Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I am buying a head and neck restraint and would like anyone's opinion on which is the best for open wheel sprint car....

I am planning on having a full containment seat if that makes the choice any different.

What do you have, pros and cons?

Thanks

Cody Hahn

I'd check with my seat manufacturer and see what they recommend that works well with the seat that you're buying....

Chuck.....

I use a defNder and really like it. Using with the Ultrashield containment seat. Never tried a HANS.

i have a butlerbuilt seat with hans device, and It  works very nice. However I would get a defender head and neck restraint if i would buy another one. Butlerbuilt seats will come with the foam behind the head cut out for a neck restraint. If you decide to call butlerbuilt ask for robert he will help you out the best way he can.

My name is Aaron Zentgraf. I work for Safety Solutions. We make Head restraints, Seat Belts, and Driver Nets. I will be happy to answer all questions and not be your typical sales guy. I grew up at the dirt tracks in Minnesota and North Dakota. I'm sure you can come up with some good ones. Thank you.

I currently run the Defnder with a Kirkey full contaiment kit, with a little tweeking, I belive we have a restraint that will work fine, Im looking into the Butler seat next season as I feel the construction is much more strong , A quick call to Robert at Butler might get you more personal/customer testimony and more familiar with the good and the bad of the products currently retailed.

I recently found out that Dr.Trammel suggests the R3 design for sprint car drivers.

While a Kirkey containment seat is a good start, I recommend a much better, much stronger seat, the Butler, LaJoie, ISP are more of what you want. Sounds like you are making a wise decision.

We work great with Dr.Trammel and the R3 is a great device. Though, the Pro Rage or Hybrid Pro will work better for you in a sprint car.

its kinda ironic shortly afer I purchased the Defnder I put this device to the test, unfortunatly , as many of you drivers on here know, when you get that hunk of balled up aluminum and moly, tumbeling end over end , it feels like its going to rip your head off. when you do finally com crashing to the ground, Ive walked away with no neck problems and feeling like a million, too bad the car isnt the same , at anyrate, im more comfortable knowing im making a attempt to walk away ,besides my boss likes it when I show up monday morning

It's been a while ago you posted this article on Defnder, my question....does the defnder have any abtrusive parts interfering with the seat behind the neck. I am very tight in a straight up sitting full containment seat with no room to be pushed forward in the back of the neck. Thanks 88sprinter ps the seat is a Kirkey FC seat.

our entire haudenschild family actually runs a dirtbike neck collar called a leatt brace.we run the adventure model, it is the best thing i have used. i would recommend it over a hans device any day. you cant even tell its on when you are in the car. it doesnt strap to anything which is what i like about it, i am very closterophobic and hate feeling like i cant get out of the car. it rests on your shoulders. and it is also the first time my neck hasnt been sore as hell after a crash. i believe kistler race products was considering trying to become a dealer for them after talking to jac(wild child) and myself. and you know if the wild child will run one it has to be good! and they are a 1/4 of the cost of the others. i got mine for $225

brad haudenschild

How does the Leatt brace keep your head tied to your body? I understand how it keeps your head from flopping too far sideways but how does it keep your head from trying to separate from your neck/spine? That is the whole point of the head and neck restraint.

Loose is when you hit the wall with the rear of the
car, tight is when you hit the wall with the front of
the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and
torque is how far you move the wall.

brad haudenschild

absolutly, the seat I have run was converted sometime ago to the FC (with the kirkey kit offered at the time) obviously we didnt have future plans of a neck restraint because of the lack of thier popularity at the time, you know how things evolve, anyway, before I owned a Defender I positioned the upper head support so my line of vision was correct and not sacraficing safety ( I messed around for a entire evening) I proubly ran into the same (similar)trouble you are questioning ? , after I purchased the Defender I threw it on, belted in and checked mobility, it was terrible, not frustrated with my recent purchase I grabbed a utility knife and started butchering the seat (head rest foam behind my neck/sholder area) I had a my brother stop by and check the clearance issues while I stayed belted in, we finally guained a fit that was comfortable,teathers were adjusted with the help of my wife, upon my first wreck with the device I couldnt stand up out of the seat ( I visited a bit with Robert from Butlerbuilt on the issue) I was in a panic because I just plain and simple wanted out! After discussion with Robert he pointed out the attention Defender was making on the side wings(clips) that hold the belts in place ,I knew the issue and wanted a solution without taking them off, the molding of the plastic needs a little trim job to get them to release the belts easily with little effort, although the product does call for some personal tayloring ,I believe it is a fine product well worth the purchase, I did walk away "pain free" from my neck,(three wrecks later,ya, I went trough some bad luck) I cant say the same from previous wrecks without the device, Im a pretty small framed guy 170lbs 5-11 ,I cant comment how well comfort would be on a larger or smaller driver? Its one of those things worth the inconvienance IMO , the comfort is virtually unnoticeable when things get rolling , dont get frustrated with the "tweeking" It will be worth your time ,Again, If you havent purchased a seat I would definetly go with the Butler, my Kirkey will go in a backup car possibly when I recieve the Butler.I know it sounds kinda stupid, but, the more wrecks you go through the more rehearsed your exit will be (pretty expensive rehearsal) not to panic is #1 (im working on that my frustration with the belts was maxed out! ) In the shop, a guy can jump out of thier car pretty quick, for some reason (just like the car runs on track) testing becomes totally differant than expected , good luck, give me a PM if you choose ,I would be glad to help with my experiances. still a product worth your time and purchase.IMO

I bought my brother a hans a few years ago for his sprint car and hes liked how it has worked for him without any problems. I'm going to be racing a 1000 mini sprint and just purchased a safety solutions pro rage. I like how the belts provide well tied in support for the side impact tethers to attach to. Havn't used it yet but seems like it will be simple and comfortable.

We don't use anything but ButlerBuilt Seats. Robert's great to work with and helps everyone very well.

A person in the safety industry just told me he likes his defender more than his hans but uses the hans sliding tether on it, because he likes it better. I definitely like anything with the side support and front support. The Leatt Brace just doesn't seem right to me. It seems like when your head would hit it you have solid impact and possible brain movement. I heard an AMA medic is having the motocross one tested because he thinks its causing different injuries. He's seen an increase in internal organ injuries and movement of the brain. It's believed the impact of the head on the leatt brace puts force on the chest protector and pushes it into your organs. A 10 yr old boy died practicing with one on, from laserated kidneys and organ damage. The ambulance couldn't get to the hospital quick enough. One advantage to the straps on the other common units is it slows down the head so you don't get brain movement like ernie irvan.

I saw a guy hit a wall virtually head on with an R3 and he walked away. That unit definitely didn't hurt him and may have saved him a stay at the hospital

I just bought a defender and after messing with the angle adjustment on the defender, I got it where it is VERY comfortable. I used to wear a Hutchins with the crotch strap, what a PITA!. When I first tried on the defender I couldn't stand it, because it seemed like my head was tipped roo far forward. I put a little more angle in the headrest ans pow, it was 100% better! I didn't have to change anything in the seat at all.

exactly, I too was a little sceptical about the fit at first ,but, with a little tweaking here and there (alot of patiance)I believe it is worthy

I have run a Hans, hutchens, and now a Defender. I was a little skeptical of the Defender when you just set it on outside the car, but when you get in and pull down the belts, it was really comfortable. This isnt a knock to the Hans at all, but I crashed last year with it and seperated my shoulder. I run Butlerbuilt containment seats and love them along with the defender. Butler also is a Defender dealer.