LOS ANGELES PI

How many here use a suit for the HPDE's?

For now, I will spend this fall and spring practicing at track day events.

I usually wear jeans and a tshirt, I see a few use a suit at HPDE's. Kinda feels silly to use one at amatuer track day events.

However, someone once said to me, "would you rather feel silly in a burn ward?"

You think its necessary?

rustyguns

heck we wear shorts and t shirts at DE's here!

but you better have that sa2000/2005 helmet on!



( i wear 100 percent cotton pants and long sleeve shirt)

94ZR1#444

Does wearing a seat belt seem silly?

Maineiac

Silly? Amatuers are more likely to crash than professionals.... no?

You can never have enough safety equipment.....

CHJ In Virginia

I use a full SFI-5 suit, gloves and shoes along with the other safety equipment in the car. You can not be too safe when our cars are capable of 150+ mph speeds on a lot of the tracks. You only get one body !!

AU N EGL

driving Suit, head sock, helmet & HANS, nomex soxs, driving shoes, gloves, if it is above 80 a Cool suit.

Most tracks, expect a few in hotter climets require long sleeve shirt and pants. Cotton is preferred.


When you drive more then three events a year, Nomex clothing is a very good idea.

LOS ANGELES PI

Alrighty then, suit it up, I will.

I like the hans idea.

AU N EGL

I have never seen a fire in a car at a DE. Fire in the dry grass after a car went off.

But have seen more then my share of burn victims in a hospital during my graduate work.


Look around, you can find some good deals on SFI-5 suits.

J.R.

I wear the same equipment doing HPDE's as racing.

Firesuit, helmet, Hans, shoes etc.

The walls are still the same. The course is still the same. The speed is still fast, especially if you are in a Corvette.

You cannot have enough safety safety. What is your life worth?

I have a friend who works in a burn ward and upon visiting her and seeing the suffering and rehab burn victims go through. no thanks.

73-84 IMSA Widebody

Hell my wife threatens to make me wear a helmet when I'm riding my mower and I should probably wear a firesuit anytime I'm in the kitchen or garage.
Safety equipment is safety equipment, use it.

John Shiels

worth a full second per lap. Some event organizers won't let you run in the faster groups without it. Like stated above still going fast. Race cars have fire suppression so you are already one down on a race car. We had a thread a few months ago. I burned my leg in some cotton pants not pretty even a 6x8 burn.

Only necessary if you have a fire but it is hard to get during a fire while strap in the car.

JDIllon

Quite a few guys in the south just get the single layer suit and use nomex underwear with it, not as hot in warm weather but still gives some fire protection. JD

kentz06

When driving the Z much faster, why would I use less safety gear than when racing Spec Miata????

OKsweetrides

Suit, undies, gloves, socks, shoes, balaclava, helmet. Do NOT get a HANS unless you have a suitable seat and applicable belts.

Much like the $5 helmet for a $5 brain, no such thing as too much safety.

rustyguns

yeah i bit the bullet and traded in my 30 dollar DOT motorcycle helmet for a SA2000 bucket. claustrophobic... but i go faster now

must add 25 horsepower!

Jason

Getting a Hans this offseason.

FasterIsBetter

I agree with what has been said about having a good suit. Getting a single layer suit without Nomex underwear is just kidding yourself. You need to keep the heat of a fire away from your skin. You need at least a single layer suit AND Nomex underwear or you won't have enough thermal protection. I use a three-layer suit, Simpson Nomex lined shoes, Nomex socks, Nomex gloves, balaclava, SA2005 helmet with HANS. I have seen several car fires at the track, one from a crash, the others from mechanical failures, all at HPDE events. You only need to see someone running from the car with flames shooting out to appreciate that you need a good suit and related fire safety gear.

Also agree that you need a proper seat and harness setup for the Hans. You cannot skimp on that. If you have a harness bar and stock seats, you cannot use a Hans. You must get a properly fitted racing seat in order for the Hans to work properly.

John Shiels

see what protection one layer buys you. Even three is not a long time with undies

63Corvette

Hi LAPI,

I wear a 3 layer plus nomex undies. I REALLY don't want to burn.
I've been watching LA on TV, and hope that you don't (currently) need a 3 layer suit just to walk out to your back yard! Best of luck with your Santa Ana (Witch) fire issues down there.

AMERICANMUSL

Hey Ed!
Just a little tid bit from a amateur( ) before I split...get what ever gives you piece of mind. All your focus should be on your driving and car feedback so here is my 2 bits; radiant heat is what will burn you far sooner, if at all, the conductive flame. Since you are not going to sustain 500 deg and above for much more than 10 seconds at best, 1 layer(outer shell) of nomex or carbon-x is more than sufficient as the outer shell resists conductive flamability and not radiant heat. Supplement this with an inner shell to absorb the radiant heat such as a good pair of 100% cotton long johns(full sleeve, full leg, non crew socks), PBI hood and nomex gloves(inner linning) and boots. I would suggest loose fitting on all accounts as the more air space between the layers the better the protection you will receive...sealed through out of corse. This should more than suffice for our purposes as it is a buffer for escape.

The rest as far as I'm concerned is a bunch of marketing.

Ed