Racer2B

March, 2010

March 26, 2010 - NOTICE OF DECERTIFICATION; NOTICE TO CEASE AND DESIST AND TERMINATION OF ALL CONTRACTS OF PARTICIPATION ISSUED TO IMPACT RACING

SFI Foundation, Inc., has issued a Notice of Decertification; Notice of Cease and Desist, and a notice terminating all Contracts of Participation to Impact Racing. Effective April 27, 2010, all products manufactured and/or distributed by Impact Racing pursuant to SFI Specification Programs 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 are decertified. Evidence obtained by SFI shows that over a period of years Impact Racing has engaged in the production and use of counterfeit SFI conformance labels and patches, and affixed them to Impact products for use in motorsports. Under the Contracts of Participation between SFI and Impact, SFI conformance labels and patches may only be obtained from SFI and no other source. Evidence shows that Impact had counterfeit SFI labels and patches made in Asia and then affixed them to Impact products it distributed to members of the racing community. To SFI’s knowledge, Impact never advised its customers that its products contained phony SFI labels and patches. Impact never advised SFI of its systematic and longstanding practice of counterfeiting and distributing SFI patches and labeling.

Impact has been directed to cease and desist from this practice. SFI has directed Impact to immediately notify all affected customers to remove the counterfeit labeling and to offer the affected customers a full refund of the purchase price. SFI is requesting that all counterfeit conformance labels removed from Impact products be sent to SFI.

SFI has elected not to decertify these products immediately in order to minimize the potential hardships to members of the racing community that have been brought about by Impact’s counterfeiting activities.

SFI has also elected to terminate all Contracts of Participation with Impact Racing effective 90 days from March 24, 2010. Under the terms of the Contracts, either party may terminate the agreements without penalty upon 90 days notice. This means that Impact will no longer be able to participate in any SFI programs after this 90 day period.

SFI has taken these actions in the best interests of the safety and integrity of the racing community. This is in keeping with SFI’s mission and purpose.

L98Terror

That's not good

ssdeuce

Oh that sucks glad I have one of those cheapo G-force helmets

AU N EGL

Or did Bill Simpson Not pay or is questioning SFIs OUTRAGEOUS FEES ??

Does not say the products were / are not good, just that Impact made their own SFI patches vs paying fees to SFI.

yes the Counterfeit patches was not a good idea.

John Shiels

If you need to make fake patches I doubt your product is very good either. Always struck me as a bargain brand.

AU N EGL

Not really. Just as much as other products.

But we all know, if you want to play, you have to pay.

AU N EGL

http://www.impactraceproducts.com/

Impact has taken legal action of their own.

From the Impact Web site

drivinhard

even if the dispute is over the tags, this is not the kind of "PR" you want as a safety brand

John Shiels

If it is over tags you tell everyone the fees are to hgh but the product is the same. Then the consumer can chose. If there does prove to be fraud it is a great stain and a long storied reputation.

AU N EGL

Yup not good for Bill Simpson either way.

redvetracr

I was custom fitted for a suit some years ago in Burbank CA at Filler Safety they were one of the pioneers in safety equipment, while there I asked founder Bob Knott about SFI, in so many words I got the impression he thought it a scam.

Slalom4me

Nonsense.

Take a minute to look back at the origins of SFI. People were
getting hurt and some of the more forward-minded members
of the speed equipment industry decided to do something
before legislators took matters in their own hands.

Did Mr Knott happen to mention an alternate certifying body
he felt was more credible? Or was he just of the opinion that
certification of any kind was an unwelcome burden?

.

davidfarmer

I think most "certifications" are scams, but as long as sanctioning bodies require them, you don't really have a choice but to pay up.

While not necessarily true of belts, the requirement to throw away a 10 year old undamaged helmet, replace certain seats, etc because of age is just ludicrous to me. I looked into helmet certifications a few years ago, and they literally change one or two specs by a small measure, or simply change they way the measure things, (IMHO) just to warrant making everyone start over.

If a product design has been certified, I personally thing the product is certified forever......it's just getting your sanctioning body to agree.

I'll be taking orders for SA 2015 helmet stickers for your old helmets soon

Slalom4me

You had me going there for a minute.

.

davidfarmer

I was serious about the first parts......

fatbillybob

It is hard to know if what you say is true. SFI and FIA are the only ones forming some kind of standard. Without them we would be more subject to a wild west of marketing. In the HANS / impact counterfeit HANS anchor case HANS felt is important enough to stand by its product and replace counterfeit anchors for free eventhough HANS was not the source. I also do not think anyone has tested 5 year old FIA seats but it is well known in the composite industry that Carbon fiber and kevlar break down with age and cycles regardless of application. What is different about my FIA belts that see almost no sun and no heat vs. the belts baking in my streetcar I do not know. While it sounds like a scam on the surface we know that the 3pt seatbelt streetcar safety system design is quite different than full retention racecar safety systems. So while a belt is a belt is a belt the application of that belt can totally change the requirements for it's application. In other words there could be merit in race belts short life that we lay people just are not informed about.

John Shiels

Not sure how fast it would break down and the effect it has. I do know there are plenty of race boats with both those materials taking hard impact constantly and not falling apart. The use CF in aircraft parts also.

fatbillybob

You are correct. It would depend on what the parts are engineered for. In F1 they could engineer a front wing to take a big hit so as not to loose front downforce when cars contact but then you would have extra weight. Contrast last year's F1 race weight with this year's F1 w/ fuel ban (increased weight) and all the problems teams are having with passing, preserving tires etc. In F1 about 20 years ago there was a fuel ban and a chief complaint was boring no passing because the cars could not really race until the end when they got lighter. Everything is a tradeoff.

John Shiels

I do not think it loses strength from age at a fast rate. You seem to be bringing in strength from weight and not age.

mgarfias

The carbon fiber and the aramid fibers don't lose strength. Ok, so I'm not sure about aramid, but I'm pretty darned sure about the CF. What does break down is the epoxy matrix that they're buried in. And thats fairly solvable too, just use a filler/binder matrix that is UV resistant, and cover in paint to keep it out of the sun.

Beyond that, composites age just like steel ages. So many stress cycles and anything is gonna break.