Jimmydoorlocks wrote:(snip) One of the things we were trying out was our hans device which is the Zamp Z-Tech 6A. The consensus was that we kind of hated it. It seemed uncomfortable across the board and for me personally, it was so restrictive in head movement that I wasn't able to see my right side mirror. (snip)
I have that device also, and experienced the same issue seeing the right side mirror during my one experience at Lemons, which was practice on Friday, and on my first two stints which were on Saturday.
I loosened the strap. Just a little. Much better on Sunday, though still restrictive.
The SFI 38.1 standard test is a straight-on impact. It doesn't test off-angle impacts, and so has no data in that area. At least one manufacturer says they test that, but I didn't see a standard or test requirement. So I'm going to say these are only tested to a frontal impact requirement.
And that any other claims are "marketing".
If you're thinking about these restraining lateral movement - perhaps they do; perhaps not. I think they do - to some degree.
After my Saturday experience, I looked around at how other drivers were set up. I may have asked my teammates, maybe not. Regardless, I looked around quietly. One might say, surreptitiously.
Some drivers' restraints had the straps _very_ loose. I don't know if it was the unit, or an adjustment by someone; I don't know if they were shared units, or not.
Regardless, some drivers had just about full range-of-motion when getting into their cars, usually associated with those very loose straps.
I can easily make the argument that being able to see around you while driving, not even racing, can help avoid collisions. And that _that_ capability is critical for safety for all around.
A corollary premise is that severely restricted head movement might increase the chance of collision, and therefore injury.
Straps that are too loose may not protect the driver wearing the unit, but they would presumably give a greater range-of-motion for that driver to avoid a collision.
So: perhaps the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.
I kept mine fairly restrictive. And kept to the right as much as possible. And really didn't pass anyone.
I'm going to take a long, close, hard look at my H&NR before the next time I'm in track. It wasn't the best right out of the box. But it is adjustable to a very large degree. It just takes time.