Are helmet inners fitted to drivers' heads?

[adrianjordan]

So random thought that occurred to me, whilst watching some F1 and seeing how much hair Lewis has to fit under his helmet but not specific to Lewis by any means.

Are F1 driver helmets, and I suppose helmets for other similar levels of motorsport fitted to each individual driver, or are they, as with helmets you or I could buy from a retailer, just generic sizes with maybe bits of adjustment in key places?

[jjn9128]

So random thought that occurred to me, whilst watching some F1 and seeing how much hair Lewis has to fit under his helmet but not specific to Lewis by any means.

Are F1 driver helmets, and I suppose helmets for other similar levels of motorsport fitted to each individual driver, or are they, as with helmets you or I could buy from a retailer, just generic sizes with maybe bits of adjustment in key places?

F1 driver helmets are not off the shelf, they're fully custom from 3d scans. Like tennis player's racquets they look like what you buy in the shop but aren't.

[adrianjordan]

So random thought that occurred to me, whilst watching some F1 and seeing how much hair Lewis has to fit under his helmet but not specific to Lewis by any means.

Are F1 driver helmets, and I suppose helmets for other similar levels of motorsport fitted to each individual driver, or are they, as with helmets you or I could buy from a retailer, just generic sizes with maybe bits of adjustment in key places?

F1 driver helmets are not off the shelf, they're fully custom from 3d scans. Like tennis player's racquets they look like what you buy in the shop but aren't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AURH1TV2m3k

Cool thanks. I'd upvote, but for some reason my phone never let's me

[Jolle]

In MotoGP (and I presume in F1 to) Arai famously doesn't do all this 3D scanning but is proud that the riders have the same material as you buy as a biker yourself. But, to be fair, their in-store service is like you are a MotoGP driver, fitting the checkpads and some of the inner lining exactly to your face.

By the way, they can't change the shape of the impact foam to any specific driver without homologating that exact fit. So, the whole 3D scan thing is a lot of marketing hoha. They can only change the inner lining a bit.

[Tommy Cookers]

.... By the way, they can't change the shape of the impact foam to any specific driver without homologating that exact fit. So, the whole 3D scan thing is a lot of marketing hoha. They can only change the inner lining a bit.

True ....

changing the shape of the impact foam can be done (like panel beating) - this is a good thing
changing only the shape of the inner lining gives a cosy feeling - but is a bad thing
because keeping the helmet properly located in a crash requires the impact foam to be the same shape as the head

remember 50% of purchases give too much impact foam - eg if there's 3 shell sizes but 5 or 6 'helmet' sizes
more like 100% in the EU of course - this wrongly (said the Snell Foundation) having 2 grades of impact foam
(btw the bigger EU shell increases fatigue and neck-twist effects - which their regulations arbitrarily ignore)

so there's no penalty in helmet efficacy (only benefit) from a bit of interior panel beating

[Jolle]

.... By the way, they can't change the shape of the impact foam to any specific driver without homologating that exact fit. So, the whole 3D scan thing is a lot of marketing hoha. They can only change the inner lining a bit.

True ....

changing the shape of the impact foam can be done (like panel beating) - this is a good thing
changing only the shape of the inner lining gives a cosy feeling - but is a bad thing
because keeping the helmet properly located in a crash requires the impact foam to be the same shape as the head

remember 50% of purchases give too much impact foam - eg if there's 3 shell sizes but 5 or 6 'helmet' sizes
more like 100% in the EU of course - this wrongly (said the Snell Foundation) having 2 grades of impact foam
(btw the bigger EU shell increases fatigue and neck-twist effects - which their regulations arbitrarily ignore)

so there's no penalty in helmet efficacy (only benefit) from a bit of interior panel beating

There is quite a lot of difference between ece and snell. Snell is more for the racetrack, high speed, etc. ECE is more towards European style of accidents which tend to be at much lower speed then either track or in the US. The primary target we Europeans hit with our head apart from flat surfaces are curbs. In which ECE excels in.

For the race track both are obsolete now with the new standerd of FIM.

Of course, although car and motorbike helmets look alike, the impact is very different. On a motorbike it’s the weight of your head that needs to be absorbed. In a car, with you being strapped in, it’s the impact of objects.

[adrianjordan]

.... By the way, they can't change the shape of the impact foam to any specific driver without homologating that exact fit. So, the whole 3D scan thing is a lot of marketing hoha. They can only change the inner lining a bit.

True ....

changing the shape of the impact foam can be done (like panel beating) - this is a good thing
changing only the shape of the inner lining gives a cosy feeling - but is a bad thing
because keeping the helmet properly located in a crash requires the impact foam to be the same shape as the head

remember 50% of purchases give too much impact foam - eg if there's 3 shell sizes but 5 or 6 'helmet' sizes
more like 100% in the EU of course - this wrongly (said the Snell Foundation) having 2 grades of impact foam
(btw the bigger EU shell increases fatigue and neck-twist effects - which their regulations arbitrarily ignore)

so there's no penalty in helmet efficacy (only benefit) from a bit of interior panel beating

There is quite a lot of difference between ece and snell. Snell is more for the racetrack, high speed, etc. ECE is more towards European style of accidents which tend to be at much lower speed then either track or in the US. The primary target we Europeans hit with our head apart from flat surfaces are curbs. In which ECE excels in.

For the race track both are obsolete now with the new standerd of FIM.

Of course, although car and motorbike helmets look alike, the impact is very different. On a motorbike it’s the weight of your head that needs to be absorbed. In a car, with you being strapped in, it’s the impact of objects.

Curbs, road surface and car bonnets are the most common things I deal with bikers heads having hit. (UK paramedic) and it STILL amazes me when you see people riding a motorbike without a helmet

[PlatinumZealot]

So random thought that occurred to me, whilst watching some F1 and seeing how much hair Lewis has to fit under his helmet but not specific to Lewis by any means.

Are F1 driver helmets, and I suppose helmets for other similar levels of motorsport fitted to each individual driver, or are they, as with helmets you or I could buy from a retailer, just generic sizes with maybe bits of adjustment in key places?

Sponge is in there. So there is a lot of tolerance built in. I expect there to be tightness and looseness limits.

The racing seat is different because its job is to rgidly support the driver from sliding around, so it cannot be a soft seat. The helmet on the other had is designed to move at some rate of acceleration in relation to the head.

[Jolle]

So random thought that occurred to me, whilst watching some F1 and seeing how much hair Lewis has to fit under his helmet but not specific to Lewis by any means.

Are F1 driver helmets, and I suppose helmets for other similar levels of motorsport fitted to each individual driver, or are they, as with helmets you or I could buy from a retailer, just generic sizes with maybe bits of adjustment in key places?

Sponge is in there. So there is a lot of tolerance built in. I expect there to be tightness and looseness limits.

The racing seat is different because its job is to rgidly support the driver from sliding around, so it cannot be a soft seat. The helmet on the other had is designed to move at some rate of acceleration in relation to the head.

A helmet has to be as snug as possible. The better it fits, the less you have trouble with a shaking helmet due to turbulence.

[karlar1]

So random thought that occurred to me, whilst watching some F1 and seeing how much hair Lewis has to fit under his helmet but not specific to Lewis by any means.

Are F1 driver helmets, and I suppose helmets for other similar levels of motorsport fitted to each individual driver, or are they, as with helmets you or I could buy from a retailer, just generic sizes with maybe bits of adjustment in key places?

As I know they make unique shape helmets for each driver.