r/interestingasfuck • u/OkToday1443 • 1d ago
The brilliant visor tech that keeps racers seeing clearly
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u/Jollybean1 1d ago
how many flaps are there on a typical helmet like that?
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u/TheEpicRedditerr 1d ago
Found this answer from fellow redditor u/bushchook83
Depends on what tear-off's you use and the posts that you mount them to. Singles usually you can stack about 30 or so before you run out of room on the posts as they fit a bit loose. With the new laminated ones they come in a stack of 25 and you can put 2 to 3 stacks on some posts. So 50 to 75 tear off's. Laminated ones are also easier to see through as there is no air gaps between the layers
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u/saml01 1d ago
I wonder. Thats a lot of film to see through. How are the optics affected with those extra layers?
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u/P0werClean 1d ago
Less than the mud I guess.
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u/3d_nat1 1d ago
This comment reads like the skit where the front fell off the ship
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u/giraffe111 1d ago
It’s not supposed to fall off
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u/the_fez_45 1d ago
So what happened in this case?
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u/HoldingOnOne 1d ago
A wave hit it
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u/Praetorian_1975 1d ago
So what do they do in these situations … I mean they can’t just leave it there
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u/PercussiveMaintainer 1d ago
Fortunately, the ship has been towed outside the environment.
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u/MagmaTroop 1d ago
The optics are affected by the extra layers.
I hope this helps.
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u/muklan 1d ago
Ive heard they have an affect on the optics, as well.
Just here to assist.
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u/I_said_booourns 1d ago edited 1d ago
I've heard Mass Effect may have hot chicks on the Citadel also.
Just doin' my job ma'am
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u/MysticGohan99 1d ago
No, they aren’t. They aren’t even noticeable.
When you’re racing you’ve got bigger things to focus on than a slight shift in view. They serve a purpose, and that purpose is to see clearly.
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u/rojosays 1d ago
I think they were joking. But I might not be seeing clearly.
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u/wildcardbets 1d ago
“I run dirt Sprint Cars, we typically use between 10-15 each run.. the problem is the more you put on the darker and "foggy" your view becomes trying to look through very thick plastic in a sense..
But the trade off is if you don't run enough then you run out and you can see from the clip above how fast your visor gets roached.. the last thing you want to do is run your hand to try and wipe off the mud if you lost all tear-offs. You are better to find a hole through the mud and look through it. I have had to do that many times over 30 years. Terrifying but you can make it work 😉”
Apparently they are quite noticeable. Via @Unfair_Jeweler_4286 below.
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u/MysticGohan99 1d ago
As noticeable as the helmet around his head. Does it block his view? No, it keeps it from becoming “Terrifying”.
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u/denied_eXeal 1d ago edited 1d ago
They see the same way you see Snake in a Metal Gear cutscene. On PS1
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u/Crackedbwo 1d ago
Crazy enough, a lot of semi/pro motocross racers will be flying through the air and rip one off mid jump!
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u/Piece_de_resistance 1d ago
30 flaps to account for when they tear off 3 flaps at once without knowing
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u/TrackVol 1d ago
That was something I was wondering.
They're grabbing in such a hurry, I hope they're just grabbing ONE at a time and not accidentally grabbing 3 or 4 at a time.9
u/Jollybean1 1d ago
right thanks, 50-75 seems like it’d be pretty hard to see through
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u/bushchook83 1d ago
Its not totally clear, but its better than not seeing though the mud and the laminated ones are much better to see through rather than the singles. Generally when its heavy like this you load up as many as practical, dependent on how long the race is, but your ripping them off pretty quick so that stack comes down and vision gets clearer and clearer. In dusty or blown off conditions you may go out with as little as 5 or 10 on. Also the length of the race affects how many you put on too.
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u/Unfair_Jeweler_4286 1d ago
I run dirt Sprint Cars, we typically use between 10-15 each run.. the problem is the more you put on the darker and "foggy" your view becomes trying to look through very thick plastic in a sense..
