Over the winter we put together a racing simulator consisting of a Playseats Evolution Gaming Seat, Logitech G25 Racing Wheel/Pedals/Shifter, and a Sony Playstation 3. If you are into racing simulators, this is a GREAT setup that doesn't really cost very much to assemble. And once you play Gran Turismo or F1 Championship Edition on something like this, you will be hooked.
Read more about it here.
We finally got a chance to install a CG-Lock in our Mazdaspeed 3. This clever little device clamps to the tongue of your cars existing 3-point factory installed seat belt. Once installed, pulling up on the shoulder belt tightens the lap belt portion of the seat belt and keeps it tight until you release it. The shoulder harness remains unrestrained, as normal, for maximum arm and upper body movement. They advertise the device as providing about 80% of the holding power of a full racing harness.
So far we've driven about 750 miles with the device and really really like it. It definitely works as advertised and is a great option for those that don't want to spend $150 on a racing harness.
When the CG-Lock is "on" you still have plenty of freedom of movement in your shoulders, but it keeps your legs and hips locked into the seat. This is great for high speed cornering and hard braking... your butt stays firmly planted. Our Speed 3 has excellent brakes with gobs of stopping power, and before installing the CG-Lock I would feel myself sliding forward under hard braking, but that is no longer a problem. When your done with your "spirited driving", you can release or loosen the lap belt by just using your thumb to flip a little lever that loosens the device.
The CG-Lock is a great buy at around $45. You can get yours at SoloRacer.com.
If you are running a traditional reclining seat in your vehicle and using a 5 or 6 point harness by running the sub belts over the front of the seat cushion, you are compromising the effectiveness of the sub belt. When you do this, you are putting the camlock mechanism at an angle it was not designed for and therefore reducing the sub-belts ability to prevent you from submarining under the lap belts. What you need is a seat with a 5th harness slot in the base of the seat.
Corbeau has the option to add a "5th slot", otherwise known as a harness sub-belt hole, to any of their reclining seats. This 5th slot is installed in the base of the seat (see photo above) where you can run your submarine strap on a 5 or 6-point harness belt and eliminates having to run the submarine strap over the front of the seat cushion.
NOTE: Corbeau fixed back racing seats are already equipped with this harness sub-belt hole.
HOW TO ORDER:
When ordering a Corbeau reclinining seat from our website, simply choose "Harness Sub-Belt Hole" from the Options dropdown. The cost is $30 per seat.
The Potenza RE-01R (with the "R" signifying Revolutionary) is the Extreme Performance Summer tire member of Bridgestone's global family of Potenza performance tires developed for enthusiastic sports car, sports coupe and performance sedan drivers.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
After we picked up our 2007 Subaru WRX project car, we wanted to replace the factory tires with something better suited for autocross and spirited driving. The current hot tire for the SCCA Solo Street Touring class happens to be the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R so we figured it would be a great choice. We went with the 245/45ZR17 size and had them mounted on our factory WRX wheels.
Wow! These tires are probably the best we've ever had on a street car. Grip is awesome and noise is minimal...what more could you ask for with a street tire? For autocross, they work great...even better than our previous favorite, the Falken Azenis. We've had minimal experience with them on wet roads, but they seem to handle it pretty well.
HOW TO BUY:
Buy at THE TIRE RACK
We recieved another shipment of these today, so get your orders in now before we sell out again. Currently we have black, blue, red, and silver in stock. We've gone thru our backorder list and contacted everybody, so its hard to say how long these will last.
A few more pics of these installed in a customers car...
At left is a photo showing the shoulder belts installed in the back seat area of the car. Notice that the shoulder belts clip into the stock Subaru seatbelt receptical on one side, and into the installed adapter piece on the other.
At left is a photo showing the rear adapter piece installed. This is what will be showing when you unclip the shoulder belt and remove the harness from the car. The adapter can be tucked out of view pretty easily.
At left is a photo showing the front adapter piece installed. This is what will be showing when you unclip the left lap belt and remove the harnesses from the car.
Finally, here is a video clip showing why Schroth harness belts are the best available on the market today... [Right Click, Save As]
Schroth Rallye 3 and 4, the choice of top autocrossers...
Schroth harness belts, like the Rallye 3, Rallye 4, and Rally 4 Quick Fit are very popular with the autocross crowd. They easily mount to stock seatbelt mounting points, so there are no holes to drill and installing them requires no modifications to your car in any way. They are also VERY easy to get in and out of, which is handy at an autocross where you will be getting in and out of your car many times during the day.
Why we think they are a must for autocrossing...
The factory seats and seat belts in most cars offer very little lateral support in high-speed cornering and braking situations like you'll find at autocross events. To compensate for this, the driver involuntarily uses the steering wheel or other stationary objects in the car for support. This results in body fatigue, and an interruption of driver concentration, as well as diminished control of the steering wheel. A Schroth harness belt will solve all of these problems. All of the Team SoloRacer.com race cars use Schroth harness belts!!
Schroth Rallye 3 in Acura Integra Type R
Team SoloRacer.com used driver and passenger side Schroth Rallye 3's in their old G Stock autocross car, a 1998 Acura Integra Type R.
Schroth Rallye 4 in a Subaru Impreza
Team SoloRacer.com racer Brett Setliff uses a drivers side Schroth Rallye 4 in his G Stock autocross car, a 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS.
Schroth Rallye 4 Quick Fit harness in a MINI Cooper S
Team SoloRacer.com driver Craig Wilcox uses a Schroth Rallye 4 Quick Fit harnesses in his G Stock autocross car, a 2005 MINI Cooper S.
Where to purchase Schroth Harness Belts...
Schroth harness belts like the standard Rallye 3 and 4, the RallyeCross, and the Quick-Fit Rallye 4's for BMW's, MINI's, and Audi/VW's, can be purchased on-line at the SoloRacer.com On-Line Store.
As reviewed by Team SoloRacer.com racer Alex Shchipkov... The Corbeau Forza offers the benefits of a race seat while at the same time preventing a racers wallet from bottoming out :-) After having them for about 6 months in my car I can share the following experiences.
The Forza has a respectable level of comfort for a race seat. We have driven up to 400 miles to events and it was not bad at all. The seat has only front to back adjustability via sliding bracket, but we have found it to be acceptable even for everyday driving situations. It is easy to find a comfortable position and then stick with it for the rest of the trip.
