[DeTomaso] 'Racing' Safety

MikeLDrew at aol.com MikeLDrew at aol.com
Sat Nov 19 01:53:07 EST 2011


In a message dated 11/18/11 22 46 22, JDeRyke at aol.com writes:


> For racing, the particular series
> you want to go play in may have more stuff for you to add in their Tech
> Regulations, but belts & an extinguisher will very likely keep you safe on 
> the
> far more dangerous public streets & highways.
> 

Excellent advice!

Part of the problem when making decisions on safety equipment is in 
deciding what kind of car you want to have. While it's easy to automatically 
default to say, "FULL ROLL CAGE!", that ignores the inconvenient reality that a 
full roll cage is positively LETHAL on the street (and in fact is outlawed in 
some European countries).

The very thing that makes them excellent in a track car makes them 
completely unsuitable for use on the street--their supreme hardness. On the GT40 
forum, I read a story of a poor fellow in the UK who was pottering around in 
his Lotus Super 7 replica, got involved in a minor shunt, and his head 
exploded like a melon when it struck his roll cage. Had he not had the cage, he 
probably would have had minor injuries (if any), and now he's dead.

If your car will ONLY be a track car, then by all means, go for a cage. But 
if you will ever run your car without a helmet on, then a cage is a very 
bad idea indeed.

Some sort of roll bar is the best compromise for a dual-purpose 
car--something that will improve the structural integrity of the car and decrease the 
chances of the roof caving in, but something that will never, EVER get 
anywhere near your head.

My GT350 clone and Pantera both have roll bars, and I feel much more 
confident on the track because of them. Neither of them extends forward anywhere 
near my head. Instead, if I were to hit anything, it would be the (padded) 
headliner bow. While that wouldn't be any fun, it would certainly be a far 
sight better than whacking my head on a piece of thick steel tubing.

Mike


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