Head Surround Foam Survey

[Bob Coury]

What are you all packing your carbon fiber head surrounds with?

Thanks
Bob

[S Lathrop]

I think the head surround should be a fiberglass or Kevlar piece. Carbon fiber in a crash is like a bunch of razor blades flying around. Don't ask how I know this.

I would use the same materials that you use to make a bead seat.

[Will Velkoff]

I made mine from the excess from my Bead Seat. Wrapped them in Nomex and they came out great.

[Neil_Roberts]

When helmet collars first appeared in the late '90s, they were padded with multiple layers of Confor foam. Each layer had a different density and stiffness. However, the temperature sensitivity of Confor significantly reduced its impact performance when hot.

The current requirement in the top-level series is rigid foam covered with Kevlar or some other high toughness fiber, in a resin with a low coefficient of friction. It is better for the helmet to be able to slide along the surface during an impact.

The big downside to rigid foam is one-time use, while Confor is largely unaffected by impact.

[Fred Michael]

Our FIA Formula E head surrounds are Kevlar filled with Confor, same as in F1.
F1 does require either pink or blue Confor depending on the ambient temp