Senna

Hey Tom, nice meeting you this past weekend. How did Sunday go? After my 4 off on Saturday I've been thinking about the roll cage issue more. I consider myself an exceptionally careful person on track but "stuff" happens.
Anyway, have you considered just keeping your 8 as a daily and getting a track prepped Porsche or other car strictly for the track? If it's affordable for you maybe that's the best route to go.
As we discussed on Sat the pace car cage looks good but I'm doubting whether I'd be able to recline the seat enough to fit especially with a helmet.

Keep us updated.

atom

yeah that was awesome meeting a fellow rx8 afficiando - and from these boards too!
sunday was fun. never beat the 2:16.5 - did a :17 and a few 18's n 19's. :-/

i dont know what ill do about a fully track prepped car yet. i think if im wise, dont push too hard on unsafe tracks such as big willow or horsethief.. ill be fine with things as is. a roll bar is some added protection, but really, part of it is so i can get my race seat in, which would give me the headroom i need, reclining shouldnt be an issue.

i think im going to start another thread asking about options for rx8 HPDE style run groups or spec classes?. it could be fun to hang with more 8 owners or cars of a similar level. the reason i mentioned getting a porsche is because i have friends in Porsche Owners Club - very good drivers i can learn a lot from.
but if i could possibly race within a class with an rx8, that could become an option in the future. for now, ill just keep on with speed ventures and POC sts events, and just have my fun. see how it goes. :-)

speed ventures' laguna seca is in 2 weekends from now, then ill probly do a POC STS event http://www.porscheclub.com/events/Ev...SE92-Info.html
and a car control clinic with them as well - (November 8-9: Streets of Willow - STS Driver's Clinic #2 & STS Event 7)

whats your next event?

atom

so the verdict on my roll bar decision is..
getting the race cages (awr) roll bar, once he is free to make it and install it. probly gonna be in about 3 weeks - after laguna seca and a little road trip ill be taking.

about the kirk racing possibility. they do not have a model for the rx8 yet, but this is their reply:

On Aug 11, 2008, at 3:24 PM, Kirk Racing wrote:
We do not have a bar for the RX8, but we are looking for a car to build a prototype.
Mark Stewart
Kirk Racing Products
Roll Bars, Cages and Headers
Street Pro
Exhaust Diverters
205-608-1156


On Aug 12, 2008, at 11:08 AM, Kirk Racing wrote:
We are in Birmingham Alabama.

a little too far for me - from LA ;-)

shrouded

I haven't seen the original poster answer this question, which is a very good one. I researched this same kind of scenario on my old 911, and ended up going with just a harness bar and not a cage for a car that would still be driven off-track.

Having a cage without a helmet is potentially just as dangerous as having a harness without a cage. If somebody t-bones you at an intersection (and don't try to explain how your excellent driving skills can prevent this), your head is going to get slung from side-to-side all over the cabin. Your car is designed so that there isn't anything for your head to smack into that is harder than it is. With the cage you are going to have a big, immovable tube of steel (or whatever) in perfect position (if the cage is set up right) for your unprotected head to smack into. If you are going to drive the car off-track, please think twice about having a cage or bar that sits higher than your shoulders.

atom

oh, i never said anything about a cage. i was only considering a harness bar or a roll bar.
so.. my "melon" wont be hitting any bars without a helmet on. ;-) if i get more serious about this, then yes, i will go with a cage, and stop driving whatever car on the street. i will have to be cautious about putting people in the back seat tho.. but i rarely do that anyway.

and really.. thanks again for all the input guys - it all really helped me make a more informed decision.

as far as overall safety, i guess in the end one has to make a call. and if i wanted to be really really safe, i would stop racing, wear an SUV, and instead endager everyone else on LAs freeways by wielding those 3 tons of american made steel. (heavy sarcasm)

KAtC10

What event were you guys at this weekend, Buttonwillow?

Senna

Well I'm looking at the Sept 6 (Friday) event if my daughter's gymnastics meet is that Sunday instead of Saturday. I'm not that interested in running BW CCW at this stage. Also looking at NASA BW events on Oct 11-12 - the following Monday is a holiday for me so that would work great. NASA has another BW day on Nov 8-9 but this may conflict with gymnastics again. Then there's SOW (Speedventures) in Oct and Laguna Seca Nov 24-25.

So you don't need to own a Porsche to attend POC events? Have you heard much about their car control clinics...i.e. are they well instructed and worthwhile? I'd be game for a car control clinic.

Senna

Speedventures @ Buttonwillow.

atom

hmm havent tried NASA yet. might be up for something there, lemme know if you plan one. POC, no you dont need a porsche for their STS "exhibit class" so you can do the car control clinic, and attend events, just not compete. they seem pretty well run, and my friends in there are great drivers. i learned a lot doing the last STS event with them - more than with speed ventures since all day instruction comes with the event fee if you dont have their STS "license" yet.

so the word is, yeah its a good deal and worthwhile.

im planning on the streets of willow event, probly both days, and absolutely the car control clinic.. i think that would be the biggest help for me.. know my car better at and past its limits

Senna

I think you'd like running NASA. It's very didactic and structured. Nothing (at least in my two events with them) goes unnoticed. You drop two wheels and they're on you - basically working with you to figure out what happened etc., etc. I like it because I'm on the steep side of the learning curve. Download sessions can be intense. NASA also has Time Trial http://www.nasa-tt.com//Home for HPDE 4. Something I want to do next season.

Those STS events look good but a bit far for me. I'll let you know as we get closer to the other Buttonwillow events as to what I'm going to.

mrslysly

I know this a resurrection of this thread, but anyone tried CG-Lock?
http://www.cg-lock.com/HPDE.html

Its a lock that goes on your 3pt seatbelt and locks the waist strap so it doesn't float, basically making it a fixed lap belt.

kjchristopher

iTrader: (1)

The current model won't work with the RX8 double pass belts. I hear that there is a new version coming out, but I haven't heard what changed. Some say you can use them if you turn them around upside down.

Joe RX-8

iTrader: (1)

I tried one, but it was huge and complicated. I ended up selling it to a buddy with an STi, and bought one of the baby seat "H" clips. The "H" clip is smaller and cheaper, and once you have it set you don't need to fiddle with it for the rest of the day.