Good thread, some good info in here. I too am going the route of a harness bar with 5-point harness/racing seats for the track. Several reasons, however the primary two are:
1) I agree that a roll bar is the best solution to help ensure you are not crushed in a rollover while wearing a harness, however I do not believe that the car was built with the concept of your body 'falling' into the middle to protect you from being crushed in a roll. This is what the B Pillars are there for, and while certainly not as effective as a roll bar, I am confident that they will in many cases prevent the roof from crushing in on you.
2) The only time I will be wearing the harness is at the track. I think it can be reasonably said that in any type of a crash where you are wearing a harness, that does not involve a roll (assuming a hans device is used with the harness), you are better protected with the harness than without it, regardless of whether it is fastened to a harness bar or roll bar. Also, based on the tracks/Auto-x places I will be going to, the chances of a roll are slim to none, which means despite that added risk in one, unlikely type of crash, the added safety in all other possible crashes more than makes up for it.
I believe there is a picture/post on here of a member that rolled his 350Z down a hill while wearing a harness, without a roll bar, who stated that wearing the harness likely made a big difference. (In that he was uninjured)
Obviously the decision to use a harness without a roll bar is going to come down to what each person is comfortable with (and regulations of the tracks you are at) but for me, the harness bar is a more than acceptable alternative to a roll bar/full cage.
|