RE: headrest replacement options?

[Charudatt <charu@iced.com>]

Jim Griffin - JGriff@pobox.com wrote
>
>Charudatt wrote:
>
>> After reading the list for a few weeks I've seen no discussion of the
design and utility of
>> standard Audi head-rests so I'll ask (in the hope that this is not
something already beaten to
>> death and a total waste of bandwidth): does anyone else think that
the standard headrests are
>> just about useless?
>>
>> I used to drive a VW jetta with recaros and it's headrests were way
better. Even the toyota I
>> drove before that had more functional headrests than my 94 100S- I
have to put my head way
>> back even for my head to touch the rest.
>
>My understanding is that they are not really intended to be head
"rests"... but rather head
>"restraints". They are there to protect you from whiplash etc.. in the
event of a collision....
>not comfort your head while driving (i.e. no lounging allowed!! Das
Verboten!!). Are you saying
>that they allow too much room for your head to move backward in the
event of a crash, or that
>you can't "rest" your head on them... or both?
>

Both.
IMHO greater comfort and whiplash prevention are not mutually exclusive.
In the event of being rear-ended, I want the restraint in contact
with the back of my head instead of leaving a 3"-4" gap that allows my
head to
accelerate before it crashes to a stop on the restraint.

It would also be more comfortable in normal driving.

>IMHO, they are better than the ones on *most* cars, especially Fords,
where the "whiplash
>inducers" (that's my term, BTW... not one coined by some marketing
agency) stick up to the point
>where they reach the back of your neck... at just the right height to
snap your head back into
>the back seat during that frontal collision!!

I agree that a restraint at the center of the back of the neck would
aggravate whiplash.
Audi's user's manual does state that the headrest should be adjusted so
that the lower
horizontal member above the base of the skull.

So to get back to my original question ... does anyone know of an
aftermarket replacement, or has Audi updated the design and is the
updated restraint backward compatible?

-Charu