Head Restraint Device

[Trhoades]

It's time to buy a head restraint system (recent accident) what is the best system to use? Important and expensive purchase, I want to make the right decision...Thnaks Guy's

[iamuwere]

Ugh, I hate to see the arguments that will follow, but I will say that I have no problem wearing my HANS. I find it comfortable and actually more secure in the car. I have "use tested" my HANS before and could feel it doing its job as the car tried to move a Jersey barrier head on.

The newer sliding tethers are nice.

jim

[Marshall Mauney]

I have a defNder and really like it.

However, I have seen rumors on another forum that they are discontinuing business operations.

Under any circumstances, personal fit is probably the most important thing. Try on any that you are interested in before you purchase (if possible) - and do so in your car. Also, making sure that your seat is properly molded for the device, belts are properly installed (height vs shoulders, width, etc.), tethers set the right length, etc. is a big part of the process - don't take short cuts.

[cooleyjb]

Going on the assumption that you are looking for an SFI/FIA device to run with SCCA after this year.

Right now there are two currently produced. Leatt and DefNder no longer produce devices and out of those two only DefNder had any market saturation. Since they are no longer produced I'm not talking about them but if you have questions about the Defnder I can ansewr them.

HANS--old faithful used by lots and has been around forever. No direct connection to driver. Sandwich between the belts and the driver. Issues people have had involved the mounting of the shoulder harness too wide and they don't sit on the device very well. In a formula car that's less of a problem since the belts mount a couple inches behind a driver and not 12-24" as seen in some cars.

Safety Solutions--They have 3 iterations on market right now. All of them are fundamentally the same in that they have a yoke that sits on your back and webbing that goes around the front of the driver. They don't rely on the sandwiching like HANS. Two of them the Hybrid and Hybrid Pro latch in at the lap belt and direct the forces down to that point. The R3 requires no belt interface whatsoever but it is the biggest and in many formula car situations will need the seat insert for comfort as it runs much of the length of your back.

Two of the devices are FIA certified. HANS and the Safety Solutions Hybrid.

For a rundown of the released test results of the devices mentioned above as well as a few other non SFI devices you can see a spreadsheet here.

http://www.racesafetydata.info/HNR.html


The devices are tested at either 68 or 45 g impacts at both 0 and 30 degrees so look at those numbers to compare apples to apples on the chart. The numbers speak for which devices do the best. They all do something, some better than others. On track I've used them all and they all disappear the second I leave false grid.

They are all about the same price point, all have a 'sliding' tether.

For a full side impact I'd be concerned about a cockpit surround as your head will get to the bars well before the devices will be doing anything.

[lancer360]

Cooley summed it up the best. Make sure you are purchasing a SFI rated device and try them out in your car sitting in the garage. The comfort and proper fit is dependent on your seating position, seat type (foam pads vs. form fitting bead seat), helmet, driver's body shape, type of harness, and harness mounting location so use any advice you get here as guidance and not a definitive answer as to what will work for you. I use the Safety Solution R3 device due to the extreme laydown position of my F600. The HANS would hit the chin bar on my helmet. However other F500/600 chassis are able to use the HANS. Find a shop that will work with you on trying them out in your garage and then shipping back the solutions that don't work for you.

[Trhoades]

I have a FF Mygale without a poured custom seat as my size does not give me enough room in cockpit for as seat (The top of my head is above the required limit) My shoulder width is wide as well so my shoulders are roll in a little bit. I have a couple of additional questions.

-Which degree device should I be looking for?

-What size belting do I need in the car?

-What is the restriction on side vision.

Great info guy's really appreciate it....love this web-site

Thanks again Todd

[cooleyjb]

I have a FF Mygale without a poured custom seat as my size does not give me enough room in cockpit for as seat (The top of my head is above the required limit) My shoulder width is wide as well so my shoulders are roll in a little bit. I have a couple of additional questions.

-Which degree device should I be looking for?

-What size belting do I need in the car?

-What is the restriction on side vision.

Great info guy's really appreciate it....love this web-site

Thanks again Todd

For the HANS you more than likely would use a 30 degree device. Keith Averill is who I recommend talking to on here regarding the purchase of a new one.

The Safety Solutions Hybrid Pro doesn't have a degrees. One device fits all, the chest strap is the only size needed.

Safety Solutions R3 and Hybrid would be the layback version.

Belting in the car? 3" works with all of them. The main reason the 2" belts exist (in my opinion) is that it makes a poorly mounted shoulder belt setup feel and seem better. I run 3" in all my cars and they fit me and all the devices I've used just fine. Others prefer 2" because it 'fits' the HANS better but especially in the formula cars I don't see the need.

Restriciton in car-- Minimal. SS stuff comes with sliding tethers for the same price as fixed and the HANS is a few dollars more. Never noticed it on track only in paddock and that was with the fixed tethers.

[EYERACE]

It's hard to actually say with a degree of absolute certainty that a HANS saved my life but I can say that the webbing in the tethers was very slightly frayed from the force they took.....which was much better than having the ligaments in my neck take that force instead. Of course by now the tethers have been replaced.

By the way, the HANS group purchase from CDOC that was organized through ApexSpeed is how I came by mine.......so it can be said that ApexSpeed helps people not simply race but also ApexSpeed helped saved my neck

[DonArm]

DeFender no longer produced?

Weird, they still are selling them and appear to still be in business from their website.
What happened? I have one, what do I do if I need support?

Thanks

[ASRF1000]

IMHO, You can't go wrong with a HANS. Model 30 is the one for formula cars. This is one area where you don't want to scrimp on money. Your life is worth more than anything you will spend on a racecar.

My suggestion is also get the new style with the higher back. Gives you more head/neck protection during backward accidents.

When pouring a seat, make sure to wear your HANS device so that you are properly fitted.

Just my opinion.

[cooleyjb]

DeFender no longer produced?

Weird, they still are selling them and appear to still be in business from their website.
What happened? I have one, what do I do if I need support?

Thanks

They are still doing the anchors and such but no more devices.

[cooleyjb]

Whatever you do don't buy something because it's what everyone else is using. Buy the best device for what you are needing it for.

[Marshall Mauney]

They are still doing the anchors and such but no more devices.

Very sorry to hear this. Are they publicly disclosing the reason(s)?

[cooleyjb]

Very sorry to hear this. Are they publicly disclosing the reason(s)?

Not that I've heard.

[Daryl DeArman]

Whatever you do don't buy something because it's what everyone else is using. Buy the best device for what you are needing it for.

Amen.

The R3 Hybrid is a few hundred dollars more than the HANS sport models, do your own research regarding performance. Sometimes you do get what you pay for, sometimes you don't.