Look at ISP helmet/cage padding. If you dig up the John Force interview he said after adding ISP it was the first time he EVER saw a whole run without buzzing his head! Talk to Bob, he is a huge help. Charles put me onto them as well as seeing thier products in cars such as The Flower of Scotland and the Poteet and Main liner.
Oi, this padding of which you speak is it the stuff they list as "soft outer padding for 7800 series"? That sounds like what we's after if it works 'cause once we install the HANS we are going to be REALLY stretched for room and the leeway to avoid getting buzzed.
Jon the stuff you have to use, the SFI rated padding is about as hard as a composite cricket or hockey ball, if your helmet touches it it gets buzzed.That crap that looks like the floaty things for the wading pool is fine buzz wise but for a endless list of practical reasons( all the important ones) you can't use it.
How far from the bottom of the screen?....well because we are trying to get these things we build as low(total height) as possible everyone builds them with the minimal clearances, the maximum layback, the least height over whatever is front of you. So, by the very nature of what we do I think most people are looking out the bottom of the available "window"......What I didn't mention earlier is your eyes work best pointing straight ahead....as you get to looking further and further down they don't handle bumps and vibration as well, and they tire quicker too.At least you've outed yourself as human and sat up.....when people start talkin about face down driving I get queezy.
Our visibility is pretty good on the track, but there are lots of factors in there that can make it bad. Condensation , the angle of the sun, just being tired and having sat in the hot car for 45mins sweating , with a headache....jeez I dunno....that's why I mentioned the side view as calibration.....Something hit the visor of my helmet in 2010 that I reckon was a drop of salty water from somewhere at the front of the car that had been picked up by the air coming through the nose vent.....I could see the markers but I couldn't read the tach or the GPS. that is something I'm going to try and guard against...
Rod Hadfield was foolin with something and took his eyes of the track in his Commodore soon after leaving the line at Gairdner in 03 I think and looked up to see track markers very close to the right of the car so he started driftin over to the left .........after a bit he couldn't see the markers and realised that he was OFF the left side of the track and what he'd seen were the LHS markers.... I think the story then finishes with him showing all sides of the car shortly after.....others might know the story...
For the onlookers Joh refers to "Joh Bjelke Peterson" he would equate to a Southern Governor, google him and his quotes , he was a sworn enemy of the English language.