quote:

Originally posted by wideopen231:


A smart fella would have bought the next-gen retraint instead of new pistons and rings for the bigger motor build. Damn desktop dyno

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Originally posted by RPROGAS:
The NHRA two year seat belt certification is nothing more than a money scam and we all know it!

Do this:

Simply calculate the amount of time your car sits outside and tell me that the belts are adversely effected by the sunlight. What does this actually amount to, what 200 hours per year, 300??? It doesn't give me a lot of confidence to know that my expensive five point safety seat belts are that susceptible to failure due to sunlight .

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by wideopen231:
Hey all guys that have next gen and hate this rule send me pm and I will give yopu address so you can ship. Want one and hate collar I have but better than nothing for a while;

A smart fella would have bought the next-gen retraint instead of new pistons and rings for the bigger motor build. Damn desktop dyno

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Originally posted by B KING:
I was asked my opinion on the seat belt certification before on DRR. It really doesn't matter what I think, it's NHRA's playing field & we have to play by their rules like it or not.

I have been asked before what's done on the aircraft side for belts/restraints for certification. My 2 primary aircraft frames that I can talk about is the HH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter & the F-16 Fighter. Both airframes spend most of their days sitting on the flight line when not flying in the sun. In NV. that's pretty harsh conditions for UV exposer. You will be shocked at the replacement interval for belts/restraints:

F-16, as of a year & half ago when I retired. There was no replace date for the belts. That being said, there's many inspections done on the belts using T.O.'s (technical orders). I never seen them replaced in this airframe in 20 + years of working on them.

Blackhawk had a 10-year replacement date on them. They were constructed differently than the F-16 & closely resembled a car/truck seatbelt in appearance, except being a 5-point harness.

I'm not going to dwell on this subject to long & just provided it for information.

2BKING



 

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Originally posted by BP758:
Who said we were smart?

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Seat belts manufactured to any of the SFI standards, are valid for two (2) YEARS from the date of manufacture. An SFI spec belt will have a tag(s) where the month and year of manufacture are clearly punched. SFI certifies that this belt will meet the safety standards for only 2 years from this date. Once the belt has passed its 2 year life expectancy, the SFI no longer certifies that this belt meets its safety standards and the racing sanctioning body should no longer allow this belt on track. SFI permits 16.1 and 16.2 belts to be re-webbed but not the more stringent 16.5 and 16.6 standards.

The primary reason for the difference in life expectancy between SFI and FIA belts result mainly from the material (Nylon vs. Polyester) and from the typical usage of the belt by the racer. SFI belts are most common in drag racing, and circle track racing (often on dirt). These belts often see heavy wear and tear in the course of an event and are subjected to the elements such as mud, water, and oil. The entire car (including the belts) are often hosed off after an event (including the belts) and left exposed to the sun. Under such conditions, a belt may no longer be safe after less than a year of use and should be replaced, at the better discretion of the racer, to ensure maximum safety. SFI has conducted extensive testing on seat belt webbing degradation when exposed to UV light, water, and other elements and has determined that a seat belt cannot be used safely for more than 2 years in such conditions. Most SFI 16.1 seat belt uses Nylon webbing which loses as much as 75% of its original tensile strength after 30 months of UV exposure. This is the main reason SFI mandates belts be replaced every 2 years.

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Originally posted by CURTIS REED:
My car hasn't seen 30 months of exposure since I got it. That is 21,900 hours in the sun. If it was in the sun 10 hours each race that would be 2,190 races.

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Originally posted by Lenny5160:

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Originally posted by CURTIS REED:
My car hasn't seen 30 months of exposure since I got it. That is 21,900 hours in the sun. If it was in the sun 10 hours each race that would be 2,190 races.

As I posted earlier, the rule needs to be written for the worst case scenario. There are racers out there with open trailers and no garage. Yes, most of us have thrown out plenty of perfectly good belts from cars that never sit out. But some cars do.

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SFI has conducted extensive testing on seat belt webbing degradation when exposed to UV light, water, and other elements and has determined that a seat belt cannot be used safely for more than 2 years in such conditions. Most SFI 16.1 seat belt uses Nylon webbing which loses as much as 75% of its original tensile strength after 30 months of UV exposure. This is the main reason SFI mandates belts be replaced every 2 years.

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Originally posted by Wild Wild West 2:

As far the comment that was made about hitting the ground at 300 mph in an aircraft, hitting anything at 300 mph would be devastating whether going down the track or falling out of the sky.