesses. Your body can still rotate forward and fold over to give you more space between the roof and your body. Still can't fold over as much as a 3pt with a stock seat but moreso than being locked in with a harness.

Another thing that maybe I think about more than I need to is containment seats. We often think about frontal collisions but I really believe its important to consider lateral forces in a crash. What if you slide sideways into a wall? Its not impossible or even uncommon. In that scenario a HANS will not provide measurable protection, a containment seat is needed to prevent undesired lateral head movement. Is a halo seat a pain on the street? yes. If you're concerned enough about an impact that requires a HANS then should you also protect yourself from the same forces applied laterally? Worth it to ponder and decide for yourself.

 

[Dave_W]

These are pretty pricey, but the concept is interesting to be able to quickly & easily swap a stock/street-friendly seat for a containment seat on track day.

https://inandoutseatmount.com/