Who will be the first to post pics of their Boss on BossMustangsOnline?????

[ArizonaBOSS]

Harness bars are a joke.

 

[roketman]

Nope, I have not gotten my L.S. yet .CRY,CRY !I feel like a little kid.I want it now!! I’m so anxious it’s killing me !I am in Ma. we get everything last!
I was told June delivery at the latest.I’m hoping for May.
I plan on having harnesses ,a diff cooler and dot 4 ready to install on my delivery date.In the owners manual they recommend a diff cooler and dot 4 brake fluid for track use.I am recommending the belts!
What set up have other Mustang ,Cobra owners used for a harness set up?I am not interested in a cage or roll bar .I would like a nice harness bar since there is no back seat .
Anyone else in Ma. waiting for a L.S.?
Thank you
Roketman

 

[Boss_302]

Nope, I have not gotten my L.S. yet .CRY,CRY !I feel like a little kid.I want it now!! I’m so anxious it’s killing me !I am in Ma. we get everything last!
I was told June delivery at the latest.I’m hoping for May.
I plan on having harnesses ,a diff cooler and dot 4 ready to install on my delivery date.In the owners manual they recommend a diff cooler and dot 4 brake fluid for track use.I am recommending the belts!
What set up have other Mustang ,Cobra owners used for a harness set up?I am not interested in a cage or roll bar .I would like a nice harness bar since there is no back seat .
Anyone else in Ma. waiting for a L.S.?
Thank you
Roketman

Rocketman,

Before you decide to use a harness bar, and I’m assuming a “four point” harness with your stock seats, let me ask a few questions.

Are you planning on using this car at “open track” events?

Are you at less risk of rolling than anyone else who goes out on track?

I have seen quite a few people roll at HPDEs over the years. Do you think THOSE guys said "I think I am going to roll today!" or "I think I am pretty likely to roll my car so I am going to keep driving on track." I am willing to bet none of them thought the odds of them rolling on track were too high.

If you are only going to a couple of track days, keep your car stock and use a “CG Lock”.

If you are going to install a harness, you need a minimum of FIVE points, a “roll bar” and a “real” race seat.

Now if your car rolls or flips and you have a harness bar you are either going to stay “bolt upright” in your seat and when the roof caves in you are going to be crushed (Your stock seating will allow you to move to the right/left and possibly avoid being crushed).

Now if the car didn’t land on its roof and you only have ahead on with a wall and you have a “four point” because they are not designed to keep you from sliding down you are going to “submarine” under the bottom of the harness and end up in a puddle on the floor board of the car (Your stock seat belt withhold you in place in a-head-on hit better).

Now if you want to be as safe as possible and this is a compromise, look at Maximum Motorsports and their four point bar with the following, a harness bar and a diagonal cross brace (Why MM’s roll bar? Because it’s mounted to a structural point on the unibody unlike others who mount to the sheet metal on the floorboard.).

Now think about this if the car receives a side impact you harness will go slack and you will now be moving sideways and will stop when you hit something (The roll bar will give you a bit more leeway before it deforms to the point your harness goes slack).

Seating; any seat that is FIA certified, if not certified then you need a seat brace that mounts to the roll bar.

Harness; Any harness that is FIA or SFI 16.1 certified.

This is the minimum that I would take a car on the track with if I’m modifying/add to anything the factory installed……..

You NEED to read this before you make a final determination on YOUR life.

Harness/roll bar Tech
http://3.7mustang.com/vb/f8/harness-roll-bar-tech-161651/

And this from Corner Carvers

Questionable harness tech
http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7835&highlight=schroth

Please NOTE these are not my words but a guy that has “racing” experience and expresses his opinion in his own way!

You are an Assclown if you do any of the following:

- Use a racing seat without a harness
- Use a harness without rollover protection
- Use anything LESS than 5 points
- Use one of those DOT-Legal "things"
- Think that you probably won't roll on-track

Please feel free to enter your opinions…………………….

 

[VoodooBoss]

If you are only going to a couple of track days, keep your car stock and use a “CG Lock”.

Great info. What's a CG Lock?

 

[Boss_302]

Here's a link to the CG Lock Web site; really these things DO work!
http://www.cg-lock.com/autocross.html

From the CG Lock Site...................

