spazegun2213

ok, this might sound strange but who here races with ear plugs and why?

I'm thinking about adding that as part of my safety gear so when I'm older i can actually hear. I know my car is loud, but racing with another 20-30 cars that are as loud is REALLY loud. I know a few people that use ear plugs on track, but would it take to much of the sound away?

I think i might try it at the next practice to see if i like them anyway, but I'd like the 'list's input.

Bryan Watts

All of us who have radios are already racing with ear plugs.

Geoffrey

I always use ear plugs and wouldn't think of being in a race car without them. Realistically they drop about 35db. I had a pair made by an Audiologist so they fit properly and also have provisions for radio communications.

M758

I don't and never have. Then again my car runs a stock muffler. Now if were racing in pack of really loud cars that might change, but mostly the loud one just pass right by.

38D

I run radio earpieces. Does cut down on the noise and I have seen no disadvantages.

cooleyjb

I find this interesting because the cars I found the loudest and most painful are the 944 crowd. I would have expected the 944 guys to swear by ear plugs.

RedlineMan

Hey;

If you're in a loud environment, then you should wear them. My car has had varying sound levels over the years. Sometimes I have felt the need to wear ear plugs, but I don't really like it. I can't hear the subtle sounds the car, tires, track, and those around me make that I like to keep tuned into.

I'd prefer to have a quieter car, instead. Anything louder than that which aids downshifting is usually gratuitous. I'm once again fighting yet another version of my exhaust as we speak. There aint nuthin easy!

M758

Well that maybe the case in your area, but not so with the 944's I race with.

The loudest cars I have been on track with were a 3.6L 996 RSR, 993 3.8L RSR, a few american V8's. Thankfully I never needed to spent any significant track time near them.

mark kibort

You must havent ever run with the R5 crowd with POC! Those 911s are WAY louder than any 944 ive ever heard, or any car for that matter. and im talking Speed WC GT with open pipes too!

I remember my first race with POC at buttonwillow (and by the way, i never used to use ear plugs), we were on the formation lap, and i swear, Vandecar's 911 was so loud, i thought my ears were about to start bleeding! and there was nothing i could do! (except get out in front for a few laps! ) After that, never ran the car without ear plugs again. even my car is now too loud to run without them. (103db max for scca races)

mk

M758

Ross, I wonder if is a resonance thing?

I know that when chasing other 944's in long accel run it sets some really crazy resonances. I hear their exhaust pulses and then my exhast and the two being sligthly out of phase really seems to create some funky sounds.

Professor Helmüt Tester

Usually have earplugs in...either the radio stuff, or just plain-old plugs if I'm just doing a sprint race (to me, radios = distraction in sprint races). Especially important in the open-cockpit thingy, as the wind blast etc. really are a major source of fatigue (really).

Formula Mazda, RX-7's...or any rotary-powered car are the most ear-splitting cars on track. I cringe whenever I'm near one. Probably not the overall volume, but the incredibly sharp-edged sonic pulses of the exhaust (ports opening and closing ?) are mind-bendingly, knee-bucklingly LOUD and painful. I hate the sound of rotaries...

Wreck Me Otter

I have mixed feelings on this...on the one hand the noise is annoying, on the other, hearing everything saved me from getting clobbered when I turned in and another car was trying to make a late braking pass and locked up his brakes. I drove off to the outside, better to lose a position than to be taken out....

spazegun2213

yes, this was another problem being side by side with another 944 or even a miata. But really it was just the noise I'd like to tone down a little.


Thanks this is what i wanted to know is if you miss the small things that you want to hear with plugs in. I think I'm just going to have to try them and see.

Sean F

you can buy plugs that only block high decibel noises and allow lower decibel noises. I use them for bird hunting. Here is an example:

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/honobr.html

Cory M

I ran a straight pipe on my 944 at my last event, it was too damn loud so I wore plugs and it helped a lot. You can still hear pretty well with the plugs but they take the edge off the sound. I bought a muffler for the car a week later but I may continue to wear the plugs. I have been behind 911's that have just the right frequency to really bug me, plugs would help that. I also think that wearing plugs in a loud car would help in regards to driver fatigue.