Patent Pending
This product is also dedicated to the memories of John Lingenfelter; racer, engineer and GM genius and to Darrel Russell, racer, gentleman and role model.
NOTE – Orange Aid has been SFI approved as of February, 2007.
A CONCEPT: When your head hits an object while at speed your head slows very quickly. However, the slowing also accelerates your brain within your skull. Your brain must go from the vehicle speed which it sees as ‘being still’, as the whole body is in motion, to a rapid movement within your skull as you stop. In essence your body is going say 190 mph and it stops rapidly from impact. Your brain and spine are still going 190 and they ‘move’ in the skull; as such, your brain is accelerating while it is decelerating- AND THIS IS THE PROBLEM. How do we better protect your brain and spine in near instant stops from extreme speed? Basically you have to do two things: you must absorb more G force and, more importantly, you must slow down the impact velocity.
NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION AND ORANGE AID:
Basically Newton’s Second Law of Motion states: the relationship between an objects mass (m), it’s acceleration (a) and the applied force (F) is F=ma; that is, force equals mass times acceleration. Force is a function of the square of the acceleration or velocity: double the speed is four times the force. HALF the acceleration/velocity/speed is one quarter the force!!
If you slow the acceleration you reduce the force. Newton’s Second Law is one of the principles for Orange Aid’s functioning as an improvement over existing padding. Orange Aid slows the acceleration of the mass (your head) and the force that is received by it is lessened. If we cut the acceleration time in half we reduce the force to your head and cervical spine by four fold.
SFI Foundation Standards:
SFI approved roll cage padding has traditionally been very dense in order to pass the required testing standard. It has always been the case where a pliable padding would not pass the stringent standards - until now.
The standard is as follows: on first impact the G’s force may not exceed 200 G’s and on a second and third it may not exceed 225 G’s In proper interpretation it means that the padding must absorb all force in excess of 200G’s for the first impact and it must absorb all G’s over 225 for the second and third impact. As such, theoretically, the driver is protected from absorbing deemed excess force by the padding. Also, the padding must take a temp of approximately 1450 degrees for 15 seconds without burning, running or melting.
There is also a “Severity Index” rating which is a number where a concussion or worse will occur. This number came out of a study from the information gathered by Wayne State University in their bio-engineering department.
That number is the Gadd Severity Index (GSI) which states that an ‘index’ of 1500 represents a concussion injury limit for distributed or non-contact blows to the head. Helmets are considered as ‘non-contact’ due to their protective nature.
The SFI Severity Index allows a maximum of 1250 as an acceptable Severity Index as this is below the 1500 number where concussion is thought to occur.
This is a strong standard and a good one. However, as mentioned, until now in order to pass the standard all roll cage padding has been very hard. In our personal opinion it is far too hard for protection due to the limited compression of the product structure. What good is padding if it feels as hard as the steel bar and gives/compresses precious little during impact? To protect padding must absorb excess G’s and SLOW down the head’s deceleration.
If the padding is basically very dense and hard with little or no ‘give’ how can it be of any aid to the driver? We think under the present configurations the padding gives minimal protection.
We became convinced that we could improve upon this by making a product that is yielding, one that compresses and slows down the head deceleration from an impact. To be direct: if you can make a softer padding that meets the standards you can slow the impact time and reduce the chance of head or Cervical spine damage: this was our goal in making Orange Aid.
But how to do it? Sounds easy doesn’t it; just get something softer that will do these things and you have a product.
To be direct, it is just that easy and exactly that hard!
Trust us, if it was easy then you would already have softer, more compliant, roll cage padding.
So where is it?
It has taken us over three years to develop a roll cage padding that is relatively soft and complies with SFI testing standards.
After seven generations of failure we have developed a unique, proprietary polymer *it is made exclusively for St. Barsabas* that passes SFI but yields in a fashion similar to a wrestling mat. What this means in straight language is that it ‘gives’ in a slower fashion over the one inch thickness of the padding. More importantly, it absorbs the energy over a longer period; that is, it slows the energy absorption process and the driver has a greater chance of remaining both conscious and; hopefully, unhurt. It is simply applied Newtonian physics.
If you go into a ‘search engine’ on a computer and enter ‘Head Trauma Cervical Spine Trauma’ or ‘Head Trauma Associated Cervical Spine Trauma’ you will find many articles correlating breaking you neck from impacting your head. Hmm, didn’t realize that one did you? In short, the faster the head stops the higher the chance of breaking your neck and or spinal cord. Neither result is good.
As such, if you can absorb the same G-forces but absorb them with a less dense material, one that yields and absorbs energy, you will decrease chances of head and spine trauma.
That is why we developed Orange Aid. It is our hope to lessen injuries due to our unique compression properties.
So just what were the test results for Orange Aid in the SFI testing?
EXCELLENT QUESTION! We doubt you will see others publish their results. What follows is the WORST & BEST case for the G-force and Severity Indexes of the three samples tested. The testing is done at ambient temperatures and at elevated temperatures both set by SFI.