The CG-Lock gives you about 80% of the holding power of a full race harness.

Why do people use a harness?

You don't need to "hang on" when driving hard...you can keep your feet light on the pedals and your hands light on the wheel for better driving control, faster reactions, and less fatigue.

You are "one with the vehicle"...you can sense the vehicle movement better, react sooner, and "feel" your way through the tricky spots more easily.

Your safety is increased.

Unfortunately, most of us do our autocrossing in our daily drivers with standard three-point automotive seat belts, not racing harnesses. Once the CG-Lock is installed, you pull up on the shoulder harness of your seatblet, and the lap belt portion gets "racing harness tight" and stays as tight as you want until you release it!

Simple, But what a difference it makes.

"The only cheaper way to increase performance is to shed weight"
Improves the performance of the DRIVER, not the car!

Your hips are your body's center of gravity. Tightly help hips provide the first two of the three benefits of a full harness as described above. As for the 3rd benefit-increased safety- the CG-Lock is not sold as a safety device, but it has been designed and fully tested to not interfere with a seat belt's safety.

 

[LQQK]

Here's a link to the CG Lock Web site; really these things DO work!
http://www.cg-lock.com/autocross.html

From the CG Lock Site...................

The CG-Lock gives you about 80% of the holding power of a full race harness.

Why do people use a harness?

You don't need to "hang on" when driving hard...you can keep your feet light on the pedals and your hands light on the wheel for better driving control, faster reactions, and less fatigue.

You are "one with the vehicle"...you can sense the vehicle movement better, react sooner, and "feel" your way through the tricky spots more easily.

Your safety is increased.

Unfortunately, most of us do our autocrossing in our daily drivers with standard three-point automotive seat belts, not racing harnesses. Once the CG-Lock is installed, you pull up on the shoulder harness of your seatblet, and the lap belt portion gets "racing harness tight" and stays as tight as you want until you release it!

Simple, But what a difference it makes.

"The only cheaper way to increase performance is to shed weight"
Improves the performance of the DRIVER, not the car!

Your hips are your body's center of gravity. Tightly help hips provide the first two of the three benefits of a full harness as described above. As for the 3rd benefit-increased safety- the CG-Lock is not sold as a safety device, but it has been designed and fully tested to not interfere with a seat belt's safety.

[/quote
Great info and I'll be checking out the CG LOCK.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Thanks for the info, I'll be buying a CG Lock. I'm always pulling my belt tight for safety reasons even driving to work. I like it tight.

 

[MrBonus]

I've always stuck with a CG Lock for the above reasons. I never wanted to go to a full cage on my weekend car and harness bars and harnesses without full rollover protection are a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[cloud9]

I've always stuck with a CG Lock for the above reasons. I never wanted to go to a full cage on my weekend car and harness bars and harnesses without full rollover protection are a disaster waiting to happen.

I've avoided a harness without rollover protection for the same reason. I haven't tried a CG lock yet, but know guys that use something similar. I would be interested in trying one, but haven't for the same reasons as the harness without at least a roll bar cage. I know it says it doesn't interfere with the seat belt's safety, but couldn't it still force you into an upright position in a rollover? That's been my only hesitation in getting one..... I'm thinking just going from the leather standard seats in my GT500 to the bolstered Recaro cloth seats alone will be a huge improvement, but I understand that being fastened into the seat provides more stability. I'd appreciate any additional thoughts on this.

 

[VoodooBoss]

I know it says it doesn't interfere with the seat belt's safety, but couldn't it still force you into an upright position in a rollover? That's been my only hesitation in getting one..... I'm

This device appears to keep your butt firmly planted in the seat but you should be able to move your torso around. I haven't thought much about rolling a car but I'm sure it happens. I raced karts for two seasons and when I got into that sport I was told they never flip. Right. I don't think there was a single race I attended where at least one person didn't get upside down. I'm sure it happens even at HPDE events too. I'm also interested in more thoughts on this subject.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I use a CG Lock when I track my street car. For $30, you can't go wrong. Really makes a difference with the stock belts. No effect on safety in a rollover as it does not interfere with the seat's ability to recline.

If you have an actual rollbar (not a harness bar), there is no reason that you could not use harnesses, though.

