headrest seat plugs for when you remove the headrest

[Miker7]

I've had to remove the headrest as it interferes with my fia roll bar when I push the seat back. I didn't like the seat being open to the elements. Having searched and found nothing I've made a "plug" to go in the hole.

Perhaps over kill but it's 5cm deep, I didn't want it falling out with enthusiastic driving.

Is this of interest to anyone else?

[Wrightpayne]

Does anyone sit in the seat?

If yes it could be a very bad idea removing the headrest. In an accident it will stop whiplash and head contact with FIA bar. Even with a helmet on the bar would need some sort of approved padding.

Some people have added headrests directly to the FIA bar instead of the seat mounted one.

Edited March 30 by Wrightpayne

[John Vine]

Neat. 

Yes, I could be interested.  

PS: I'm always solo, and I remove my pax headrest to improve sightlines to the left.

JV

[Miker7]

Replacement fia bar mounted headrest in production based on the internals of the removed headrest.

(In-between COVID induced rest - I'm not good at doing nothing)

[Jonathan Kay]

1 hour ago, Wrightpayne said:

Does anyone sit in the seat?

If yes it could be a very bad idea removing the headrest. In an accident it will stop whiplash and head contact with FIA bar. Even with a helmet on the bar would need some sort of approved padding.

Some people have added headrests directly to the FIA bar instead of the seat mounted one.

Thankyou for raising this. Many of us call these headrests but of course they're restraints to prevent overextension of the neck in impacts.

Sharing solutions sounds smart.

Jonathan

[Miker7]

Until I looked at the internals of the current head rest /restraint I was very interested and concerned over the foam used.  I'm not now.

As the picture shows it's not very thick (25mm) and goes straight onto a metal plate (which isn't going to deform). The only thing that may deform is the headrest mounting in the seat which I've not looked at. The foam appears identical to general seating foam. It doesn't have progressive give due to different types of foam, just thickness.

My initial head rest is a plate mounted solidly to the bar, and padded with kneeling foam that has a hollow core. The cable ties were just for checking, it's now securely stuck. Version two might use a mixture of kneeling foam and seating foam to have a more progressive "give". Along with the bolts trimmed to a more appropriate length.

[CAT170]

A few potential issues with your modification which might relate to unlikely scenarios in an impact. 

If your head strikes the foam/plate above or below the centre line, the plate could twist around the roll bar and hit your neck or head at an angle

If your car rolls over or you have an impact whereby your head is above, below or either side of the plate edge it will directly hit it at an angle

If your head hits the corners of your plate, it is much sharper than the Caterham design which has very large chamfers.

 

These are just a few points which are completely resolved in the original Caterham design, which is not brilliant either. The race seats with built in restraints might be a better solution for you.

[Miker7]

Interesting points to think about, thank you.

My plate is larger than the fia plate caterham sell & positioned so my head hits the middle - although in a cash I appreciate my head/ body could move so I might hit it elsewhere. The concern then would be if I hit it higher or lower causing the twist.

I've written this response a few times as I've thought it through.

The plate can only twist to align to my head / neck shape as my head and neck are attached (currently 😀). This means the plate can't twist so I have a sharp edge towards me on the first impact. On the second impact it's possible for to my body to move so the plate isn't  "square" to my body. Is it possible for it to move so much I've got an "edge" towards my body? I don't think so but I want to think about that some more.

Regarding the caterham chamfers, they're not that large, it's 1.5mm (guess) steel folded 90 degrees - so quite an edge. The advantage is the foam is larger which I'll look to review on my approach.