Flame Suit On?

[ThunderMoose]

I am hoping to start racing next year. This year will be DE's and TT's. I am also hoping to get a seat or two in LeMons or Chump this year. I went ahead and bought a Nomex Racing Suit in anticipation of this seat time.

What are your thoughts on wearing the suit to DE's and TT's? I have half cage with 6 point harness, so I am wearing my Hans. I doubt that I will ever need it in a DE environment. TT's have a little more risk with open passing. One side of me says that its overkill, but the other side says its silly to leave any safety equipment that you own at home in a closet.

What do you guys think?

[1MOREMOD]

I would say go ahead and run it. I would feel silly after an incident saying if only. There are plenty of guys wearing suits, hans, at the track that I've seen. Mostly racers like you who also do hpde. Go for it.

[Estoril Blue]

In all seriousness - I think you should do what you feel is right for you and your circumstance and not concern yourself with what others think. Your driving is either there - or it isn't. What you are wearing doesn't mean squat.

[Chriskm3]

What is life without hope ?

[Richbot]

It's one thing to wear a fernando alonso replica suit and another to wear the suit you wear normally to compete in. Eff the haters, burns suck

[paradocs98]

I agree--I see plenty of people at HPDEs wearing full suits. Safety=confidence. In fact, I think a couple of HPDE organizations actually require full suits in their advanced/instructor run groups.

The only time I thought a racing suit looked out of place was at a Skip Barber High Performance driving school I attended a few years back. That school consisted of skidpad work, emergency lane-change exercises, autocross time, and only a few laps on the track at Lime Rock, running at 6/10ths or so. One student was wearing a full suit, while the rest of us were in jeans, t-shirts and our Pilotis. The kid in the suit was a nice guy, but looked like a tool.

[llis]

I would not feel comfortable on the track without HANS or air bags. I always run with full safety gear, and I cannot imagine why anyone would not want to. Even if it's sweltering hot, my feeling is you either wear the gear or stay in the paddock. What if you spin or hit a patch of oil someone else dumped on the track? Even a blowout could send you reeling. Someone else could do something stupid and suddenly you're in trouble.

[ThunderMoose]

I wore the suit.

[Car54]

Here's my two cents. First, I always wear a Hans with harnesses and therefore always bring it to the track.

I also always bring my full suit and I only wear it if I have to and if the car is modified (specifically engine related like swaps or fuel cell). If it's just me in my car, I usually just try to wear long pants/sleeves.

I always wear fire gloves, even instructing. For one they're red and that in itself is a safety feature for pointing/waving. The other is if I ever had to deal with fire, I have them on and would be more likely to open a hood or yank someone out if they were on fire. I just like having them on me.

[klammer]

I drive naked

[w00tw00t]

poser!! ..

[w00tw00t]

Originally Posted by klammer

I drive naked

I really admire your dedication to making the car as light as possible!

[klammer]

Originally Posted by w00tw00t

I really admire your dedication to making the car as light as possible!

Yeah, it's not just a hobby, but a way of life