Nomex Suit Overkill for Non-racing Events?

[Dubbedown]

a bit OT...but I think u all will enjoy....

speaking of ricer/racer types


I had a student w/ an e92 s/c'd m3..over 600 hp.........had rear R tires and all season fronts........for the extra "traction" he states....

he wanted to go 14o on main straight.....I wouldnt let him......he couldnt negotiate the upcoming turn!...gave him a 115 limit..he was soo pissed....head instrctr backed me up

was it red?

[jrkoupe]

was it red?

I recall it was LRP orange

[TXBDan]

Wow, you'd think he'd fail tech with mismatched tires. I certainly wouldn't ride in the car.

[jrkoupe]

Wow, you'd think he'd fail tech with mismatched tires. I certainly wouldn't ride in the car.

I hear ya....

I invited this kid...lol.....I did not know about the tires at the time of my invite...I saw him driving stupidly locally, and said come to a track day!

anyhew, tech looked at me and said...hes all yours.

[Fantiz]

A fire burns at the same tempature durning an HPDE session as a race... Get a suit

I agree. Watched a new Corvette Burn down at VIR a couple of months ago. Driver was in blue jeans! Needless to say I do not think Wranglers really protect your bum, no matter how many times Dale Jr advertises them.

[boostedinaz]

This shouldn't even be a question. If I were racing I would have as much safety equipment as possible. It doesn't matter if it's DE1 or the last Lap of Le Mans, shit happens and if fire is involved it can be devastating real quick. An on board fire suppression system is a must and so would a good fire suit. People say the suits can be uncomfortable but so can laying in a hospital bed getting skin grafts.

[Brake_L8]

This shouldn't even be a question. If I were racing I would have as much safety equipment as possible. It doesn't matter if it's DE1 or the last Lap of Le Mans, shit happens and if fire is involved it can be devastating real quick. An on board fire suppression system is a must and so would a good fire suit. People say the suits can be uncomfortable but so can laying in a hospital bed getting skin grafts.

HPDE isn't racing It's hard to figure out where to set the bar for safety gear. On the one hand, more safety gear is more better. On the other, if you require a suit, shoes, seats, harnesses, rollbar/cage, kill switch, and fire system simply for HPDE, you will immediately price out a lot of people who want to try it or get their feet wet with their street cars. And new street cars are faster than yesterday's, by a decent margin. So, the instructor has to trust the driver and keep them appropriately reeled in.

I still think that if OP has the money to get a suit, it's worth doing as he's in the advanced DE group and looking at Time Trial. Surely won't hurt.

[TheJuggernaut]

Just if you do decide to suit up, wait until you can afford a top of the line model from one of the big Italian brands. If you get a cheap suit you'll never wear it after wearing it once. It's like wearing one of those attack dog training suits vs pajamas.

[wake74]

Interesting discussion. I've got my old (cheap) suit in the closet that I bought when I was racing my Club FF. I agree with the above poster, my cheap suit fits horribly. I'm not sure what body shape it was designed for, but it doesn't fit my 5'10", 175 lb frame at all. Way too much extra material at the waist, especially when sitting.

And it's bright red :-( I haven't worn it yet in the track rat HPDE E36.

[emoore924]

If it helps, I've bought my last several suits from indycar race teams. The indycar, IMSA and nascar teams sell their used (read: old sponsorship) crew and driver suits for pennies on the dollar. Condition is disclosed and they usually have lots of pics.

Nothing quite like a top-o-the-line perfect condition, 3-layer FIA or SFI 3.2a5, dated, name brand suit for $250-ish. The one I have now is Sparco with an FIA cert. If you really want to go crazy, you can buy an F1 team suit for 2x-3x that. Just keep in mind that many of the F1 suits are custom fit, but lots from other teams are available at S-M-L-XL or european sizes (50-52-54-56...)

Just go onto ebay and search for "nomex race suit" or something like that. You should find plenty.

[vpilarry]

Just go onto ebay and search for "nomex race suit" or something like that. You should find plenty.

You can also get them from http://www.raceimage.com/

[Franky goes]

If you have safety gear you should wear it.
You could wear your suit with nobody knowing... If you attend a race event you will notice that 99% of racers do not wear their suit outside the car.
The reason is the more you sweat in it the more you damage it. Same for wearing it around the car or around your lunch.
It is expensive equipment so most racer take care of it by not wearing it outside the car.

If you own nothing and are worried about fire, here is what I would buy first, in that order:
1. Gloves (you need your hands to get out of the car, especially when it is on fire)
2. Underwear - long (Self explanatory !)
3. Shoes
4. Socks
5. Balaclava (For reasons mentioned above)
6. Undershirt
Note that by now nobody at the track will know you are wearing your equipment and you are wearing everything we have to for racing besides the suit...
7. Long pants (They are mentioned above but I have been unsuccessful finding them (I would wear then when I instruct).
8. Good quality 3-Layer suit at Approximatly $1K

You should remove your suit as soon as you get out of the car so you do not prematurely wear or damage it.

Cars are getting much faster and tracks are not moving walls back. So fire protection is not overkill in my opinion.
A Hans is something I really miss when I get inside a car that does not have a cage...

[JBasham]

Tough call.

I have seen car fires in HPDE. Bad ones. Car completely destroyed in one case, and he didn't hit anything, and the car was an E92 M3 that was still under warranty. Glad to say the drivers didn't get hurt. Many years ago there was an HPDE fire in our club, and the driver did get burned. OTOH, a friend of mine got burned damn near to death in a 30 mph street rear-end collision in a brand new Camaro, and I'm not about to wear a flame suit to the grocery store.

I don't wear one at HPDE because frankly, it's so much trouble. But I do fully cover up with worker safety/brushfire clothing made of Nomex. Not as much protection, not as much hassle. I hope I never really need it, and if I do, I hope it turns out to be enough.