If my car burned down as often as I lost my keys, I'd just stop racing and become a firefighter to save on my phone bill

 

I'd have burned 12 of my cars to the ground. This week!

 

 

Took this guy forever to get out-



We didn't even talk about this-

 

 

The second to the last one is one of our forum bros here, bedheadben.

And the last one you can clearly see the driver is knocked unconscious and his arm becomes pinned beneath the roll bar.

 

Here's the one I was originally looking for and didn't have time to find it-




And this is one that makes me claustrophobic as hell-

 

Update. I got the Techniche cooling vest in from Amazon. Seemed very nice, except that I ordered an XXL, and they sent me a Medium. It was reminiscent of the Chris Farley "fat man in a tiny jacket" skit in Tommy Boy. I returned it. Rather than replacing it in the correct size, I'm going to put the money towards getting the passenger side safety up to par. They say that suffering builds character, so I'm going to suck it up and sweat my ***** off in the fire suit until I can buy (or build) a coolshirt system.

When I get the Amazon refund, I'll order another Kirkey seat and cover for the passenger side. I already have a Kirkey back brace and roll bar clamps that I ordered but didn't use for my drivers' side seat install. With the experience I gained on the driver side seat, I should be able to fab up a mounting bracket pretty quickly. Cutting and welding in the summer heat will be good practice for track days. I'm toying with putting the passenger seat on stock sliders.

I also ordered a brand new harness from Discovery Parts; it's one of the ones that was on clearance because it's past it's date, but it should be just fine for DE, right?

 

Speaking of risk . . . read an article (on the internet -- must be true) that discussed the risk of fire vs. other risks we take on track. Our safety equipment is directed towards impact restraint, providing "room to live" and buying time in a fire. Yet, according to this article, the main killer of portly, gentleman racers is heart issues from exertion/dehydration/heat.

So, is the coolshirt safety equipment? Perhaps. If you are going to run without one, then spend time on physical fitness and heat acclimatization (which you should be doing anyway -- it will improve your driving).

 

^ well, at least that's one thing that I'm ahead of the curve on. I run when I can, and I'm a life-long ice hockey player that still plays a couple times a week. If I'm going to have a heart attack, it will probably be while I'm playing hockey. So I've got that going for me.

Come to think of it, I'm going to a party on Thursday for a guy that I played hockey with. Last month he got tripped up, went head-first into the boards and had a severe neck contusion. Had an ambulance ride, and couldn't feel or move his arms or legs. For the first day in the hospital, they weren't sure whether he was going to be a quadriplegic or not. Fortunately it's looking like he'll make a full recovery, although his playing days are over. Maybe driving is actually the safer of my two hobbies.

BTW, Techniche says to order their vests two sizes larger; apparently their XXL fits a standard L. Their M was about big enough for me to wrap around one leg.

 

FYI there are better vests out there than the Techniche.

https://www.miataturbo.net/race-prep...wl-vest-93646/

 

Yes, that's the same thread that I linked to in the OP. Are you still happy with the GlacierTek? How long does it take the ice packs to freeze? Could you just lay them in the bottom of an iced cooler?

 

Derp. My bad. Yeah, it was still working great last time I used it last year. I'm getting ready to use it this weekend for the first time this year. From memory... I can partially recharge them in about 30 minutes in the cooler at the track. Not sure how long a full recharge takes since I just leave them in the freezer or cooler over night. I usually just flatten the ice at the top of the cooler and lay them on the top, but you could put them on the bottom below the ice too.

 

https://www.miataturbo.net/race-prep-75/diy-cool-shirt-system-73268/
DIY Cool Shirt

 

This thread has been a kick in the pants to get my safety stuff squared away. I will admit, ive been skimping big time with how fast my car is now and all the stuff Ive touched. Fire suit is next on the to-buy list.

 

After watching that roll over, I'm wondering if I should start looking into something to keep my limbs inside the vehicle as well as a fire suit. I've already got gloves, FIA seat, HANS, and a 6 point harness. I still need a passenger harness, but none of my friends have HANS devices so I've been slacking. That crash really showed why wheel to wheel typically requires something to keep your limbs inside the vehicle, be it nets or arm restraints.

 

And the hardtop gives us a false sense of security.

 

I don't leave pit lane w/o arm restraints.
It's the cheapest piece of safety equipment that can save you from losing an arm.
If you get a racing suit, they can be stitched in to make them even easier to use.

 

When I was on my Lemons team last fall, I bought a used NASCAR suit from raceimage.com. I didn't know anything about race suits, I just wanted one that passed tech and wasn't too expensive.

Pro's: Cheap. Good quality Simpson three layer, two piece suit. They had the exact size that I needed so fit is good. It's white, so reflects the sun OK.

Con's: it doesn't breathe. At all. I might as well have a plastic garbage bag on. It is a NASCAR official's suit, with "OFFICIAL" across the front and down the legs, all sort of logos, etc. If you're self-conscious about being the only guy wearing a fire suit at the HPDE event, this is not the suit for you. I probably look like a huge douche in it, not that I care. That much. Let's face it, we all care a little bit. Although not that much because we all drive Miatas.

Summary: If I were to do it again, I would save and spend the big money required for a nice, breathable suit (if such a thing exists) that doesn't look like a kids' Halloween costume.

 

A lot of the hpde guys here wear fire suits. It's not unusual and you don't stand out wearing one. I think most of the TT guys do too. Certainly more than half.