You really want the shoulder belts to be as short as reasonably achievable, in order to reduce their stretch in an incident (think: how far your torso displaces forward).


Norm

 

You might want to check the rules of the club you are driving with. What I have seen is that an OE seat must use the OE three point seat belt. Four point harnesses are not popular, and not allowed in many events, because they do not have the "anti-submarine" strap. A competition seat normally requires a 5 or 6 point harness.

Also, if you go beyond the 3 point belt, a roll bar is usually required.

 

R-comps are not the hot tip for a novice. Not at all. He's going to be busy enough with more basic stuff and paying attention to his instructor before there's any need to go faster just to go faster.

There will be plenty of time to explore all that extra grip after he's got a couple events under his belt signed off to drive solo and still on the street tires.


Norm

 

I have a Schroth 4 pt belt. Part of the belt i anchored into the seat belt anchors on the back seat. That part comes up to a V buckle into the front part that goes over the shoulder and anchors to the post on the normal 3 pt belt and snaps into the normal buckle by the arm rest. It then has a quick release buckle across the pelvis. It doesn't have the anti-submarine belt. It depends on the club. One club let me run it with an instructor in the passengers seat with the normal 3 pt. Another said i had to use the 3 pt if the instructor was using a 3 pt. When im solo, I can use the 4 point. Makes a ton of difference in the corners, u dont wear urself out bracing against corners and in braking zones.

 

Norm (as usual) is right on the mark with this one. R-Comp tires are not for novices. Beyond what Norm said, R-Comps don't give nearly as much warning before they let go.

Also, there is a certain amount of pleasure one gets when he gets enough experience to lap others who are on R-Comps.

 

Do you have a roll bar? I can't tell from your pic.

There are ways, if you have an electric seat, to get the 3 point tight enough where you are not having to brace yourself in the corners and braking zones. That's what I do, and it works well. A competition seat and harness is definitely a better way to go, but I don't want to put those adds into my DD.

The Recaro seats offered in the '13's and '14's are awesome. Any replacement Stang for me will definitely have those seats.

 

Also get a Short Throw Shifter with Bottom Bracket and a Braided Steel clutch-line. The stock one is less then good. Clutch S/S will improve your shifts like the S/S improves your brakes.

 

[QUOTE=JThor;8248710]Do you have a roll bar? I can't tell from your pic.

There are ways, if you have an electric seat, to get the 3 point tight enough where you are not having to brace yourself in the corners and braking zones. That's what I do, and it works well. A competition seat and harness is definitely a better way to go, but I don't want to put those adds into my DD.

The Recaro seats offered in the '13's and '14's are awesome. Any replacement Stang for me will definitely have those seats.

The Recaro seats are really awesome but a fixed Recaro Profi seat starts at about $900 each.
The Boss and GT500 Recaro seats are about $1,500 each, (eBay).
Sparco, Corbeau and other seat companies offer more affordable seat options but with less features. I'd probably suggest that route first. If money was no issue, then a 2012/2013 GT500 or Boss LS would be in my garage.

The only issue I have with harness belts is that the upright position makes your head and shoulders a roll-bar. So at least a 4 point roll cage would be a safety requirement for me. I've seen a lot of German cars at the track without roll bars but we own Mustangs.

 

[QUOTE=427Roush;8262588]
Yea my mom and I were looking into getting my dad those Recaro's for his birthday, but when we found out they were most likely going to be over 3k, we decided to let them be haha.

 

Thanks for sharing your first track experience. I too is planning on taking my fist track with my 2013 next month. Good to know that XP 10/8 F/R should be good enough on a short track.

Brake pads and fluids are the only mods I'll do for a while until I can outperformed my OEM set up.