ir_fuel

I don't know if this was asked before (a quick search didn't turn up anything), but are there people here that have experience with different brands?

There's Alpine Stars, Stand 21, Sparco, OMP, Adidas, ....

Most of them (except Stand 21) have suits in the same price bracket. Anyone care to chime in his personal experience wrt durability and especially temperature when sitting in a car without aircon? Are there big differences between those brands? Is Stand 21 really that much better?

LuigiVampa

I just bought my first racesuit this past December.

In general the more expensive suits are thinner and more comfortable. The cheaper seem to use more bulky fire retardant material.

Circuit Motorsports

Fabric weave is the biggest difference from bottom to top. The lighter more breathable stuff tends to be more expensive. The other thing you pay for is the quality of the cut. Building a suit is easy, building it to fit well when standing and then sitting is more difficult.

To a point you pay for a name too. The best deals out there are year old top level suits from places like OG. The nicest suits are the custom suits from any number of places. I've found that the best bang for buck custom suits is Design500 in Seattle.

David993S

Beside size/fit, material weight is an important factor. One can buy an inexpensive 3 layer suit for a few hundred (US) dollars but it will be very heavy and bulky; or you can buy a much lighter, breathable 3 layer suit that offers the same level of fire protection but it will cost a thousand dollars or more.

Like most everything, you get what you pay for. Having worn many different suits over the years, personally I would much rather pay more and buy a light, breathable suit. When you're in the car on an 80 degree day, you'll thank yourself for buying lightness.

Cheers.

MUSSBERGER

Just about everyone is unsatisfied with their first suit. You can skip past all of that with a Stand21.

bgiere

Stand21 suit...worth every single penny IMHO...

Ted in Rochester

I have both a new Stand21 suit (their coolest) and an older Sparco. The Stand actually allows the wind to blow through when out of the car and is cooler than my old Sparco (not current technology). The downside to the Stand 21 is that the fabric is fragile...it pills easily, especially when you catch velcro on it. Also, mine is white which yellows with exposure to true sun. Not sure I would buy another but, on hot days it might be worth it.

JustinL

I bought a Sparco X-light HC a few years ago. I paid a little more than I wanted to , but it was on sale and it's supposed to keep me cooler. It's still friggen hot in the car waiting on the grid even in our Northern climate. Once moving it becomes pretty tolerable on all but the hottest days. I always wear nomex underwear underneath too, so that contributes to the heat build-up. I would suggest spending a bit more to keep you cooler. It's harder to stay focused on racing when you're being boiled alive.

ir_fuel

Let's get some concrete examples:

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motors...tech-race-suit
Ultra-lightweight, Multi-layer Aramidic Fibre

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motors...-evo-race-suit
3 Layer 235 grm/sq m Material Weight
Highly Breathable Material

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motors...anti-race-suit
Lightweight and Breathable

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motors...ol-race-suit-2
Lightweight 290gr/sqm Nomex Material
Climacool Technology For Exceptional Body Cooling

How are you supposed to make an informed decision about this, for instance?

Circuit Motorsports

The one that fits the best out of those 4 is the one I would choose.

Q&A

I have a Porsche Motorsport Stand21 but are about to order a FreeM suit.
It is so much lighter and thinner. The different in weight and material thickness is huge.

What is also great about these FreeM suits is that you can tailor make them to your liking with all possible colors and logo's. Price is the same as Stand21. Still undecided how to design my new suit.

Q&A

If you would consider FreeM. PM me, i can get you 10% discount.

ir_fuel

I think the most important part is (as stated before) if it fits.

I think I'm gonna go to the UK to the Demon Tweeks store to try some on. Choice of suits where I live is way to limited to do a good comparison, and ordering stuff like that online, dunno about that ...

ir_fuel

Sparco also has this. You can design anything you want (like a car wrap livery), give it to them in PDF form and they'll print the entire suit with your custom design. Want pink elephants from top to bottom? They can do that

LuigiVampa

Well, you may want to bump fire protection to the top spot with the fit being a close second!

In the past I have gone out in jeans and t-shirt at DE. I realized that this is stupid - fire doesn't know it is only practice! This year I am going to wear my firesuit whenever I am driving on the track (and to bed, just like the Stig!)