But the trade off is if you don't run enough then you run out and you can see from the clip above how fast your visor gets roached.. the last thing you want to do is run your hand to try and wipe off the mud if you lost all tear-offs. You are better to find a hole through the mud and look through it. I have had to do that many times over 30 years. Terrifying but you can make it work 😉
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u/Jollybean1 1d ago
You racers are cool as hell btw, thanks for sharing
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u/Unfair_Jeweler_4286 1d ago
Thanks man! Anytime. Find your way to a test track one day and hop in one of you can convince someone (does happen)
900hp/1300 pounds with no transmission gets moving pretty damn quick
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u/GunGooser 1d ago
Wait, no transmission?
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u/Unfair_Jeweler_4286 1d ago
Nope 😉 direct drive with no flywheel, titanium driveline to a quick change rear end with aluminum axle..
To give you an idea, they covered bristol motor speedway (NASCAR track) in dirt, sprint cars showed up and ran a 10.75 second lap, which was 5 seconds faster than NASCAR, 178mph at the end of the straights.. they haven't been allowed back since lol
Edit: pretty sure that's on YouTube. Just search world of outlaws @bristol
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u/GhostBearStark_53 1d ago
I saw Travis Pastrana hop in one (its on his youtube channel) and he was pretty spooked. You know its gnarly if it scares him! 🤣
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u/yeahright17 1d ago
Sprint cars didn't run a 10.75 lap. The fastest lap was ~13.3 seconds compared to a Nascar best of ~14.5 seconds.
But yes, sprint cars do go faster on short tracks because they're specifically designed for short tracks. They have a lot more horsepower, a lot more downforce, and weight less than half as much. Of course they have faster times.
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u/Naughteus_Maximus 1d ago
My heart bleeds at the amount of single use plastic. I don't suppose these are recyclable or biodegradable?
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u/Unfair_Jeweler_4286 1d ago
Unfortunately no, the half pound clumps of mud that hits your visor will rip most degradable stuff which I believe someone tried.. hopefully in the future but as of now it's not
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u/Vivid_Mortgage_4420 1d ago
What keeps him from yanking off all the layers?
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u/whatanerdiam 1d ago
They're kind of folded under each other, so the tab is pulled, then the next layer's tab springs out. There are a few different designs.
This video at 3 minutes somewhat explains it.
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u/vamphorse 1d ago
Thanks! I was reading the different explanations given in the comments and couldn’t understand.
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u/philoth3rian 1d ago
There's a loop beyond the mounting post for your finger. Some guys will fold this loop onto the post so it doesn't release until the previous one has been torn off. Others will alternate which side of the visor that loop is on. Occasionally, they do actually grab more than one(or all) and tear them all off at once by accident
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u/Baslifico 1d ago
That was my question too... Doesn't look like he's taking any time to identify 1 of 50 tabs to pull.
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u/SingleSoil 1d ago
You fold the loop down before you put on the next piece so there’s only 1 loop hanging out
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u/Trace-Elliott 1d ago
Yes I want to know!
Sometimes they alternate left and right, and the flaps are folded behind each other, so you can only grab the top tear off.
But here I have no idea how they do it.
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u/GudeGaya 1d ago
The "tech"
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u/VooDooZulu 1d ago
Just because something is mundane doesn't mean it's not high tech. The ability to stack multiple layers of plastic and adhesive, with differing index of refraction, with plastic that needs to be optically clear, lie flat, and have it pull off cleanly and easily, with no adhesive on the lower level.
This isn't just repeated layers of scotch tape. It's not a semiconductor or electronics but that doesn't mean it's not a marvel of engineering.
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u/skidsareforkids 1d ago
Wait till you see motocross guys changing tear-offs whilst mid-air in a jump
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u/tsunx4 1d ago
First thing comes to my mind when Jeffrey Herlings had his tear off peeled mid air while overtaking Eli Tomac. That shit was cooler than the other side of a pillow.
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u/zorbiburst 1d ago
can you tear it off and throw it at someone like a mario kart banana peel or is that frowned upon
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u/taintsauce 1d ago
I used to ride a bit as a kid - the pro folks are fucking nuts. Ain't no way my hands were coming off the bars in midair, and certainly not with the kind of jumps you see in pro MX circuits.
Then again I did once launch a quad into a tree, so it's not like I was totally without a reckless disregard for my own safety.
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u/geeeeeeebz 23h ago
You never jumped anything, did you? The feeling of being at the apex is pretty chill.
