From: Ryan Tucker <rtucker@crasher2.ttgcitn.com>
>It's a 1990 Pontiac Grand Am... with seatbelts in the door. He says
>that his car probably wouldn't be considered "safe" since he's
>essentially screwed should the door come open. Is it? Can he autocross
>it?
Safety is not my worry here. Believe me when I tell you that you are much
more likely to need crash protection driving to work than you will at an
autocross.
I have driven similar cars. The Lumina I drive sometimes at work has the
door belts. I autocrossed for a season a Honda equipped with door belts.
These have two performance problems for autocrossing:
There is no way to jam or twist the lap belt so it will stay tight.
The left (door) mount is too far forward and too far left to locate you in
the seat.
The cure for both of these problems is to add a lap belt to the car. It
does not have to be a $80 3" competition belt. A $20 2" belt from the local
car-parts store will do the job. Be sure to mount it so it fits across your
pelvis correctly. When you run, keep the belt VERY tight. You may use it
alone or in addition to the stock harness. The harness will do little to
help you, but at least it will be there for safety.
If I was stuck with a door-belt car for my daily driver, I'd put a lap belt
in it for the street. The geometry of the door-belt mounting is wrong for
both safety and performance.
All that said, the stock harness is perfectly legal for autocross. The door
coming open is not a realistic fear for autocross.
Phil Ethier Saint Paul Minnesota USA
Lotus Europa, VW Quantum Syncro, Chev Suburban
LOON, TCVWC, MAC
pethier@isd.net http://www.visi.com/mac/
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