FrankBarba
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2000
- Posts
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Safety....Safety....Safety....This is why they are required.
Looking to Borrow Good Tread
- Thread starter jasontiff
- Start date
If you guys could help out a stranger to the track...and tell me what the hard top helps with as far as safety issues are concerned? Is there a lot of debris? I can't see it helping with structural rigidity or rollover protection. Is there anything else that it helps protect you from? We still run with no windows and a helmet, right?
Tom answered my question via email and I thought I'd pass along the info. This may be old news to some but here it is:
RTs can't run without a hardtop unless it has a rollbar installed, and the hard top has to be Autoform or OEM to meet insurance requirements.
RTs can't run without a hardtop unless it has a rollbar installed, and the hard top has to be Autoform or OEM to meet insurance requirements.
Some of the point was missed: Why do sticky tires require hard tops or roll bars, when DOT-OE harder tires 100+ do not? Lateral G-Forces!
When sticky tires enable the car to pull more than 1.0 lateral Gs, it is a more likley rollover candidate if it slides. If the tires slide sideways below 1.0g, it is less likley to roll. If you are under 1.0 lateral G, as with most fully-treaded 140+ treadwear tires, you are less likley to roll.
The AutoForm hard top, has indeed proven to provide real rollover protection, vs no top, sport bars, sport hoops, or soft tops. And a true roll bar is just that.
That said, any car sliding sideways off track, (or sliding back on, across a curb edge) can dig into dirt or grass or hook a curb with the sidewall or wheel edge and roll.
[P.S. Anyone loaning tires for track use , esp to a novice, would NOT likely be an attorney! You, your Spouse, and your Heirs would have to sign a LONG waiver.......]
When sticky tires enable the car to pull more than 1.0 lateral Gs, it is a more likley rollover candidate if it slides. If the tires slide sideways below 1.0g, it is less likley to roll. If you are under 1.0 lateral G, as with most fully-treaded 140+ treadwear tires, you are less likley to roll.
The AutoForm hard top, has indeed proven to provide real rollover protection, vs no top, sport bars, sport hoops, or soft tops. And a true roll bar is just that.
That said, any car sliding sideways off track, (or sliding back on, across a curb edge) can dig into dirt or grass or hook a curb with the sidewall or wheel edge and roll.
[P.S. Anyone loaning tires for track use , esp to a novice, would NOT likely be an attorney! You, your Spouse, and your Heirs would have to sign a LONG waiver.......]
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opnwide
Enthusiast
So what happened with ViperDays? I never saw you there?
There wasn't anyone at all in the "stock" class so I ran "superstock" and still kicked everyone's but!
There wasn't anyone at all in the "stock" class so I ran "superstock" and still kicked everyone's but!
I didn't feel like completing the virtual scavenger hunt to compete. I'd have had to buy or borrow the tread (HLN had me there) as well as hunt down the Autoform or OEM hardtop, which was proving to be a bit harder. If I had anything stickier than Michelins I was told I'd have to secure a rollbar too. Prepping an RT for Viper Days is a little tougher than a GTS...but you know that; you have both!
I'll get to the track eventually, but it may be something tamer like a Driver's Edge event or something to see if I'm gonna be a track guy or not. I don't want to get all of that stuff just to find out that I'd rather cruise and play on the street.
I know HLN went, and you went. How was it? Anyone else from Austin go? You coming out for the Roundup? The weather was terrible here on the 15th-17th, so I could only imagine what College Station had in store!
I'll get to the track eventually, but it may be something tamer like a Driver's Edge event or something to see if I'm gonna be a track guy or not. I don't want to get all of that stuff just to find out that I'd rather cruise and play on the street.
I know HLN went, and you went. How was it? Anyone else from Austin go? You coming out for the Roundup? The weather was terrible here on the 15th-17th, so I could only imagine what College Station had in store!
