Hi there,
Just wondering if anyone out there has an opinion on using the S1 Motorsport seats with a HANS device. In light of my father’s accident last year, which nearly killed him, the grand or so spent on a HANS device will probably add a few years to my mother’s life in reduced worry every time I head out on the track.
Any opinions on this?
Cant see why not and the standard anti sub Shroth belts are also ok (now) to use with Hans I understand …
Would like confirmation of this - I guess MSAR or similar will know.
As far as I understand, the main reason You can’t use HANS with some seats is that there is not enough space for HANS device between the helmet and the headrest.
Esprit, do You feel comfortable in Your seat with HANS device?
Some S2 Exiges S260 have specific CF seats made for using HANS. It has a removable part “pillow” in the middle.
[quote=Esprit]Hi there,
Just wondering if anyone out there has an opinion on using the S1 Motorsport seats with a HANS device. In light of my father’s accident last year, which nearly killed him, the grand or so spent on a HANS device will probably add a few years to my mother’s life in reduced worry every time I head out on the track.
Any opinions on this? [/quote]
The issue is room and seat rake.Whilst HANS do a brilliant job in the preventing contracou brain injury , they are quite restricting and most of the seats I’ve tried that Lotus make ( or have made) do tend to move your head slightly forward , which makes it difficult to see out of the windscreen.
I was have been very interested in finding a HANS system I could live with, but have now given up, as I don’t want ONE odd seat in my Exige.
I suffered severe brain injury in an accident in 2004, an the impact damaged the frontal lobe, and also the rear brain when the head was thrown forward and then the brain sloshes around in the skull , and comes back hard.
Sufficient to say I have suffered life changing injuries , and it’s been a long haul, and it ain’t over yet!
My compromise , on my return to Motorsport last year was to use a Bell helmet which has buckles on the sides that link to a lightweight shoulder harness, the idea being that it stops the head becoming thrown forward to much , so it loses momentum.
it’s not HANS , but it’s going someway to help in the event of impact. 
Change the seat and get a HANS that fits you comfortably. Worth it for everyone concerned.
You could get the S2/replacement seat recovered to look like the S1, but why bother - its for driving now, you know it!
keep the old seat in the cupboard with the charcoal canister 
Maybe I’ll have to put this one in the too hard basket… buying a HANS in NZ is hard and I’d need to try one before I bought.
My next car will be much faster and will be designed for HANS from the outset.
Esprit - will check and get back to you as I have the seats and Hans device here.
With the latter it’s important to get the right version as they come with different angles depending on application.
HANS must be 20 degree for our cars, or am I wrong?
Karkusha, thats and not you and buddies in the Air Bag Test is it? 
Yeah 20 degrees for our cars.
A mate is gonna lend me his HANS (that he uses in his Elise and that saved his life when he rolled his Honda Civic at Thunderhill in California last year… so I can try it on for comfort and fit… then I can make my own call
Esprit, will be waiting for test results.
Yes Scoob
And Air Bag jumping will soon be the new international olimpic competition.
As promised I tried my 20deg. Hans device, which wasn’t particularly good for two reasons:
The top edge of the upright part of the device pushes against the headrest, forcing the Hans into the back of my neck and preventing it sitting properly over the shoulders;
The belts come through the seat at the wrong angle to hold the device securely.
It is possible to buy a 10 deg Hans which would address point 1) and it’s then possible that point 2) would be improved and a bit of adjustment/fiddling is all that’s needed.
I did say in my earlier posts that HANS devices struggle in a Lotus Elise/ or Exige because of pure room
It’s just the seat rake with a 20 deg. device - it would be worth trying the more upright 10 deg. Hans, which would probably have the right clearance for the seat.
I first wore one in GrandAm in the US and found it absolutely no problem to get one with
Hi George .I might not have an Exige anymore but I keep my eye on my old mates ( I do miss it)!! 
Just to let you know my experiance with HANS and Exige seats.
I had the one with 20 degrees . yes the seat headrest pushed my head forward a bit but a bit of firm upholstery foam in the back of the seat pushes your body slightly forward allowing head to move back.
The other prob is the width of the holes in the back of the seat which are too far apart. I got local upholsterer to open up the holes to take the belts. Quite cheap and looked the part.
this allowd the belts to sit properly on the shoulders/HANS.
It is essential to fit the belts at the right angle to prevent slippage and for comfort and correct protection.
I have spent a lot of time on my race car getting the HANS belts right and when done properly it way improves the comfort.
I do use HANS specifi belts with narrow shoulders.
Would DEFFO NOT use the single Shroth crotch strap you must go for a double.Unless you are changing sex!!
Spend as much as you can afford getting the best Hans with sliding straps and specific belts
PS Schroth will claim you dont need a crotch strap due to their “anti submarining” design.
Cheers Clive
We miss you too, Clive.
How about posting the circuits/dates of your 2012 races - would be splendiferous to catch up with you, mate 
Thanks for the input Clive, Will see how I get on. Your son in law is gonna lend me his HANS for a few days so I can try it on and see if I can make it work with the stock setup. Not interested in modding the car any more as I’ve gotta buy myself a garage so I can start the next Lotus, which WILL be
My car’s still mainly a road car and the occasional trackdayer, so don’t need to go to the Nth degree on everything
Oh and I’ll just leave this here… some footage from the weekend of a very poor and rusty driver and some very old tyres. Blew the alternator before I had a chance to go quickly!
Exige at Hampton Downs - Shakedown session 25-03-2012 - YouTube
Good driving George…looks as though you blitzed the whole field
I see NZ now has “pass anywhere” trackdat rules.!
That SOO- BAR- ROOO did not like you catching him!!
Do I gather you might be going to build a Lotus racer ??
Good Man Keep us posted
cheers
Well technically speaking, it’s pass only under acceleration (not under brakes, but then you get situations like that WRX where I was catching him massively under brakes and he then decided to let me through, and I was desperately trying to stay behind him so I didn’t break the “no passing under brakes” rule.
Still, NZ trackdays aren’t quite as well laid out in terms of rules as our UK counterparts
I was also in a fairly slow group in the end, there WERE some fast cars out there but you don’t get to seem them on that vid… as for the good driving, that was RUBBISH, I’m almost embarrassed to put it up! I had to though since it’s the only vid of the car going halfway quickly.
And yes, as soon as I’ve got my own place with my own garage I’m going to be building a dedicated race Motorsport Elise.