Gentlemen and I do mean Gentlemen:
I don’t like to see us mud-slinging so let’s keep it civil. We are all here to learn and to have a good time. Enough said on that.
When one of us goes over 300 mph in a Cobra I think we will then have enough experience to disagree with Wayne. I say that somewhat tongue-and-cheek as I do slightly disagree with him on this point, but it should get my point across. Those men really do know what they are talking about. Michael Schumacher (spelling error, sorry) and Mario Andretti NEVER dreamed about going THAT fast…ever. Drag racing is the only known sport which is crazier than sprint car drivers who start their engines in their garage… We have all seen the wrecks. A tire blows out, or whatever, HARD right, (or left as the case may be), and they plow the wall with an amazing amount of force--only to be run over by the guy behind them who is going 300 as well. Wasn’t Dale Earnhardt only going 150-180 when he hit the wall? Roughly half the speed. Now that’s food for thought.
I have known Wayne a long time (7 years) and I have never seen or heard him talk like this ever before. Must be something he is really passionate about. I don't think any of us have our names in the record books—he does. (Any one out there who does, please let me know. I always like to hear about other’s achievements like that. I like to talk to them so I can drain them of some of their knowledge.)
I digress:
Wayne has hard-earned experience in a very competitive sport and has reached the top. That’s more than I have ever done. He is speaking from experience and the rule book which has managed to keep many a drag racer alive for many years. Deaths are very few and far between these days because of that rule book. The rule book was written the hard way—with men’s (women’s too) blood. Lousy way to get data, but a whole lot more accurate than any computer or simulation a crash dummy will ever see.
This is an issue we here at Kirkham Motorsports have wrestled with for many years. The issue is complicated and messy. After a long struggle with the problem, we have decided on a few things here.
(BTY, we at Kirkham Motorsports are not easily impressed with anyone’s claims or articles which are written. We don’t believe things just because they are in print.)
I think a critical issue in this thread that no one seems to have grasped yet about the three point anchoring system is that it is the only system of all those being discussed that has a PULLEY in it. Think about it from a physics point of view. As your body goes forward in an accident, you stretch the belt on your chest which goes through a pulley to the lap belt which TIGHTENS the belt on your lap—sucking you down into the seat… hmmm 4,5, and 6 points can’t do that. The 3 point system answers the problem quite effectively by “pulling” you down at your waist thereby avoiding the spine crushing problems. That’s why the mounting position of the shoulder harness on a 3 point is not so critical; just look at the OEM cars, the shoulder position is all over the place. The 3 point system is amazingly good.
However, the party changes entirely with 4,5, and 6 point systems. If the shoulder belts are placed high above your shoulders, what keeps you in the seat in a violent crash? A really interesting test is to have someone pick you up while you are all belted into your favorite rocket. Have any of you ever tried that? I have. It’s scary. You can move up an AMAZING amount. I move up a full 4 inches. Remember your head in a roll-over? The roll-bar is short on a Cobra anyway and certainly not that high. To further complicate the issue, your “lap” belt is not on your lap. It is above it and across your hip bones. (That’s where it needs to be—we’re talking 4,5,6 point systems here and not 3 point which should be worn lower on the lap.) That’s why there is so much room to move up and down. Just what we need, our head bouncing up and down on the pavement if we roll over.
Have any of you seen the crash test dummies in action? They “fly” out of their seats about 6 inches, if I recall correctly, in those 35 mph crash tests. If you are 6 inches out of your seat, what is keeping you from flopping around and kissing the steering wheel, windshield, door frame etc. You obviously need something to keep you in the seat.
If the belts are placed too low below your shoulders, what keeps you from breaking your spine? As the belt tries to straighten out it compresses your spine and you are all of a sudden 2 inches shorter. It really hurts when the doctor tries to stretch those 2 inches back into you spine in the ER.
So, what’s the answer? Well, those are not easy questions to answer. I will tell you what we have decided here at Kirkham Motorsports after a long struggle with the problem.
2 point. Completely out for the driver. No one likes the taste of the steering wheel. Passenger side--we use the 2 point because in the original car there is no other good place to mount the shoulder harnesses. (If anyone has any good ideas, we will be very eager to hear them and implement them.)
3 point. Good system. Not practical for our car. The car has a much more racing feel to it. Don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking anyone’s 3 point system in their car. I just isn’t our bag.
4 point. Absolutely forbidden anywhere/anytime. Because there is no pulley to “pull” your lap down in an accident, you will submarine in a forward accident. The worst part is the lap belt will crush your rib cage as you slide under it. Punctures the liver, and other things, if you are lucky. If you aren’t, it punctures your lungs and you can’t breathe any more. Just sitting in a car with a 4 point system makes me queasy. The “lap” belt is so high and I can just see those shoulder straps “shortening up” in an accident pulling the lap belt up to my ribs. No thank you. (I realize the belts are actually lengthening in an accident, but as you go forward, the shoulder belts “pulley” over your shoulders forcing you down and pulling the lap belt up.) If the lap belt climbs up, you are in for a very bad ride.
5,6 point. That’s why they invented the 5 and 6 point system. The crotch strap is not there to give you a vasectomy, it is there to prevent the lap belts from killing you. Come to think of it, I’d rather have a crotch strap vasectomy than two punctured lungs…
Therefore, all Kirkham cars, that are supplied with seat belts, are now supplied with a 5 point system. No if’s and’s or butt’s…NO EXCEPTIONS. We tell all customers to not use the crotch strap is certain horrible injury and possible death in an accident. We place the shoulder harnesses slightly below the shoulders 1-2” maximum and tell the customers to go to a driving school. 4” inches below the shoulders seems like playing with fire, (sorry Wayne).
There is a really great article on the subject in Victory lane.
http://www.victorylane.com/nov98_tech.html
Happy Motoring!
David Kirkham, President
Kirkham Motorsports
p.s. Sorry for the long post, but you guys know by now that I am long-winded.