93 FireHawk 968

I'm in the market for a driver cooling system and want to get feedback on the Fast and Cool systems. The Fast systems to be premium priced when compared to the Cool systems. I need cooling for sprints and 1 hour enduro's. Not sure if the larger capacity systems are needed, 12 and 13 qt should be sufficient.

I don't plan to have the helmet cooled.

Thanks in advance for the insight.

bgiere

I have the FAST system and love it. Took me way too long to get one! Seems to last quite a awhile even if i use cubed ice...never had the Cool system though. I will give you one piece of advice whatever system you decide on...run the anti-algae/bacterial stuff through it a few times per season...they can get very nasty in the hot weather.

sleder

Hi Joe, I use the FAST system and have found it very effective and works a long time. +1 for what Brant said. Not enough experience with cool suits.

Veloce Raptor

IMO they both work fine. One of the keys to a well-performing system is using a sluchy mixture of water & crushed ice. Another is having a selector switch & only using the cooling system when you REALLY need it.








Professional Racing and Driving Coach

Carrera51

Both work well and are priced about the same. We carry the various FAST brand driver cooling systems at OG Racing and have them in stock. Also, what VR said is the way to go. Drove a Spec Box in the enduro at the NJMP Club Race and turned would turn it on for a lap or two to cool me off, then shut it off. Worked fine for 60 minutes and that is after I forgot to put some fresh ice in it, since I don't have one in my own car and it's not part of my normal routine.

Here's some info on the FAST systems. The smaller system is fine for PCA sprints and 90 min enduros.

This is the 14 qt system. Price includes the shirt, mount and strap and cycle timer which turns it on and off.
http://www.ogracing.com/catalog/1-Dr...TEMS-COOL-SUIT

This is the 8 qt system with without the cycle timer and mount and strap. Shirt included.
http://www.ogracing.com/catalog/1-Dr...OL-SUIT-SYSTEM

Gary R.

I have the smaller Cool Suit cooler (12qt?) and if I ice it up at 9:00 it still has substantial ice in it hours later after a couple practices. The only bad thing about the Cool suits were the pumps that came with them, they tend to crap out In my (and Sean F.'s) experience. I replaced the pump once with a similar one and my next one (if necessary) will be the highest quality submersible I can find. I don't think the FAST systems suffer so much with this but no experience with them..

MUSSBERGER

I think the FAST uses a "Rule" bilge pump
I have the FAST with the timer control. Mines fairly new and have had no problems. What a god send for a no power steering car.

93 FireHawk 968

Thanks for all of the insight. Sounds like the 2 systems are relatively equal in performance. The entire system is relatively basic in application, cooler, tubing, bilge pump, shirt with tubes and on/off switch.

DanR

I have heard of people using frozen peas to good effect

93 FireHawk 968

Don't under estimate the effectiveness of 2 bags of frozen peas..... I've heard they work very well at Thunderbolt when the ambient temperature is close to 100. Upside is you have a freshly cooked bag of peas following a 30 minutes sprint.

kurt M

I though that was for your ***** after being sent to the vet to get snipped.

Saw a study done on heating and cooling the human body. Inventor found that you can strongly control the body core temp just by heating or cooling a small portion of the body and letting the blood do the rest. They had a rig that encased only the hands and were able to maintian core temps while the person was submerged in ice water or in a biohaz suit on a treadmill.
This leads me to think the system only needs to pull enough heat from a portion of your body as your blood does the rest. This what I have found as well. Torso cooling = cool head too.

All ice is not the same. 32 degree ice has less cooling cap than 12 deg ice. I like to make blocks using tupperware in the freezer and them pack the cooler tight but for some water to get things started. Find containers that make ice that fits tight to your cooler. You want the most by weight amount of the coldest ice you can fit in the cooler to max out the cap cooling time. I take the blocks, pop them out, start another batch in the house or hotel room freezer. The days ice gets packed in a good cooler that has extra styrofoam sheets added inside. I have to turn the pump timer down and the ice lasts for well over an hours run time. Caution, canned drinks kept with the block ice will freeze up in the boosted insulaton cooler.

paradisenb

I have the Cool Suit system with the small ice box. I have never had any problems with it. I run it in the heat and humidity of the SE. I fill it with ice and water in the AM then remove some water and add more ice after lunch. It really makes a difference. Get the control module for sure. I suggest the shirt and helmet blower model. Air circulatings around the head helps keep the core temp down.
I always flush mine with clean water and alcohol at the end of every weekend.

ApexPerformance

We normally suggest what Kurt M posted - use block ice with some crushed ice and enough water to cover the pump. That will last the longest. A cooling system is worth its weight in gold. Have heard many folks say - "Wow, I should have had one of these a long time ago."

VERBOTN

When I was a PRI I noticed that coolshirt (no affiliation) has a high-tech fabric/UnderArmor products with the cap-tubing under the shirt. Ordering one to test. BTW my pump gave out in my CS icebox and I did replace with simple bilge pump and mine is on a dedicated bat-switch for on/off control.

Still trying to figure out how to keep a block of ice, a bloci of ice during the summer.

ApexPerformance

We saw the Under Armor product at their booth as well. Keep in mind, it's not fire resistant so you'll need to wear nomex over it if you want the fire protection.