Do You Wear A Racing Suit For Hpde????

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by Malek@MRF

Suits are primarily for safety and secondly for comfort. If safety is important to you at the track, then wear a suit. Same reason we wear helmets. Silly or not, safety comes first.

ya i think its getting time to pick one up

[surlynkid]

Nomex suits should be washed alone or with other Nomex only. If you wash it with all your other clothes, fibers of the other materials get into and on the Nomex surface and reduce its efficacy. Read the label. Machine wash hot. Tumble dry low. No bleach or detergent with chlorine. Do not hang out to dry in direct sunlight. Straight from the Nomex IIIA jacket I am wearing now.

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by surlynkid

Nomex suits should be washed alone or with other Nomex only. If you wash it with all your other clothes, fibers of the other materials get into and on the Nomex surface and reduce its efficacy. Read the label. Machine wash hot. Tumble dry low. No bleach or detergent with chlorine. Do not hang out to dry in direct sunlight. Straight from the Nomex IIIA jacket I am wearing now.

got it thank you

[Notnug]

I think the moral is if you can afford it, get one. Who cares how you look, safety is #1. Yes, often it takes a close call or seeing something bad happen to make you pull the trigger. About 2 years ago I witnessed a Porsche Boxter have a very bad wreck at Nelson Ledges in Ohio. He ended up hitting a tree and the only reason he is alive was because of his cage that actually broke and came loose from the frame upon impact (almost didn't save his life). Multiple other drivers had boxers with no cage and they immediately went to get a cage the next day. Anyway, buy one if you can. Just remember that on a hot day stay hydrated!

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by Notnug

I think the moral is if you can afford it, get one. Who cares how you look, safety is #1. Yes, often it takes a close call or seeing something bad happen to make you pull the trigger. About 2 years ago I witnessed a Porsche Boxter have a very bad wreck at Nelson Ledges in Ohio. He ended up hitting a tree and the only reason he is alive was because of his cage that actually broke and came loose from the frame upon impact (almost didn't save his life). Multiple other drivers had boxers with no cage and they immediately went to get a cage the next day. Anyway, buy one if you can. Just remember that on a hot day stay hydrated!

got it!!!! thank you your info im going to pick one up...

[admranger]

Originally Posted by Sebringjetta

speaking of the nomex socks...can you throw them in the washer machine at home???????

Yep. Line dry.

[USCTrojanMan29]

Originally Posted by Notnug

I think the moral is if you can afford it, get one. Who cares how you look, safety is #1. Yes, often it takes a close call or seeing something bad happen to make you pull the trigger. About 2 years ago I witnessed a Porsche Boxter have a very bad wreck at Nelson Ledges in Ohio. He ended up hitting a tree and the only reason he is alive was because of his cage that actually broke and came loose from the frame upon impact (almost didn't save his life). Multiple other drivers had boxers with no cage and they immediately went to get a cage the next day. Anyway, buy one if you can. Just remember that on a hot day stay hydrated!

Good thing we don't have any trees on our tracks.

[bigjae1976]

No. Although it can provide some intimidation of other drivers but usually has the opposite effect.

I disagree with this whole thing about how I don't have control over anything that happens at the track when IN FACT I do. Unless I vacate my driver's seat in the middle of a session, I am in control of the car. If control is lost that is my fault. Every incident I've seen you can easily point to 2-3 physical errors which resulted in the incident, not counting the mental errors.

If all you are focusing on is the next corner or the car in front of you...then by all means...put on that fire suit.

Originally Posted by pkim1079

Next time I am going to wear a dress shirt tucked into slacks....take that!!

...beer almost came out of my nose!

[Billj747]

There's probably more hpde crashes where impacts were the biggest issue and very few with fire hazards. Investing in a good racing seat and harness would probably be a better first step if not already done.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by Billj747

Investing in a good racing seat and harness would probably be a better first step if not already done.

I was thinking the same...assuming a roll cage was out of the question then a proper race seat, harness and HANS device is far more likely to save your life than a funky race suit.

[TXmtrhed]

Originally Posted by surlynkid

Nomex suits should be washed alone or with other Nomex only. If you wash it with all your other clothes, fibers of the other materials get into and on the Nomex surface and reduce its efficacy. Read the label. Machine wash hot. Tumble dry low. No bleach or detergent with chlorine. Do not hang out to dry in direct sunlight. Straight from the Nomex IIIA jacket I am wearing now.

Read the label for instructions for your specific suit. My Sparco is dry clean only.

[LiM3y]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

I was thinking the same...assuming a roll cage was out of the question then a proper race seat, harness and HANS device is far more likely to save your life than a funky race suit.

Sounds like segue into roll-cages and harnesses...

[admranger]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

No. Although it can provide some intimidation of other drivers but usually has the opposite effect.

I disagree with this whole thing about how I don't have control over anything that happens at the track when IN FACT I do. Unless I vacate my driver's seat in the middle of a session, I am in control of the car. If control is lost that is my fault. Every incident I've seen you can easily point to 2-3 physical errors which resulted in the incident, not counting the mental errors.

If all you are focusing on is the next corner or the car in front of you...then by all means...put on that fire suit.

