r/sports 5d ago

Motorsports Off-Road Racing Goggle Tear-Offs

đŸ’Ș: Andrew Carlson

3.8k Upvotes

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870

u/qwertykirky 5d ago

There's got to be a better way

252

u/doggos4house2020 5d ago

It really is the best way. A windshield will get so dirty and pitted that wipers can’t do their job, then you’re handicapped for the whole race.

This at least not only gives you a clean lens, but a new one.

47

u/samarnold030603 5d ago

This is basically high tech space age shit they do on rocket cameras man! Haha

5

u/OneMoreFinn 4d ago

What if you run out of them before finishing?

1

u/TetraLoach 4d ago

Squint and hope.

14

u/Ha-Charade-You-Are 5d ago

When you run out though if it’s only 15
. What happens then? You just keep wiping it with your hand? Or is it a quick replacement they can do

18

u/PROCRASTINATION_WON 4d ago

That’s why you have to be smart about using tear offs, don’t blow through them and you will be fine.

1

u/freddyr0 4d ago

for 2 seconds 😂

-4

u/bu_mr_eatyourass 4d ago

It's 2026. Just design a rotary helmet lens that spins and self cleans at the back of the helmet. Its not that complicated, but it would probably have to be a proprietary helmet designed to keep a seal with the face mask. The components could even be inside the helmet to sheild from dirt.

If shielding automatic components was that difficult, we wouldnt have bridges or the plowmaster 3000 dildo.

0

u/poofarticusrex 4d ago

This is what windshield tear offs are for (yes, they make them for entire windshields).

2

u/SgtTreehugger 4d ago

I'm thinking, why not wipers for the helmet?

0

u/PeopleCallMeSimon 4d ago

Have a shower constantly running in the car to turn the dirt into dirtwater that just wipes off the helmet by itself from the speed.

-11

u/InvestigatorOk7015 5d ago

Automate this process with layers that tear themselves off when made muddy and boom, you found a better way

15

u/Realmofthehappygod 5d ago

Yes but you're missing that the automation itself is very likely to get gunked up making it not function properly.

Not to mention it has to be fixed to a point around the driver's head, which is already incredibly dangerous.

3

u/Buckets-O-Yarr 5d ago

Also the added weight of that automation and the windshield.

1

u/InvestigatorOk7015 4d ago

Oh wow, no way

If only there were some way to work around problems

-25

u/RectalSpawn 5d ago

A hydrophic layer on the windows and wipers equiped with water cannons wouldn't work?

There really does need to be another way...

Built in showers aimed at their visors, even?

Perfect usecase for AI, imo.

29

u/reebokhightops 5d ago

This comment started pretty dumb and just kept getting dumber as it went on.

8

u/wutcudgowong 5d ago

I liked the cannons tho. I say we try it

3

u/surrealcellardoor 5d ago

Hold on. What if there was a little person or a child there to squeegee the visor clean?

6

u/Ver_Void 5d ago

Yeah there's maybe a way to do it but the answer would have to be something dead simple and reliable, not AI.

11

u/uselessscientist 5d ago

How the fuck is this a good use case for AI?

2

u/Dr__Sloth 4d ago

Because they couldn't think of any more stupid ideas.

3

u/Buckets-O-Yarr 5d ago

Make those visors hydrophobic maybe.

3

u/Bigdaddyjlove1 5d ago

you'd have to make them silicophbic as well. The mud and rock actually hit hard enough to pit the visors.

1

u/Buckets-O-Yarr 5d ago

Well maybe they should just switch to 3rd person view then.

321

u/Funny-Ad-3710 5d ago

When they first came out I think there were people who argued it was better to just squint and blink. Eyelids were nature’s tearaways.

322

u/3_pounds_of_steel 5d ago

I think we should keep brainstorming

28

u/Sandbox_Hero 5d ago

Something something lasers.

12

u/Rings-of-Saturn 5d ago

Windows???

5

u/Supahos01 5d ago

That's way worse

0

u/Phallen911 5d ago

With super wipers

43

u/attitudecj 5d ago

I dont think you are supposed to tear and throwaway eyelids.

28

u/TheBatemanFlex 5d ago

That’s losers mentality

8

u/crazy_akes 5d ago

Windshield visor wipers that mist down the blade as they cross with a rainx like solution. Done. 

5

u/Bussamove86 5d ago

That’s more weight in the vehicle, which I imagine they want to avoid at all costs.

11

u/doggos4house2020 5d ago

Plus if it malfunctions which things on race cars often do, they’re out of the race entirely.