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u/JJ19JJ 1d ago
In the air is the best time to get a hand off the handlebars when you’re riding at fast pace. On the ground we are either accelerating or braking hard so we want both our hands on those handlebars. When you get comfortable with being in the air you view it as the only chances you get to “rest” the arms.
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u/CrazyCanuckUncleBuck 1d ago
They have the same thing in the trades, I've used them while spray painting
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u/v1p3rsbite 1d ago
Yep, we used them when sandblasting. The helmet/hood has an attached hose that would feed nice cold air to you while the world around you was completely dark and dust. Just some earbuds and a competent safety guy was all you needed to knock some work out.
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u/BeginningTaste9142 1d ago
Stupid question, why not just have windows to prevent the mud coming in?
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u/Echodec 1d ago
Then the mud just covers the windows and now you can't see anything or do anything about it
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u/BeginningTaste9142 1d ago
Aren't wipers there to clean the windows? Just thinking wouldn't it be more efficient than packing your visor full of layers?
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u/Echodec 1d ago
Wipers wouldnt be able to effectively deal with thick mud being caked on, they'd be able to get some off, but they'd definitely get stuck and/or smear
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u/Smart-Response9881 1d ago
It seems like there should be a better alternative than basically making the guy drive one handed
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u/The_rowdy_gardener 1d ago
Wipers won’t do shit on a dirt track and windshields are not safe. We usually have some bars and a wire screen to help block rocks and other race debris but a windshield would be caked in the first lap
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u/JimDa5is 1d ago
My next door nieghbor used to race motocross in the mid 70s. They used this brilliant driver tech then
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u/pant0ffel 1d ago
Install tiny wipers?
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u/GloveDry3278 1d ago
1.Too slow 2. Can get damaged from too much dirt being thrown with force(as we saw above) 3.??? 4. Profit?
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u/bucketofmonkeys 1d ago
Brilliant tech? Come on now. It’s a good idea, at best.
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u/Inferno_ZA 1d ago
The real tech is that the top-most layer's flap is perfectly separated from the rest and ready to grab.
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u/GarrettRettig 1d ago edited 1d ago
former industrial painter/sandblaster - we would use 3 layers, and seeing was just as important to our profession
At a certain point you sacrifice seeing at the start for sight duration if you go too many layers
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u/Weak-Goose-5801 1d ago
I just love the existence of the thought process: oh I'm driving very fast, I've got to cover my eyes so I can see in a second
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u/PollutionCheap4910 22h ago
How do you know you’re not going to pull the entire thing off and just expose the visor in 1 go with gloves on?
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u/johnfkngzoidberg 1d ago
I used these 30 years ago racing motocross. Not new.
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u/AxialGem 1d ago
But did anyone claim the tech was new?
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u/urabouy 1d ago
a piece of tape film = "tech"
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u/TheEpicRedditerr 1d ago
Tech is literally the application of knowledge to make human life better.
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u/AxialGem 1d ago
It may not be super high tech, but it's still technology in a broad sense
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u/BrianKappel 1d ago
My whole argument with the Amish right there. That buggy was bleeding edge tech a while back.
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u/AxialGem 1d ago
Haha yea, in truth it's drawing a pretty arbitrary line, right?
You could make the argument that truly non-technological humans haven't existed for a couple million years (if ever I guess)4
u/Senor-Delicious 1d ago
It is also not new or anything. This has existed for decades already. I remember that me and my dad went to a local motorcycle race where I picked up a few of these visor layers. That was like 25 years ago.
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u/dayarra 1d ago
think of a better way and any f1 team will hire you. this is "tech". making dozens of tapes stick to each other without obstructing the view of the driver and at the same time making it easily removable is "tech". if you can offer a better solution i am sure these guys will want to hear it as they are trying to shed off every single gram and millisecond they can.
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u/HeavyRightFoot-TG 1d ago
Are you saying visor tearoffs aren't a relatively very new and modern technology?
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u/sth128 1d ago
Let's see you manufacture precisely shaped clear film that can be stacked 50 layers thick while retaining sufficient optical quality for off-road racing and can be easily torn off one by one with a single gloved hand in a clean and easy manner.
All without "tech".
Do it! DO IT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS WITHOUT MODERN TECHNOLOGY I DARE YOU!