While I agree with you (and then I'm now going to disagree), you can get hit by other people who make mistakes. Seen it. Done it (in a race). Some dude drops two off on the exit of the turn and overcorrects and shoots across right into your side, well, that's on both (you for not slowing down anticipating the mistake and the other guy for overcorrecting). The incident that sticks out most in my mind where you have no control is someone out braking themselves and hitting the car in front, causing the front car to spin out (and possibly hit something).

What I can't figure out is how so many drivers "lose control" yet no one ever finds all that control that was lost. You'd think there'd be a market in selling it back to people...

[Porschefile]

^very true. Hit some coolant and try to pretend you're "in control"...

That said, I think these kind of incidents are rare in HPDE's (less so in races).

Billy hit the nail on the head. A good seat and harness is likely to be of more use than a suit at a DE.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by admranger

While I agree with you (and then I'm now going to disagree), you can get hit by other people who make mistakes. Seen it. Done it (in a race). Some dude drops two off on the exit of the turn and overcorrects and shoots across right into your side, well, that's on both (you for not slowing down anticipating the mistake and the other guy for overcorrecting). The incident that sticks out most in my mind where you have no control is someone out braking themselves and hitting the car in front, causing the front car to spin out (and possibly hit something).

What I can't figure out is how so many drivers "lose control" yet no one ever finds all that control that was lost. You'd think there'd be a market in selling it back to people...

I agree with your situation above but racing wheel to wheel is different than an HPDE. We know there is an understanding about the environment in an HPDE where people work together, not compete, so that everyone can drive (or trailer without massive body damage) their cars home.

Originally Posted by Porschefile

^very true. Hit some coolant and try to pretend you're "in control"...

Coolant on the ground? Nice one! There will be clues before you get to it but if you are the first one to run over it? You got me there.

If you're the 4th one to go off track on the same coolant spot? That's your fault.

[Billj747]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

.
Coolant on the ground? Nice one! There will be clues before you get to it but if you are the first one to run over it? You got me there.

Other examples that are out of your control:

-Driving in the rain and the car in front drops coolant.
-Your own coolant line breaks and waters down your own tires going into a braking zone.
-Run on exit curbing and get pad knock back and a car spins in front of you and your pedal drops to the floor without having a chance to tap the brakes and seat the pads.

[Porschefile]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Coolant on the ground? Nice one! There will be clues before you get to it but if you are the first one to run over it? You got me there.

If you're the 4th one to go off track on the same coolant spot? That's your fault.

I've ran over my own coolant (E36 M3 racecar with cracked head) AND been right behind a car that dumped its coolant. Neither went well. It is rare, but it absolutely happens.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by Porschefile

I've ran over my own coolant (E36 M3 racecar with cracked head) AND been right behind a car that dumped its coolant. Neither went well. It is rare, but it absolutely happens.

You got me on this one. Unless you are wearing coolant finding goggles...then no excuse. So I'm not totally wrong here!

[Handy Man]

Yes.

I also wear a HANS device if I'm in a car with a proper harness.

I didn't buy them for HPDE, but since I already have them I'm damn sure gonna wear them.

[admranger]

Out here on the west coast I've seen exactly zero cars on fire on track during HPDE events over the past 20 years. I've seen one on fire in the garages at the LV Motor Speedway (big track). That was a fun situation...until everyone grabbed their fire extinguishers and put it out.

Rollovers? I've seen three during HPDE. I got to witness one up close and personal at Willow Springs in a club race. Car was upside down and it's roof was above the roof line of my car (turn 2, for those who wonder where it happened). That was nuts. Guy walked away but the car was rubbish.

I'm not advocating less safety equipment, but the suits are a bit much for an HPDE, especially when it is hot outside. I'd be more worried about brain fade from heat in a suit resulting in a poor decision/slow reaction than from fire. If you do run with a suit all the time, get a cool-shirt setup. Best money I ever spent on the race car by far. Much safer towing home too since you're not so exhausted/worn from the heat. I've started a race where the air temp was 109 deg F but with a cool shirt on I was fine.

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by admranger

Out here on the west coast I've seen exactly zero cars on fire on track during HPDE events over the past 20 years. I've seen one on fire in the garages at the LV Motor Speedway (big track). That was a fun situation...until everyone grabbed their fire extinguishers and put it out.

Rollovers? I've seen three during HPDE. I got to witness one up close and personal at Willow Springs in a club race. Car was upside down and it's roof was above the roof line of my car (turn 2, for those who wonder where it happened). That was nuts. Guy walked away but the car was rubbish.

I'm not advocating less safety equipment, but the suits are a bit much for an HPDE, especially when it is hot outside. I'd be more worried about brain fade from heat in a suit resulting in a poor decision/slow reaction than from fire. If you do run with a suit all the time, get a cool-shirt setup. Best money I ever spent on the race car by far. Much safer towing home too since you're not so exhausted/worn from the heat. I've started a race where the air temp was 109 deg F but with a cool shirt on I was fine.

I hear that cool shirts are worth the money!!!! i might have to look into that!!!!

[1MOREMOD]

you could also try helmet gloves and jock strap like bigjae.