Fire Safety Gear

[Loren]

The following has been added to the club's Safety Rules:

SUGGESTED SAFETY GEAR – Fire can engulf a car very quickly, and it’s NOT pretty. If you are competing in a vehicle that you can’t easily get out of in less than 10 seconds, we highly recommend the use of a full-face SA-rated helmet, nomex driving gloves, and long sleeved heavy cotton clothing at a minimum.

We're not going to crack down on this or anything, it's just a suggestion. If you're strapped into a little formula car, or even a larger car with a cage that's hard to get out of, or a car with harnesses and a deep-sided race seat that's hard to get out of, or if you're just plain old and slow and it takes you time to get out of the car... think about how long it might take you to get out of that car if it was ON FIRE, and how much damage that fire could do to your body in that amount of time. If you're not sure how long it takes to get out of your car, find a friend with a stopwatch!

All of our cars carry fuel and oxygen is all around us. Fire can and will happen.

Let's all be safe out there!

[impalanut]

I spent the better part of the last two days looking at fire gear. I was amazed at the prices. A good quality firesuit with a 32a/5 rating is at least $1000. Lower rated suits don't give much better protection than leather or heavy cotton jackets. Fire suppression systems for cars can be very cost effective. I ordered my new set up yesterday for under $400 with the SCCA discount. For a larger car systems start at about $500. There are pluses and minuses to each type of system.
Remember that the purpose of fire suits and/or fire suppression systems is to buy you time to get out of the car.
Make sure you know how your system works. Make sure your suits fit correctly and are zipped up. Make sure you know how to release your belts. Practice!
Nomex gloves are always a good idea. As bad as a burn can be anywhere else, burns to the hands can be permanently debilitating, even with the best surgeon.
For the money we spend on racing , it's hard to justify not spending money on safety equipment.

[blacksheep-1]

http://www.racerwholesale.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Loren]

Just to be clear, while a "good quality" fire suit my cost $1000 and up, we're not suggesting that everyone needs to spend that much.

Follow the link that Rob posted, or look at several of the other common discount race gear vendors, and you'll see that a cheap 2-layer suit (same 3.2-A/5 rating* that Howard was looking at) can be had for under $300. And a single-layer suit (3.2-A/1) can be had for around $100.

But, again, as stated above, ANYTHING is better than nothing. Even a long-sleeved cotton shirt can help. If you have concerns, weigh your options.

* What do all these specs mean?

[rojeho]

I don't recall the web site, but there is a company near Charlotte, NC that sells old NASCAR suits. Not really old but obsolete sponsors, etc. Top quality at the same price as entry level new suits. Gotta find your size and a sponsor set that you like.

[impalanut]

I didn't mean to imply that everyone needed a firesuit. The more modified your motor/fuel system the more likely to have a fire. The more belts and cages the harder to get out of the car. The older the car the more likely a fire. However, who hasn't seen a car on fire on the side of the highway on occasion. In all likelihood, you will be able to get out of a stock car in a few seconds, and the fire will be under the hood on the other side of the firewall. But, if you are going to get a firesuit or fire suppression system, do your homework, make sure it fits/functions correctly, and practice getting out of the car in a hurry.

[Loren]

I didn't mean to imply that everyone needed a firesuit.

Oh, I know. I just didn't want anyone who was thinking about one to take your $1000 statement at face value. There are much less costly options that could be just as effective.

[Charles]

If you can find your size, ebay has some steals on used suits. I got mine for ~$250, probably $1,300-1,400 new

[blacksheep-1]

G-Force GF545 Euro-Nomex Multi-Layer Suit- SFI 3.2A/5 Rating
Part # GFR-4545
The G-FORCE Racing Gear GF545 is one of the lightest and most comfortable SFI-5 racing suits available. Over two years of extensive research and devel...

$399.99

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