jdistefa

Halo seat, period. Lateral nets are useless for head containment re. c-spine injury.

The principle is the same for many injuries: If you fix one part of the body and allow another part to move freely, you've created a potential shear stress zone. Whether you unplug your brainstem, break your neck (or basal skull), or have some type of vascular catastrophe (aortic, gastric, superior mesenteric artery dissection/avulsion, all due to internal shear), the outcomes aren't going to be good.

Opting for 3 points as a way to allow more global movement is, IMHO, an exceedingly bad tradeoff. I think about that not infrequently when I get in the right seat of a car with inadequate safety equipment.

In my own car I have the hybrid 3/2 Hans shoulder belts (it's amazing how much the Hans can move with 2" shoulder belts), and containment seat with proper shoulder holes and belt angles. Why skimp?

I was at Tremblant this past weekend and had some sober reflection driving through turn 6.

BlueBarchetta

I found the installation of a wink style mirror greatly increased the rearward field of vision and reduced blind spot concerns with my Hans-Halo combination

Sterling Doc

^^This

You must keep you hips, shoulder, and head supported in line. With that, impressive crash G's can be tolerated. Without, it takes surprisingly little to result in a catastrophic outcome.

mooty

1. practice
2. how tall are you?

i am 5'9"
recaro hans xl seat.
NO blind spot.
i back it into a very tight garage at home all the time.
if you are 5"10 1/2 to 6'., you wont see a see. BLIND.

ApexPerformance

The folks at HANS (during dealer training) recommend having all the safety equipment in addition to their HNR. Halo seat, 6-point belt, driver net, window net, HNR. Everything works together and is better than just using one piece of equipment.

fatbillybob

Just a note that not all SFI 38.1 devices provide lateral support. In fact the HANS provides little to none. Other manufacturers trying to gain market share are quick to point out their lateral performane over HANS. So people have to be aware of how their equipment works as part of their "safety system."

morsini

Sorry to hear about your shunt, but I think it's a great learning aid if you post that video. However, I'll understand if you choose not.

Quinlan

Matt, which brand of halo seat do you use?

YourFace

No answer can be completely right or wrong. So, I propose this solution, would a side passenger seat specifically designed to absorb the force (crumble zone) of a left side impact during a collision increase safety for the driver?

Tom W

A couple weeks ago I made a mistake that put me into the wall (almost flush to the driver's side) after a 180° spin at ~63 mph with a 6 g impact followed by bouncing off and rotating another 180° and ending up upside down. I never had any pain or soreness, I think thanks to my safety equipment. The only mark on me was my helmet was scuffed where it impacted my halo seat. I am, and always have been, a big fan of halo seats. Mine is was a Recaro HANS (I'll be getting a new one after the impact).

KaiB

Dang Tom, glad you're OK. How's the Turtle?

jdistefa

Recaro Pro Racer Hans. You gotta go with what fits you - hips, torso, head height.

Doug007

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Grand-am's center net requirement. Even with a halo, your head CAN escape in some situations. Grand-am requires the use of head nets on both sides of the seat (rule 15-1.9: http://www.grand-am.com/Portals/0/Im...013%20Text.pdf)

Here are some pics of Grand-Am cars:

CAM14

If I understand correctly what you proposing, then absolutely no. In the context of a street car turned into a track day/race car, any device in the passenger seat area is not going to absorb the energy that will cause the driver’s body to have a sudden change of direction. The root cause of the problem is that the car (which has a fairly substantial mass) is moving at a given projection with a given velocity, then there is a sudden negative acceleration when to car hits something harder with more mass, like a wall, (remember Newton’s F=M*A). While the car has a sudden change in direction, the driver’s mass wants to continue in the previous projection. Any part of the driver that is not secured will want to migrate to the previous projection. Therefore, if the drivers body is secured by harness and seat but the head is not, then only the head will continue until something else stops it, like soft tissue. But a halo seat will do a superior job of containing the head. I’m a huge fan of the halo seat even if it is inconvenient at times.

Tom W

I'm fine, Turtle is being fixed and the shop is trying hard to be ready so I can get to the Road America race in a month. It's just a question of how quickly all the parts arrive.