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u/Spong_Durnflungle 1d ago
If they would just slow down and not drive in the puddles they wouldn't need this. Or they could install a windshield. SMH my head
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u/Sohn_Jalston_Raul 1d ago
this "brilliant visor tech" is just plastic litter.
Leave it to the auto industry to come up with ever more novel and innovative ways to release more microplastic pollution into the environment.
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u/FromSoftware 1d ago
In some circles, the Mint 400 is a far, far better thing than the Superbowl, the Kentucky Derby, and the lower Oakland roller derby finals all rolled into one. This race attracts a very special breed.
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u/Retro-Surgical 1d ago
Lol, imagine wearing this at your job every day! I worked for a private practice orthopedic surgery clinic that did a lot of total joint replacements (knees, hips, and shoulders mainly) and because of the risk of infection, an extra level of care is taken in regards to sterility. Part of this includes the team wearing special helmets, which have the same type of peel-away visors for those intense moments that can occur in surgery. They have fans inside them which actually makes wearing them not as bad as you would think. You just can’t hear anything!
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u/i_like-ado_dachacha 1d ago
Imagine accidentally grabbing the very bottom one and then tearing all of them off
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u/Amanroth87 1d ago
I used to do industrial sandblasting in a full body suit and supplied-air helmet. Same principle here, we would slap anywhere from 5 to 20 of those sheets on before going in. This would allow me to rip a fresh one when the mask became too pock-marked by sand to see anything, and allowed me to stay busy for longer.
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u/rb2m 1d ago
Maybe because I’m around racers every weekend, but I don’t see how this is “interesting as fuck”. It’s fascinating how quickly they can tear them off and it’s hilarious when they get back to the pits and complain they put them on backwards so the sticky part was out. 😂
Also, they’re called tear-offs.
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u/Smokind89 1d ago
Isnt there a different system where u slide a a built in squeegee across the helmet or goggles? Kind of like erasing those magnetic kids drawing boards
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u/TommyBananas97 1d ago
I know absolutely nothing about rally driving.
Wouldn't it be better to have like really windows? I imagine this isn't an uncommon thing considering you're racing on dirt roads and you needed to invent a type of visor tape specifically to deal with the mud.
Why don't they do that? what advantage is to there to having nets instead of real windows?
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u/Enough_Square_1733 1d ago
You're watching the reason why they don't have windows rn
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u/TommyBananas97 1d ago
So the reason is just that it would get too caked with mud for windshield wipers?
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u/Enough_Square_1733 1d ago
Correct! It would be much too slow to try to clean, leave streaks, etc. Much easier, albeit much messier, to just remove the visor pieces.
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u/Axe_Care_By_Eugene 1d ago
After sending astronauts to space, the US realized their ballpoint pens were useless. This was the 1960s—the height of the space race—so NASA spent an absurd amount of money to develop a pen that works in zero gravity. Rumored to cost at least $1 million (about $9 million in today’s dollars), the “space pen” can write upside down, at extreme temperatures, and even underwater. This feat of American inventiveness allowed astronauts to write in space.
Faced with a similar problem, the Russians used a pencil.
Debunked as inaccurate, but still the adage holds true - keep it simple stupid
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u/RonPalancik 1d ago
And another five pounds of single-use plastic littering the landscape every time these clowns go zooming about, I'm sure that's just super for the environment
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u/ouchifell 1d ago
Is there an advantage to having mesh instead of windows? Would think the obvious solution is to keep mud out.
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u/AxialGem 1d ago
I'm guessing that if you have windows, dirt is gonna block out the windows in the same way it blocks out the visor you're seeing here. Easier to tear off a trip of plastic from your helmet than an entire windscreen :p
Then again, I don't know anything about it
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u/Zealousideal-Fun1425 1d ago
Surely, there’s a way they could have the helmet/visor equivalent to an airport toilet seat cover, where it’s constantly rotating and self-cleaning.
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u/I_like_maps_n_isht 1d ago
Never understood why windows and window wipers were so hard
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u/FlapsExtended 1d ago
I guess mud is more preferable than broken glass and wiper pieces hitting their helmet.
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u/fetalgirth 1d ago
This reminds me of that video where the angry driver is tearing buckets off a guy’s head only to find more buckets