 

[cloud9]

Brake cooling kit install

Here are some pics of the surgery required for the brake cooling kit:

There's one more piece of plastic that we decided to remove. The driver's side duct is a little snug and couldn't be moved as far away from the tire as the passenger side. This piece of plastic is held in by three plastic push pins but it blocks the hose from being moved adequately inboard to prevent rubbing on the tire on chock to chock turns. We removed it and retied the hose with zip ties.

It's the black plastic just left of the brake line:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Here's a pic of it removed and repositioned. I didn't take one after zip tying, but I have two on the sway bar and one on the frame "cutout" just left of where you can see in this photo. You can see part of it at the left edge of the above "before" photo:



Here's the piece removed:

 

[VoodooBoss]

Thanks for the photos. Does the other side have the same cover?

 

[cloud9]

Brake cooling kit install

Thanks for the photos. Does the other side have the same cover?

No it's different. In this photo I pointed to the areas we trimmed out of there to clear room for the hoses. We removed two triangular shaped pieces of plastic not quite the diameter of the hose using a tin snips.

 

[4pipes]

I discover the same thing you did. That plastic piece you removed prevented the hose from clearing the tire in a full right hand turn. Instead of removing it, I cut off the lower third of it just below the sway bar and drilled holes in it for the tie wraps.....same resultant position as yours.

I have to say this is a poorly thought out kit and instruction set. Whoever wrote the instructions DID NOT actually install the kit. From a hose that will not pass over the diameter of the new backing plate to less than adequate instructions and pictures....pretty amature job.

 

[cloud9]

Yea I thought about cutting it like you did but wasn't sure if I could remove enough and still attach it securely. Any issues you think with having it removed? I didn't see any real concerns. The instructions certainly could have been clearer. I ran into some of the same issue on my GT500. Did you end up cutting the wires out where you attached the hose to the backing plate?

 

[BossJockey]

Yea I thought about cutting it like you did but wasn't sure if I could remove enough and still attach it securely. Any issues you think with having it removed? I didn't see any real concerns. The instructions certainly could have been clearer. I ran into some of the same issue on my GT500. Did you end up cutting the wires out where you attached the hose to the backing plate?

I think this is typical with most cooling duct installs. I had to install steering stops on my M3 to keep the tires from rubbing the tubing. Anybody know if there are steering stops available for the Mustang?

 

[4pipes]

Yea I thought about cutting it like you did but wasn't sure if I could remove enough and still attach it securely. Any issues you think with having it removed? I didn't see any real concerns. The instructions certainly could have been clearer. I ran into some of the same issue on my GT500. Did you end up cutting the wires out where you attached the hose to the backing plate?

Yes, I did cut the wires, but I don't feel good about it. I think that will be a fatigue/tear point down the road. There's no way those two diameters are compatible!

 

[cloud9]

Yea I thought about cutting it like you did but wasn't sure if I could remove enough and still attach it securely. Any issues you think with having it removed? I didn't see any real concerns. The instructions certainly could have been clearer. I ran into some of the same issue on my GT500. Did you end up cutting the wires out where you attached the hose to the backing plate?

Yes, I did cut the wires, but I do t feel good about it. I think that will be a fatigue/tear point down the road. There's no way those two diameters are compatible!

Right. I absolutely agree with that. I don't think it's right that I'll have to buy replacement tubing probably by summer's end. I guess whoever has the first failure gets to find out where to source the correct size hose.

 

[PJWANNABE]

Yea I thought about cutting it like you did but wasn't sure if I could remove enough and still attach it securely. Any issues you think with having it removed? I didn't see any real concerns. The instructions certainly could have been clearer. I ran into some of the same issue on my GT500. Did you end up cutting the wires out where you attached the hose to the backing plate?

Yes, I did cut the wires, but I do t feel good about it. I think that will be a fatigue/tear point down the road. There's no way those two diameters are compatible!

Right. I absolutely agree with that. I don't think it's right that I'll have to buy replacement tubing probably by summer's end. I guess whoever has the first failure gets to find out where to source the correct size hose.

Me thinks this is why Ford made it a dealer installed item with a warranty waiver.

Steeda makes a brake duct cooling kit. I wonder what size the tubing is on that?