Hans Device

What is everyone got to say about the comfort of these. Which one is the Best for Funny Car I heard a rumor that some of them dig into you when you hit the shutes or drop the laundry. I have to have 1 like everybody else thanks for your input Jim

 

Hey Jim, Try wearing it on the outside of the fire suit, it might be more comfortable that way? Just teasing you, Dave

 

You shouldnt notice it.

I started wearing a HANS devise AFTER I destroyed our TAD at Sonoma in 2002or2003( I try to forget) If properly installed you will not even notice it there. It will take a few runs to get used to it like anything new. Call Dennis Taylor and get it coming. I also recommend the Butler built Roll cage padding, It really limits your lateral head travel in the event of an "event".

Now back to your regular programming...

 

I would highly recommend the Butler Built padding as well.
One thing you may want to think about when using the Hans is the width of your seat belts. The wider traditional belts can have a tendency to slip off of the Hans. Butler is also selling a nice set of shoulder belts that are made just for use with the HANS. Not only are they narrower so they lay right in the groove of the HANS but they have a really trick tensioner that wont allow them to slip and get loose on impact. One thing to keep in mind is that their ability to do their job is based on the belts being tight. A lot of the sprint car guys are switching to these newer belts with their HANS.

 

I bought the R3 device based upon the fact that Force uses it. Most of us alcohol guys don't have a lot of experience with these things but I am guessing he has tried them all. The R3 is supposed to stay in place without the seatbelts, so one less complication. I haven't crashed with it on yet and hope to never crash with it but I am betting by next winter we all will have lots more experience with these things. I bought mine brand new off EBAY and saved a couple hundred bucks too. Dave

 

Who is this "force" person you speak of?

 

Hudson

Don I think you have been staying up to late again and cut back on the Silver-Bullets save some for the summer. Maybee we can get Big Mike to have one if we all sit on him. Jim

 

I wear the HANS, as well as have the Butler Lateral head Supports. I really like both and to be quite honest there is a great deal of peace of mind for under 2grand tied up between the two items. DT can take care of you on the HANS, and Jeff Garvin is your guy on the Butler pads. Good luck and get em coming quick as the season is just around the corner.

JJ

 

Truth About Belt Slip

BrianD posted "wider traditional belts can have a tendency to slip off of the HANS"

Please note that NASCAR has investigated over 2,000 crashes where the HANS Device was in use and they have never seen a belt come off in an impact.

What others won't tell you is that belts slip off drivers all the time -with or without any head and neck restraint- but this occurs after the initial impact. All belts stretch on impact, and once your body returns to its initial position the belts are no longer tight and can slip to the side, but they have done their job. Criticizing this aspect of how they work is like criticizing an airbag for breaking your finger after it saves your life.

Some people use this "fact" as evidence against HANS, but it's typical junk science - meaningless once the facts are understood.

CAVEAT - I work for HANS Performance Products, inventors and worldwide marketers of the HANS Device but I'm a racer too and have first hand experience with these products. If you have any questions, concerns or just want to talk please feel free to call me directly. Thank you.

Gary Milgrom
Chief Operating Officer
HANS Performance Products
gmilgrom@hansdevice.com
770-457-1046 Office
888-HANS-999 Toll Free
404-556-0118 Cell

 

i'm a fireman/paramedic and so i get to see lots of wrecks after the fact... that by no means makes me an expert. just know that i've seen a lot more crashed cars and the subsequently damaged people than the average person. i looked at both the R3/HANS and bought a HANS. here is why (don't know if this is related at all to the science of how a HANS works, just my observation)

the greater the force/impact in a crash=the great the force that is going to be needed to keep you in place (your body and your head). the belts are going to apply as much force to you as the crash causes as the whole mess decelerates you/the car/your head/etc. because the HANS uses the belts to apply force to control your head/helmet... the greater the forces trying to pull your head/neck=the great force the HANS has to control your helmet/head's deceleration.

i just don't see how an R3 accomplishes this... as it seems more independent and could possibly be inconsistent based on how tight the wrap around strap is secured.

like any of the safety equipment just having it does no good if there isn't a very good understanding of how it works and using it properly... i.e. i would be willing to bet 90% of the helmets sold are too big (especially if ordered from a catalog/internet/etc). but their probably vey comfortable. same goes with how most people fasten their racing harness. this is definitely true for most of the fire equipment.

sorry to ramble... sean

www.metalmafiaracing.com

 

This will be my second season with a HANS in our TAFC, and I just can't say enough about how much I like it! I always found that before I had the device my neck was pretty sore after a weekend of racing, now I'm not nearly as sore - I think that in itself proves something.