WORST CASE TEST RESULTS
| First Impact: | Peak G 169 |
Severity Index 819 |
|---|---|---|
| Second Impact: | Peak G 198 |
Severity Index 1027 |
| Third Impact: | Peak G 199 |
Severity Index 1033 |
| First Impact: | Peak G 193 | Severity Index 986 |
|---|---|---|
| Second Impact: | Peak G 220 | Severity Index 1172 |
| Third Impact: | Peak G 223 | Severity Index 1202 |
BEST CASE TEST RESULTS
| First Impact: | Peak G 163 | Severity Index 797 |
|---|---|---|
| Second Impact: | Peak G 186 | Severity Index 960 |
| Third Impact: | Peak G 194 | Severity Index 1001 |
| First Impact: | Peak G 180 | Severity Index 913 |
|---|---|---|
| Second Impact: | Peak G 209 | Severity Index 1102 |
| Third Impact: | Peak G 209.8 | Severity Index 1111 |
As you can see, Orange Aid protects you in every aspect of the G force attenuation testing: and it has a severity index at all times well below the 1500 danger level and below the SFI mandate of 1250.
There is one last item to mention for safety that is not often reported and that is the "spike time" or the actual deceleration time for the G absorption. Most spike times are in the 3-6ms. range, all of Orange Aid's spike times were in the 11-12 ms. range which means your brain and spine have twice as long to slow down. (Remember Newton's 2nd Law of Physics: F=ma) Now ask yourself the following: do I want my brain to be accelerated *stopped* quickly (remember a quick stop accelerates the brain in the skull and stops it) or do I want it to be accelerated and stopped slower? F=ma and we are reducing the 'a' portion of the equation.
You may ask yourself what we know about cervical spines etc. The x-ray photos below are of my cervical spine; it has been broken, instrumented and fused on four levels. I may not know much medically but I sure know as much as anyone subjectively from personal experience. As such, a softer compliant SFI padding is also very important to me because - I STILL RACE.
So how did we do it? First we had to go to a particular polymer maker who specializes in non-industrial applications and we started our testing. Through work with their engineers and through lots of money and angst we were able to develop "Orange Aid" and we have a Patent Pending status on this product.
So how hard is Orange Aid? Good question.
The durometer of the outside skin is approximately 70A which is dense but that is just the skin which is between 1.5 and 2.0mm. in thickness. The durometer of the foam is approximately 25A which is similar to a wrestling mat. Orange Aid has a total thickness of one inch.
For those not familiar with this durometer of material it means that on a typical racing day you can take your thumb and compress the padding; that is to say, you can feel it yield under pressure from your thumb. You can not do this with the present SFI padding, it is that simple.
So what does this look like and what will it fit?
Orange Aid will fit tubing from 1.5" to 1.75" OD.
Weight: a three foot stick is approximately 1.25lbs.
Note: We can blow Orange Aid to a density that would double the G capability and half the severity index. However, to do this it will be hard and not pliable. Should you require this simply contact us.
However, where limbs are concerned they will need a compressible padding and this you should understand
Is Orange Aid expensive?
Orange Aid is expensive. The cost is $60.00 per three foot stick. Frankly, that is as much as three to four times as expensive as some of the hard padding. Most applications will require less than two sticks.
Perspective time: what is the cost of a head or spine trauma? What is the value of negating or lessening trauma to your head and spine? Exactly, now you get the idea. The truism, "you get what you pay for" is very applicable in this matter.
I think the perspective was best put to me by a pro racer who travels at speeds over 300 mph, "It's my life and there is no cost that is too much to help save it."
So now it is decision time - - what is the value of lessening the chance of damaging your head or spine?
Will Orange Aid prevent all head and spine injuries? NO. There is no product that can do this in a racing application. Can Orange Aid lessen the severity of most trauma? YES. And that is why we developed it; you see we personally know spine trauma ourselves and we knew that the existing products could be improved upon.
Two last things: our Wheeleze and our supercharger seals are Orange. I suppose the color is kind of a trade mark for our products. Don't worry as Orange Aid will be a "dirty or muted orange". If you know our Wheeleze or our 14-71 seals then you know how much better they are then what is available. We make things better or we wonít make them at all.
All of our products are American made and meet the following international and national standards for production quality: ISO 9001: 2000, ANAB Accredited and BSI registered.
This means that you can count on consistency of quality and uniformity - - bottom line you can trust that you are getting the best production standards in the products we make.
As you can see, Orange Aid protects you in every aspect of the G force attenuation testing: and it has a severity index at all times well below the 1500 danger level and below the SFI new mandate of 1250.
Most importantly, it "gives" and slows down your impact. Time is precious in impact situations.
Options: One size and one color
Orange Aid will be available in a muted orange color as standard. However, flat black, may be ordered in large quantities at extra cost.
What follows is a disclaimer because the attorneys say we have to do this: being a racing only product Orange Aid claims to be made to exacting standards and there is no warranty or guarantee of any nature - - but that is racing isn't it?
What we do guarantee is that you will have a padding that will yield to pressure, meet all SFI standards and, to our understanding, is the best product of its type on the planet.
BE SAFE !!
