stownsen914

I'd say if you are running in intermediate or higher run groups in DE, or running a car that has significant modifications or is a racecar, you really should invest in a suit if you don't have one, and wear it! Fire is a low probability occurrence at DEs, but seriously, do you want to be the guy who has the .001% experience of a fire at the track and be trapped in the car, and be thinking "oh crap, I wish I had a firesuit on"? I think not.

In case that isn't convincing, I saw a video once of a guy driving a racecar who experienced a fire while at speed. He had a firesuit on. He quickly stopped the car and exited the car (in less than 10 sec from the start of the fire, if I remember correctly). He landed in the hospital with serious burns over a significant percentage of his body. It can happen THAT fast, even WITH a firesuit on.

Scott

RickBetterley

I think Scott expresses it perfectly.

phrogpilot

Rick..you make good points. I have a cage, racing seats, 6 point, HANS and never felt anything but grateful to have this equipment. Many guys have looked, and two friends installed this very same equipment into their 911 Turbos. A "fire suit" (thank you for giving it an accurate name) seems logical.

ELange0322

OK, OK - every time I get into discussions with Rick about safety I get pushed further down the slippery slope. One year into doing DE I had a tow vehicle, enclosed trailer and a whole host of other things. When I got my RS I told him about my wife asking what that "thing" was at the rear of the car. He looked me deadpan in the eye and said that was a "safety device". I almost cried.

So, looks like I'm going to go the suit... because you are all correct. Its stupid NOT to have. You dont need any of this safest equipment - until you do - and then you REALLY need it. No excuse for the number of days that I do on track. Sometimes it takes me a while...

RickBetterley

I do my best.
Make sure you get a lightweight one. More expensive but worth it.
Wouldn't be a bad idea to look into a cool shirt system. Ask Spencer if he can do it without hacking up that beautiful car.
Safety, you know. Got to take care of my friends.

TraqGear

If you don't want to do a full install on a system, I would suggest this:

https://traqgear.com/product/tg-club-bag-system/

Our version comes stock with a lighter attachment. Easy to use and portable. You can also take it with you and zip tie it to a student's car. They are small and you get about 25-30 minutes of cooling. Add the gel paks and get about 45 minutes with those plus ice. Perfect street car application. Check with dealers about other versions that have batteries if that's the route you'd prefer. I like convenience and don't want to charge batteries.

BK77

Not to hijack the tread, but has anyone used Columbia's Omni-Freeze Zero under their race suite?
http://www.columbia.com/technology-landing.html


All the FL guys know that having some type of cooing shirt/suit is a must, even sometimes in winter
I just ordered a couple of shirts last week so Ill be anxious to see how well they work.

TraqGear

Looks like neat stuff. But, probably made from poly. Why wear a firesuit just to put something on that will melt up under it? We have to be careful not to cancel out the safety we do obtain with FR gear by adding flammables to our body.

Edit: Yep it's poly. "Designers at Columbia Sportswear have now made a fabric that does. The wicking polyester base of the Omni-Freeze ZERO T-shirt is embedded with thousands of 0.15-inch hydrophilic polymer rings (a men's medium has more than 41,000 of them)."

BK77

Thanks for the feedback!
I just checked out your site and watched your demo, do you have any video or test that show how different fabrics react under a 3 layer fireproof suite? In the test you are putting a direct flame to the shirts, would be nice to see how fabrics react to insulated heat.


I wonder how long it would take to melt 41K polymer rings into my skin?

TraqGear

I was going to, but SFI beat me to it. I just wrote an article referring to their findings with poly and the suit. Long story short, your shirt can melt under your suit without even putting a hole in your suit through heat transfer. What led me to look strongly at this was Charles Espenlaub's fire a few years back. He burned his hands in the fire, but when I looked at his gloves, they were in tact..no holes or anything. The burns he did get were as a result of heat transfer.

Here is the article I wrote for SCCA on my blog: https://traqgear.com/blog/

Got some good info there and the test they did is on SFI website with pics of the poly melted to leather to simulate skin. http://www.sfifoundation.com/wp-cont...rmentStudy.pdf

They used flame for 16 seconds in their tests, but that isn't high heat. With an accelerate like fuel, it can get much hotter and reduce the amount of time it takes to heat up your suit. Even regular cotton can be combustible under the suit.

I know I preach a lot about safety..my apologies for sounding like a broken record.

BK77

That was a great report, thanks for sharing!!!


Don't apologize for preaching and knowing the best safety, that's why I love RL! Great and professional feedback!!

TraqGear

Very happy to help. And yes, there are great folks here on RL!! No other forum like it.

BK77

FYI....Here's another test I found on fire exposure. They used a manikin when testing which has some good results...


http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpub...12348dpi72.pdf

ELange0322

Just bought a suit. Went with a better model as opposed to entry price.... If you are going to so it, dont go half way, right ? So, I'm now officially in.

C-gt3

you guys are scaring the crap out of me...LOL...
ive been scared straight a few times in life and im totally convinced and im buyin some Traqgear!
whats the best light weight suit for hot weather?

on another note... just like on a streetbikes the principle AGATT.... "ALL Gear ALL THE TIME"
a full set of leathers has saved me three times sliding across the tarmac....
i cringe at young riders with their girlfriends riding crotch rockets wearing tank tops and flip flops...