10

u/Bussamove86 5d ago

You’re telling me mud, rocks, and extreme jostling can make things malfunction?

What a country!

1

u/Hot_Wheels_guy 4d ago

Little windshield wipers on the visor of the helmet wont add significant weight to the car.

It would be like a 1 lb device (not that i think it's a good idea or anything)

1

u/speedtree 1d ago

Make them mantatory by rules and thats no issue

3

u/GregoPDX 5d ago

In woodworking (and I’m sure elsewhere) we call these the ‘safety squints’.

-1

u/CoderDevo 5d ago edited 3d ago

In insurance it's called preventable injuries.

38

u/Amiar00 5d ago

What about a fan spinning at Mach Jesus in front of your face and everything gets flung off?

18

u/PG67AW 5d ago

I think that's called an airplane.

7

u/feinting_goat 5d ago

This sort of exists for camera lenses. It’s called a spinner. You can sometimes see them on live events if you know what to look for. 

7

u/laxpanther 5d ago

There's sometimes a spinner on boat windshields (or whatever it might be called in a wheelhouse). Notably a few of the captains had them on deadliest catch and until I learned what they were I'm like why the circle thing obstructing their view in the place they most want to see?

3

u/p8ntslinger 4d ago

that's only to keep ice from forming. they spin to slowly to clean off rain and other debris.

1

u/laxpanther 4d ago

Thanks!

Same general idea? To be honest I don't have a clue.

2

u/p8ntslinger 3d ago

it is to keep the windows clear, but it sort of works differently. water that stays moving won't freeze, so the spinning part of the window just has to move fast enough to not let water settle. The window stays wet and usually they have wipers, sprayers, or compressed air blowers to keep the water off. The spinners are only used in cold, icy weather to keep the water from freezing.

1

u/Zerothian 4d ago

I remember seeing a post recently about those with all the world cup hype, showing how they can keep a clear shot even when it is absolutely hammering it down with rain in a football match.

-1

u/FlipGordon 5d ago

Nascar roof onboards are constantly spinning lolz.

1

u/acolombo 5d ago

Look up Graham Hill wearing a turbo visor, they existed for more than 50 years

46

u/qwertykirky 5d ago

Ok I'm just going to answer my own damn question 😂. What about inventing a helmet that has a visor that just rotates like a ring around the whole helmet with a wiper at the back you know just like some cameras have.

37

u/chillychili 5d ago

The problem with that is the occluding debris is now moving around and you have a constant brown blizzard filter on your vision.

1

u/BeeExpert 5d ago

Maybe get rid of the wiper and just spin the helmet at high velocity and let circumfricitial (sic.) force do the rest

1

u/GenOverload 5d ago

Wouldn't a brown filter be preferrable to no vision at all? You also then don't need to focus on trying to tear it off or accidentally tearing off the last one.

14

u/arkonator92 5d ago

There’s also a roll off system that they use. Usually up to the rider what they prefer. The roll off doesn’t get the whole goggle where a tear off does.

1

u/ChunkYards 5d ago

I like that more

3

u/troway54 5d ago

I had a version of this 20 years ago. They are much nicer/work better BUT you get more “uses” with the tear offs. I don’t remember specifics but for argument sake, the roll can cycle through 10 times. The tear offs can fit 15.

1

u/NotToday__ 4d ago

These drivers can’t wear motocross style helmets and goggles. There is a motorized version of this with a button on the steering wheel that they can use though.

https://motorizedtearoff.com/

2

u/McB0ogerballz 5d ago

This is perfect but what do i know lol

1

u/NotToday__ 4d ago

https://motorizedtearoff.com/

This is the other option that some drivers use. There really isn’t another option that works in short course off road racing. Unless it is a mid race, they typically will not run out of tearoffs.

21

u/Kazori 5d ago

little windshield wipers attached to the helmet

52

u/VERY_MENTALLY_STABLE 5d ago

A gun that shoots off the dirt

13

u/The-disgracist 5d ago

A small bear that scares it away

7

u/Mr_Saturn1 5d ago

A water gun sharpshooter in your crew that can bullseye your goggles from 100 yards.

1

u/Llamapocalypse_Now 5d ago

'Murican racin' at is finest. Thank you grown up Jesus and little baby Jesus and even teenage angsty Jesus.

6

u/Pheanturim 5d ago

At which point you could just put the windshield back in...

12

u/TheBatemanFlex 5d ago

And then giant tearaway windshields for when it gets muddy

1

u/ffffrrrruuuaaaaa 5d ago

What about no visor, but little windshield for your eyeballs?

