Side Impact
Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 10:40 am
Over the past couple of years, I've seen a fair number of hard impacts. I ran 2014 with the un-caged Miata, then went a little faster through 2015 with a minimal cage and hans. This year, I'm on track to bring the Datsun out, and while I have every confidence that Joey is making the car as safe as possible, I need to revisit the safety options for the soft squishy bits inside of the car.
HANS replacement
To be perfectly honest, I don't think a HANS is sufficient for hillclimb racing. The test results I've seen indicate that it's superb for front-on crashes, but doesn't do much for hard side impacts. Most of the off's I've seen were front impacts, but a few (I'm thinking of several cars at Philo, flying through the trees at Okemo, and flipping a Focus at Burke) really have me thinking about how much more extreme side impacts tend to be. I really like the neck protector Seth and Erik use, with the chest harness and all that stuff ... but that doesn't seem to be available any more. The next best thing looks like the NecksGen, which looks like a 2-axis HANS. I'd love to hear other peoples' advice/feedback/recommendations.
http://www.necksgen.com/features/
Containment Seat
The more I think about it, the less like it seems that I'll be able to use the fiberglass/kevlar seats I have in the Datsun. The shoulders and bases are all too wide on them. I got some measurements on a few aluminum containment seats, and it looks like they'd fit snugly. I've been looking at something like the Kirkey 70 because of the head containment and the price. I liked the ~15-degree layback I had on the Miata, and it looks like circle track seats support that. If possible, I'd like to get something with removable head containment for daily driving, so I can still turn my head and see all the way around me. It doesn't look like the 70 can do that, but I'm not quite sure of what I'm looking at.
Again, this isn't an area I have experience in, so I'd like to avoid expensive mistakes wherever I can.
HANS replacement
To be perfectly honest, I don't think a HANS is sufficient for hillclimb racing. The test results I've seen indicate that it's superb for front-on crashes, but doesn't do much for hard side impacts. Most of the off's I've seen were front impacts, but a few (I'm thinking of several cars at Philo, flying through the trees at Okemo, and flipping a Focus at Burke) really have me thinking about how much more extreme side impacts tend to be. I really like the neck protector Seth and Erik use, with the chest harness and all that stuff ... but that doesn't seem to be available any more. The next best thing looks like the NecksGen, which looks like a 2-axis HANS. I'd love to hear other peoples' advice/feedback/recommendations.
http://www.necksgen.com/features/
Containment Seat
The more I think about it, the less like it seems that I'll be able to use the fiberglass/kevlar seats I have in the Datsun. The shoulders and bases are all too wide on them. I got some measurements on a few aluminum containment seats, and it looks like they'd fit snugly. I've been looking at something like the Kirkey 70 because of the head containment and the price. I liked the ~15-degree layback I had on the Miata, and it looks like circle track seats support that. If possible, I'd like to get something with removable head containment for daily driving, so I can still turn my head and see all the way around me. It doesn't look like the 70 can do that, but I'm not quite sure of what I'm looking at.
Again, this isn't an area I have experience in, so I'd like to avoid expensive mistakes wherever I can.