I really like it, never have had a problem getting in/out of the car, and after the first couple passes I didn't even notice it there. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

I have seen some of the dragster guys with older cars complain of the hans digging into there chest because of the way the seat is mounted/fabricated you go from kinda lying down and kicks up at your shoulders. The R3 solves this problem. I have no problems with my hans. Dont even know its there. Take in mind that the R3 puts you foward about 2 inches so keep in mind helmet clearance at roll bar etc.... Also my brother inlaw has the R3 and for a funny car its harder to get out with the extra length on your back. Its just driver preferance I guess

 

mikentracy: If the HANS Device digs into your chest it means you have the wrong angle for your application. It will still work just fine in an impact; but comfort is just as important. We sell 4 different angles of HANS Devices to match it perfectly to your car/seat/torso situation. Everyone is different.

For the final degree of comfort you can put padding under the HANS front legs and tip it rearward a few degrees. So if you have a 25 degree seat you can tip a Model 20 a few degrees rearward to make it a 24 or 25. You want to measure your seat behind your breastbone - most seats turn more vertical above that area.

Gary Milgrom
Chief Operating Officer
HANS Performance Products
888-HANS-999 Toll Free
404-556-0118 Cell

 

..............................sorry wrong spot..................

 

I never stated anything about my hans. I love it. Way better than the neck collor that gives you a neck cramp. I was just talking about some guys that where having trouble at the track last weekend. I to tryed to tell them that there are different angles but people are also on the R3 because of force. I personally dont like being 2 inches forward in the car. I actually fit better with the hans. Like I tell people I would not get rid of it for anything. I did home work before I spent a grand

 

Gary M., Thanks for the input. We found out several years ago that racers don't tighten their belts properly. A friend of mine took my digger for a ride: had loose belts; my wife stood in front of the car and wouldn't allow the burn out until she tightened his belts properly. He hit a piece of glass at 1200 ft and blew the right slick. 14 barrel rolls later he's at the edge of the woods lining the track. I undid his belts and helped him out-----unhurt. always did like the sound of that THANK YOU; he really meant it. Wear your belts as tight as you can. I can't move in my car and yet still manage to fall asleep occasionally waiting for the clean up in the right lane on a hot summer day. Hans or R3, your choice. I vote HANS. Just wear 'em right. Kinda like people with their child seats installed wrong---they don't work like that.

 

Good Advise

Listen to what Bob is telling you. I had a front row seat to the incident; I was in the other lane. When Walt crossed in front of me at about 180 or better and hit the guardrail, my first instinct was to jam the brakes a hard as possible. Well my car shot straight up in the air about 3 feet maybe higher, it bounced several more times before I got it under control and finally came to a stop. My belts had loosen up enough that the left shoulder harness had actually slipped off, and believe it or not as part of my routine I always gave my shoulder belts an extra tug before staging the car.
I’m not saying this to the drivers, most driver know how belts seem to loosen up some how. I am saying this to the people that help strap the driver in, especially in a Funny Car, unless the driver does it himself the crew usually doesn’t get a second chance to check the belts like they would in a dragster. Even if the driver complains, make sure the belts are good and tight, you’ll never regret it. Remember there's two kinds of drivers, one that has been in a crash, and one that will be in a crash.

 

I HAVE USED BOTH, THE TWO INCHES IS REALLY ONLY .5 INCHES....THE PAD THAT COMES WITH THE R3 TAKES UP THAT SPACE SO THAT YOU CANNOT FEAL THE DEVISE...I PERSONALLY LIKE THE R3 FOR GETTING IN AND OUT OF THE CAR..... THE NEW HYBRID, IS AN INPROVEMENT ON THE R3, WITH THE SIDE MOUNTS AND THE DOUBLE CHIN STRAP.. 1500 AND A 2 MONTH WAIT...

 

Ditto listen to Bob

bobbyblue - you are absolutely correct. You would not believe how much the belts stretch and the soft tissues of your body compress. People tell me "my belts are so tight I can't breathe therefore I am not moving in an accident" but that is wrong. Think of a sports car like a Porsche or Corvette with the shifter on the floor - we have seen helmets pierced by the shifter on belted drivers because the body moved so much. Think of a NASCAR driver belted into the left side of the car hitting the outside wall - we have seen helmets exit the RIGHT side (passenger side) window because everything stretched and moved so much.

Do your belts up tight and wear a head and neck restraint - HANS or the competition. Just do it!

 

R3 Saftey solutions

Just like the "Hustler" of slab town, I wear the R3 from Saftey Solutions. I have never liked the idea of something being strapped to me in the car just because it is already a cramped space, but I honestly would never again drive a funnycar or any other race car without the R3. It actually makes me MORE comfortable in the seat. I am not taking anything away from the HANS, many racers have them. Trevor (of saftey solutions) , chris of ISP and Brad and Mark from Nitro Radios RH2 were the first to go over some of the things with me of the R3 and the isp head supports that got my attention. Altough I have never had to rely on either of them, I feel 100% better knowing I have them in my car. Trevor was in san antonio for ther first IHRA race and was talking to me and the "Hustler" about some of the things he would like to have in the funnycars, and the next week he did just that with the Force cars. Thanks Trevor, Chris, Brad and mark for all your help. Andy Kelley