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

Just wondering what everyone's recommendation on a neck restraint system is.  I had the HANS but didn't like it, no matter how tight I got my belts I could still pull it forward and push it back with my head.  The one I'm kind of eyeing is the "Zamp Z-Tech".  Anyone running one of them??

I purchased the Defender about a full year after it was on the market,  proubly not the lightest  device,  but,  ill fill you in on what i like and dislike,   the price was achieveable for a blue collar racer,(pardon pun)  the head rotation for viewing was pretty decent, the ancor system is a bit diffent  but effective, I clean frequently and keep lubed with wd40, the pins on the release need to be positioned correctly otherwise they cause some portion of drag and not so easy to release if your in a hurry, the "wings" are a bit too agressive for a 3" belt and require some filing for a easy  exit, it will commonly feel  like the belts are off your shoulder only to find out the belts did not leave your chest area,  and you will be abruptly sat back in your seat , this takes some carefull alterations to accomidate easy exit, the 2" belts work much better, im a typical hieght and weight , a friend of mine is much taller in the neck area and it fit him goofey, it just simply wouldnt work for him the back of the helmet would extend above the top of the device almost causeing a lock with his head pointed at his lap, his vission would become obstructed because of the (lack of) hieght of the device. the sternum takes some time to get use too but not completly uncomfortable, just different as to where your belts natrally slide together over your chest , its almost like it widens the spread across your chest , i have a buitler seat and didnt require any modifications but everyones torso area will be a different length, my old Kirkey seat required some modifications to accomidate a range of movement, the foam had to be cut out near my shoulders it was too low and caught the harness a bit, i just switched seats and never went back to the kirkey, overall,  with a few alterations it has been effective but took some patiance to get comfortable with , honestly i wouldnt race without it now, ive just gotten use to it and i think it benifits more than it retracts from safety, givin im a pretty common sized driver  5'-11" 180lbs  standard cars ect fit me well, i believe there has been a few updates to the device and is being sold as the nextgen now? or close relative? dont quote me , purely speculating . i havent seen too many other guys using the same device I have, the market has expoded with options to purchase keep asking around to get exactly what your looking for, or better yet, someone willing to let you try thiers before purchase.. you have obviously been through that already..   goodluck

I run a first generation Hybrid.  It's a little annoying getting used to buckling in and getting the clips done.  The big reason I like it is that there is no interference with the belts.  It does the job, and doesn't adversely affect me once I'm strapped in. I also tested it the second time I ran, augering into the concrete at  at probably 100.  I screwed up my lower back but I didn't have the 2 weeks of not turning my head that we all know and love.

  I bought the Zamp as an alternative to the much pricier others and also thought all the adjustability features for width,seat angle, etc. sounded good.  It's a nylon based item and a a little heavier at 4 lbs. than the rest.  The problems I found were that some of the adjustment screws didn't work properly and the way the back of the neck fit,no matter how muchadjusting I did, felt like having a medeivel torture device on and I couldn't imagine running a race with that type of distraction. It seemed like Zamp needs to address some of these concerns and it could be a good item but I returned it.

  My son wears a NexGen and loves it so guess I'll get one of those  even for $200 more. Only problems he's had is having to replace the quick releases after about 30 shows.