They say that a rib injury never fully heals. A few years ago, I had a pretty unhealthy bout of pneumonia and during that time I coughed so much that I hurt my ribs on the left side. To this day, sometimes I’ll move just the right wrong way that causes me to double over in pain. It’s like someone is sticking a knife through my rib cage. This little bit of nastiness came to light during my recent visit to Pocono Raceway and made me think about the importance of driving position and proper support. In more than a few cars I tested, the side loads the car generated far exceeded the level of support offered by the seats and I found myself using the steering wheel to keep from flying across the car. The result was a searing pain in my left side as I begged the corner to end. It really was that bad.
We’ve all been watching Gary Faules’ progress as he prepares his GT-350 clone, Lucky, for the trek to La Carrera Panamerica. One of the biggest moments in any build is when the seats go in and you can actually sit in the car. The choice of the right seat for the right driver is one of the most important choices a team will make. You see, driving a car in any sort of competitive environment is a very physical activity. A driver who is worrying more about self preservation that driving has more than a few potential problems to contend with. When a driver is fighting with the wheel for leverage, that leverage is also being applied to the front wheels. What’s the end result of that? Well, it can range from poor lap times to a loss of control. It also means that the driver isn’t really paying attention to what’s happening around him. The driver is expending way more energy than he would if he were properly supported and won’t be able to stay behind the wheel too long without getting tired.
In today’s world, we see more and more drivers in their senior years who get into (or stay in) racing and that is in large part thanks to proper seating allowing them to expend their energy on driving, not holding on. Many of todays drivers are opting to enter endurance races or vintage performance rallies that demand a well rested, focused driver. Even those track dogs who head out to open lapping days need stamina if they are going to spend the whole day on the track rather than coming in to rest every 5 laps.
In the photo of Lucky above, we see the Racetech seats that Gary has chosen for a variety of comfort and safety reasons. Perhaps the most obvious is the deep side supports in the lumbar, shoulder and even thigh areas. In a crash, these seats help the harness to contain the driver in a safe position. For the purpose of today’s discussion though, they are the ultimate in driver comfort and support. The driver is held in a super supportive cocoon that the only focus is on driving the car, not on preventing one’s torso from sliding across the seat back. In other words, no death grip on the steering wheel, which means hours of high performance driving comfort.
In our track test series, one of the things we will be evaluating is how practical these cars would be as a weekend warrior. Can these production cars keep a driver relaxed and supported properly enough to be a true track dog? Seeing as all are comfortable road cars, we’re going to use on track rib pain as a measure of how each one would measure up to a full day of lapping.
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“They say that a rib injury never fully heals.”
The same can be said for a heart broken by his first true love.
There was so much going on and so much that I wanted to learn that in all the excitement I completely forgot about how nice the seats worked. On the way home I said something to that effect to the navigator Jon and he said, “If you didn’t even think about them (the seats) then they did their job perfectly.” They really are an exceptional quality and design and worth every penny.
By the way, your observations regarding good quality seats in truly fast cars is extremely well written and perfect observation. Case and example… The first time I took my 1997 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe with it’s stock seats and belts out on the track at Laguna Seca I felt the same way a marble in a bottle being rolled down a hill must feel. (Yes, almost as bad as a toboggan ride) There was some lumbar siding but not enough to even begin to hold me at speed thru the tight corners. You slid around, pull yourself back with the wheel, feel for a place to push yourself back using your knees and feet but by the time you do you’re well past the apex. Ever notice on in-car cameras that any driver that has talent makes driving look easy and almost makes you think, “Hell, I could do that.” Well, in this case it wasn’t pretty at all. At the same time keep in mind, there are some give and takes and at some point compromises must be made as well. For example, when making driver changes during an endurance race, the drivers must use seats which allow them to make lightning “quick” changes.