hey all, I have a 91 CRX Si that I currently daily Drive and will continue to do so for a while. I eventually planning on taking the car to autox, roadcourse and open track days.

I've probably mentioned this before (above), anyway, my wife is a little concerned about the safety of a CRX and I would like to at least upgrade some safety equipment if possible.

I have heard you all talk about not running a cage on the street, and upgrading equipment together (cage, fixed back seat, harness, etc). I'm thinking about an autopower race rollbar as a small start, but is there anything additional?

Thanks in advance

 

If you do the typical roll bar, then you'll most likely be fine.

 

if I get the roll bar, would this be a good time to upgrade to fixed back seats and harnesses?

Also, Can i use a fixed back with harness for the driver, but use a reclineable with stock belt?

Just wondering cause I have 1 of each seat, i was using the fixed until i learned it was not good to use a fixed without a rollbar, so i picked up a sparco reclineable. Seems like a waste to get rid of it.

And I have read here that it's not recommended to run 4 point belts for daily use.

Is this correct?

 

Okay guys, please help me figure this out -

If I have a rollbar with harness bar, can i run 4 point harnesses with reclineable approved seats, such as sparco?

Or am I only supposed to run 5 point and with fixed?

This is for a mostly daily driver I want to upgrade some safety equipment in but it will see track time as mentioned above...

Thanks in advance.

 

Check the safety requirements for whatever groups or events you would like to run. I know for road racing, a fixed seat and 5 point belts are a minimum requirement. I don't autocross/HPDE so I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure I have seen 4 point harnesses in cars with stock seats and roll bars, so you'd probably be OK for those events. Still, the only way to know for sure is check the requirements for the specific group or event.

 

Okay, I'll check the requirements for events as well. I was mainly wondering, safety wise, is it just unsound to run a 4 point with a reclining seat, as opposed to a fixed, since the fixed has set guides that would hopefully keep the lap portion in place over your hips - or is this an unfounded concern.

I'm mainly, trying to add whatever additional safety equipment to my car, that will serve a purpose and allay my wife's concerns.

I know it has been mentioned in other threads, not to run harnesses on the street without a rollbar, but is there any problem in running them on the street with a rollbar? Legality aside.

 

I have no data or experience with this, so its just my opinion, but I think your setup would be safer than a stock setup (3 pt belt, reclining seat, no roll bar). As a racer, 3 things present a problem. 1) Without a sub belt (5th point), the belt could come up in an accident. 2) With a reclining seat, there is always a chance that the recline mechanism could break in an accident. Both of these items are just as bad and probably worse in a stock setup. 3) Without a helmet, there is a potential to hit your head on the roll bar. This situation is obviously not going to happen with a stock setup, however, the advantage that a roll bar and good belts have, I still think you would be safer overall than stock.

 

Thanks for the information. That is pretty much what I was going for. I was looking at the Schroth harnesses that are made and legal for street and competition that have the ASR (anti submarine technology) in a 4 point, and that would be the logical choice.

As far as the seat, I'm still on the fence, like I said, I have a reclining Sparco, and the latches do seem pretty strong but like you say, a fixed hopefully wont break at the recliner and it would seem to do a lot to keep the lap belt right where it is supposed to be.

Thanks for the additional insight.