tsjoel

I do about 2 or 3 DE's a year and have a total of about 6 under my belt. I watch a lot of track videos and most people are wearing gloves. Now I understand from a safety standpoint Nomex works great. Is that the main reason for gloves? (fire protection). I guess my real question is... do they aid in driving? I have not reached the point where I am wearing a suit and have a hans device. I wish I did, but my daily driver would become an odd machine. I am not interested in being a poser but maybe it is a start towards safety.

BTW: If it is a poser move...does anyone know if they make a nomex ascot and scarf for my sunday drives

Sean F

A buddy of mine is in the know about fire related injuries and studied data on track incidents. Two biggest burn areas - hands and head.

Paul 996

I finally gave in and just bought a set this weekend when at the track.

They do take a little getting used to if you are used to the bare hand experience.

Reason 1: better grip on the steering wheel in the hotter months due to sweaty hands

Reason 2: At least for the red ones are more visible for giving passing signals to overtaking cars (subjective).

Reason 3: if there is a car fire your hands will be like new just kidding.

BrianKeithSmith

I've got a good friend that drives WITHOUT gloves, and is pretty darn quick.

I on the other hand, can't drive without gloves (can't is overstated in a sense, sure I can, I drive to work every day without them).

I think its simply a personal preference thing. I wear gloves because I like for the wheel to slide through my hands, whereas without gloves my hands are "tacky" on the wheel, which I don't like. My friend says he can't feel the wheel with gloves so he doesn't wear them.

J Silverman

Thats why I bought a pair. The fire protection is an added bonus I just hope ill never need it.

RickBetterley

I was going to comment about the (lack of) gloves in one of the spinning at Lime Rock videos. Considering it was probably 35 degrees or so, I figured you need gloves just to stay warm.
I have used gloves for years; not really for fire protection (I typically don't use my fire suit, and even when I do, its only single layer).
The benefit for me is the additional grip on the wheel. On really warm days when I don't wear them, it sure feels odd.

Z-man

Main reason I wear them is for fire protection. If I need to reach through a fire in order to get myself to safety (either escaping from the car, grabbing the fire extinguisher...etc), a glove will give me the 1-5 seconds of protection that I need to do what I need to do. Worth it, IMHO.

In terms of grip, I haven't experienced a great difference between wearing and not wearing gloves. Stock steering wheel, and it doesn't slip in my hand, even on hot days. I suppose I don't sweat as much as others do.

-Z

LVDell

Not only do they protect in the case of a fire incident (can't ever have enough safety) but as Brian said, they keep a constant friction level (smooth) between your hands and wheel allowing for very smooth inputs in a consistent manner. Don't confuse smooth with slippery. They just feel "proper" when driving.

Paul 996

In all honestly +1 on the fire safety. If you ever are in a car fire at the track it is your hands that will be getting you out of there.

Jscaramella

+1
on the visibility, I purposely wear gloves to make any hand signal more visible

IMO unless your steering wheel is suede or some material different than the palms of the gloves I would think that grip is sacrificed, could just be me but the leather palms seems to stick better to the suede wheel

Flying Finn

Fire & better grip.

Dr.Porsche

Years ago I went to a tech session and learned that gloves aid in passing signals. Gloves should also be a very visible color as compared to your car color. I used to wear a suit only when I instructed in older vehicles. Then I saw the Dale Jr. crash in the Vette. He had lots more safety equipment than my car!

I have suede gloves and a suede wheel...nice combo IMO

TR6

I just bought a pair from Apex that I'll be using for the first time this coming weekend. I opted to try them for better grip with less hand fatigue. We'll see.

I hadn't even thought about the brighter color being more easily visible for signals. Wish I'd thought of that... I went with black because it seemed less "poser" than bright red. Guess there's a reason they are bright red.

Bonster

My gloves are like a security blanket -- I can't drive on the track without them. My palms sweat a LOT, so I'd have a hard time steering without them. When I started racing, it became a safety requirement. Same thing with shoes -- I can't heal-toe with my daily clogs (they aren't clogs, but they feel like it in comparison). I only wear my suit for racing, though. I hate that thing.

BostonDMD

You got me convinced, I am ordering a pair as we speak.....