Re: Harnesses and Rollbars

["Greg Koenig" <gregk@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>So I'm a few days behind on the topic but , I just recently installed 4 point
>harnesses in my E30 325is and egads, I don't have a roll bar.  The harnesses are
>made by Sroth.  They are designed specifically for use with BMW's and even come
>as an option with new Bimmers in Europe.  

First off, the name of the company is Schroth, but you sort of say the way
you spelled it. 

>According to Sroth no roll bar is required (make sure you read that sentence
>again before sending ME any flames - according to SROTH).   

As far as I am concerned, you don't need a roll bar if your using street
harnesses (all of which are made by Schroth, or the design is ripped off
from Schroth (i.e. Willans (sp?) and Sparco both either copied or contract
Schroth street harness systems).  Yes, if you do roll your car really really
hard, you are going to collapse the roof.  How people think that your going
to be able to slide over, whilst upside down, in the fraction of a second
that it takes to react is beyond me.
A good set of Schroth street belts is going to hold you in the car in a
bolted position (your not going to move) which means you will have a much
better feel for what the car is doing under you.  As such, your going to be
able to react in a faster and more accurate manner to the kind of problems
that would cause you to roll in the first place.

Also, that "design feature" is nothing more then a doubled up portion of the
belt that is stitched together.  They call it "ASM" (Anti Submarine Thing). 
There is a very good reason for this: Watch a rally race sometime. 
Invariably, they will have the footage of a rally car crashing into
something that was shot with the in car camera.  Watch what happens to the
driver and the navigator... there heads usually come together.  This is a
major cause of injury in cars carrying two passengers (many more injuries
are caused by driver/passenger's heads smacking together then by crushed
roofs).  Now, that doubled up section of belt just comes unstitched in a
major accident.  This causes the bodies of the driver and passenger to twist
away from each other.  This is a great idea.

Also, harnesses will offer you more protection from any silly 3pt street
belt.  Remember, the 3pt stock belts are designed to protect you in only one
kind of accident: a front end collision.  Other then that, they were
designed to be comfortable and convenient to use.  Schroth belts will
protect you in a number of accidents, keep you more alert while driving and
also intimidate the hell out of passengers!

For those of you who are novice track drivers/aggressive street drivers, it
is a very good idea to get yourself a good set of harnesses.  Don't mind
this BS that a harness will kill you without a roll bar. Yes, I guess it
might be true, but remember, the kind of accident that would cause your roof
to collapse in is A: VERY rare B: So Catastrophic that your probably going
to die anyhow unless you have a full cage and 3" 6pt Camlock racing belts.  

Greg Koenig
'94 Dinan 3
Now With TC Kline Roll bar/Turner-Porsche-SteveD Big brakes/Schroth Profi 3
Camlock Belts

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