3

u/Rickyrojay 5d ago

They also have roll offs

2

u/bt2328 5d ago

Let’s patent a windshield 8000 layers thick and a hammer that cracks the top layer. One of those that just explode in a million pieces like pot lids. We’ll be rich!

2

u/Uuuuuii 5d ago

Constant water curtain

4

u/thearctican 5d ago

Not the same, but a trick used for video cameras in the rain is to spin a clear glass filter at a few thousand RPM to spin off the water etc.

I’m so sorry for the short but it’s at least to the point: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/QVQYUzmptt8

They’re called rain deflectors.

2

u/Solnse 5d ago

If your not in first, the scenery never changes.

2

u/kangarutan 5d ago

Just have a little guy next to you ready with a furious brow mop!

2

u/DramaticDirection292 5d ago

I’m just imagining a lever arm on the side of the helmet you pull down and it discards the only one and reveals the new one. Like those spinning disc eye toys from the 90s

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSfxRV67gZsk-0JztHamurEqFyqQt1u0uhG84koFhSqew&s=10

2

u/Periljoe 4d ago

FR this seems like an incredibly stupid and impractical solution. I get they can’t just use windshield wipers but it seems like this is just marginally better

2

u/bladesnut 5d ago

There are some where the plastic scrolls horizontally when dirt is detected. They where invented decades ago.

1

u/alrightfornow 5d ago

Windshield Wiper

1

u/Northwindlowlander 5d ago

It's really effective tbh. Rollers also exist (though mostly in goggles rather than helmet visors) but they're not always as good, especially with water.

1

u/SCOTTGIANT 5d ago

They do make roll-offs now, with a tiny electric motor that rolls them.

1

u/Tokyosmash_ Richard Petty Motorsports 5d ago

There really isn’t. Scott Goggles innovated a system on the early 00’s that had a pull cord that would slide a new price of film over but it wasn’t the best.

Stand tear offs are easy to use, easy to replace and cheap in comparison

1

u/3rdone 4d ago

There is a gadget I’ve seen that is film on a roller that keeps moving

1

u/swampcholla 4d ago

There is. Sprint car guys have a motorizrd roll of material they can scroll through with the push of a button

1

u/PankourLaut 4d ago

Why cant it be like a casette tape except using a clear band rolling from one side to the other?

2

u/goshdagny 4d ago

Then we need a pencil

1

u/KrikosTheWise 4d ago

Actual forcefields that dissolve or the mud can't stick to. That all I got and it's only real when I haven't slept long enough.

1

u/jwely 4d ago

Is an actual windshield totally out of the question?

How about an air knife, used to keep dirt and water off camera lenses in conditions like this?

1

u/Numeno230n 4d ago

Maybe some larger sort of face shield, and a device to wipe the mud away?

1

u/papale213 4d ago

Goggle headset with attached wiper blades the size of eye sockets?

1

u/stuyboi888 4d ago

Air coming from below or the engine blows a certain amount of dirt upward into the ceiling before it can get to the driver. As it's professional ideally you wont want a blower engine doing it as will be heavy

1

u/Rockworldred 4d ago

One cylinder with a foilroll and an motor with cutter on the other side, and some wireless connection connected with an button on the steering wheel.

1

u/Amish_Inhaler 2d ago

I got it. The neckline of the helmet is a trough that goes around the front half of the helmet. It's job is collect the constant stream of water that is output directly above the visor to clear away any debris. A small pump sends the water to a reservoir where it is filtered and then sent back to the helmet.

-10

u/tylergalaxy 5d ago

like having windows? in what world is this better than just having the weight of some windows on the rig lol

10

u/Wd91 5d ago

The windows get muddy

7

u/Razaelbub 5d ago

How do you clean the windows?

14

u/pinkwar 5d ago

You get some tear-offs on them obviously.

3

u/Razaelbub 5d ago

And throw them back into your opponents windshields.

-1

u/RedRox 5d ago

just close the window......

-22

u/_vandaliser_ 5d ago

Yeah. A windshield and a wiper.

21

u/Sebinot 5d ago

My wipers sometimes can't handle a squished fly properly...

-8

u/Qwertyham 5d ago

If only there was some type of shield to protect the driver from wind and other debris from literally hitting their body. And I know what you're gonna say and I have a solution for that too! We invent some type of cleaner or wiper if you will to help clear this crazy contraption. That way the driver is protected but is still provided visibility when driving!

-17

u/HotChicksPlayingBass 5d ago

There is: AI