Originally Posted by Eunos91

I'm asking myself the same question. My car is a dual duty car that sees both 12,000 of (mostly spirited) street driving and ~3 track days per year. My 1991 NA's current setup is:
- wooden Nardi steering wheel (no airbag)
- Lotus Elise seats mounted to the stock sliders using 3mm steel adapters and high strength bolts. Seats were chosen mostly because of the higher headrest to keep my melon off the roll bar, and because i love the look. Sparco sprints etc. just didn't cut it for me
- stock belts (non-airbag version)
- TR lane roll bar (still unpadded)

Although I'd love to spend every day on a track, in reality I do most of my driving in traffic, back roads and alpine twisties. So statistically there's a way higher chance of having a front/rear accident with another car, or sliding off the road and hitting a rock/tree, than having an accident on track. I want to improve safety for both road and track. I suppose almost anything will be better than a stock Miata without an airbag, but what are really sensible options for me?

• harness: I'm leaning towards a 6-point Schroth harness. I could probably live with the everyday-struggle of buckling up. I know everybody nowadays speaks in favor of a HANS device (totally understand the benefits!), but it's just not gonna happen on the road. I could still get one for the track day, but ain't gonna wear it on the road. Still, millions of people have been using harnesses without any HANS device for decades and walked away from serious crashes. So while without doubt 6pt harness + HANS is #1 on track, wouldn't a 6pt harness alone still be better than using the stock 3pt belts and hitting my head on the solid no-airbag steering wheel?
• seat: I'm 1.74 cm and have a decent space between the Lotus seat and the roll bar. Still, rollbar padding is on my shopping list, even if it might not do a lot when not wearing a helmet. A halo seat is not street-legal due to impaired visibility. My plan was to add designated seat grommets to the Lotus seat, as most Elise owners do for the 6pt shoulder and crotch straps to pass through.

Of course, in theory, I could bolt in a Halo seat, 6pt+HANS, full roll cage, fire extinguisher,... for a track day. But none of this would improve everyday safety. So what can one realistically do to improve road safety without buying a new car, towing a designated track car or drive like a granny?

Originally Posted by asmasm

Halo seats, hans, and helmets on the street are not practical and I'm pretty sure driving with a helmet on is illegal.

I think the best dual purpose setup would be:
A weld in rollbar with door bars that tie into a dashbar - Designed with all tubes as far from the driver as possible and nothing anywhere near the drivers head
sfi padding
Fixed mount fia seat. There area a few options with removable halos
6 point harness or find a way to incorporate stock 3 points. This is basically a choice between basal skull fractures and having your head slam into something in an accident.

Originally Posted by Eunos91

fixed seat mounts aren't road legal here. Seat must have fore-aft-movement (sliders; maybe multiple mounting locations will do as well)
.

Originally Posted by Dalardan

Maybe if the pedals and steering are fore-aft adjustable it can be legal, as it's the same function

Originally Posted by Forrest95M

Since this thread just got bumped I had a few questions about my current setup, the car is street driven, although not a DD by any means.
I have a set of procar scat seats, racequip 5 point sfi harnesses with the floor drilled at a 15 degree angle, hard dog harness bar, and a hard dog hard bar. I have an snell 2015 helmet and plan on ordering a HANS device by the end of this year. Is it okay to run autox events without a HANS device and this setup? I know I would need it for a HPDE but curious about autox events with lots of run off room and nothing to hit besides other cars.

Originally Posted by acedeuce802

Would you be able to post pictures of this? I'm interested to see how it's all tied together.

Originally Posted by OGRacing

hahah oh boy, don't do that.

Originally Posted by Midtenn

Warning: I'm going to use the "D" word in the following post. I hope it doesn't trigger anyone.

The point of safety was really driven home to me yesterday and the fact of never taking short cuts. My best friend has been dealing with back issues the last few years and has been trying non-surgical routes to help the issue to no avail. Well yesterday he found out hes going to need major surgery on his back to fix cracked vertebrae. The likely cause? Improperly installed harnesses in his drift oriented AE86. In a rush and tight on cash he had installed his harness to the rear seat belt lugs and said "good enough, I'll get a cage/roll bar later". Well at an event held on a terraced parking lot, he understeered, when over a curb, and down to the next level air born. His best impression of a lawn dart left the car a write-off (buckled the roof) and him hurt. The ER found nothing then (hence why he's been trying PT, stretches, etc.) The harnesses likely compressed his spine beyond its limits and fractured his vertebrae. All of that for going no faster than 40-50 mph. Luckily the damage is somewhat repairable, but he may always be dealing with back pain for the rest of his life. Really makes me think about the safety measures I have in my street/HDPE car.

Originally Posted by OGRacing

excellent example. if you get get the tools installed properly don't go to the event. take some time, be a spectator, save some money.

Originally Posted by aidandj

You can do it safely for much less.

Head and neck restraint, 5/6 point harness properly mounted (brand is up to you, but if buying a respected brand it does not need to be $100s), Good FIA rated seat.