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Racing
Safety Equipment 101
| Buying
safety equipment is one of the most important purchases
you make in motorsports. It may seem expensive but
we are talking about your safety and good equipment
will last 3-5 years. Different types of racing have
different safety requirements, so before you buy check
what the requirements are for your sanctioning body. |
Helmets: |
| All
helmets must be Snell SA rated. This means "Special
Application" for racing. They have .120" thick
shields, a fire resistant interior and are subjected
to different crash tests than M rated "Motorcycle" helmets.
Helmets come three ways: full-face, full-face without
shield and open-face. Full-face helmets can have a
small or large eyeport. Small eyeports are preferable
in open cockpit racing to minimize the risk of flying
objects getting through the shield to your face. Large
eyeport helmets are preferred by sedan racers because
they make it easier to see the gauges. Full-face helmets
without shields have even better visibility and are
much cooler, but do not completely protect your face.
Open-face helmets offer the best visibility and comfort,
but the least protection. Some helmets have vents,
some don’t. More vents may keep you cooler, but
they also provide more ways for fire to get in. Most
helmets are fiberglass. The more expensive ones use
special laminating processes or other materials like
carbon fiber and kevlar to make them lighter – causing
less neck fatigue. Helmets are also made more expensive
by aerodynamic engineering to prevent lift and buffeting
in open-cockpit cars. |
| Correct
helmet fit is critical. A helmet should be as snug
as possible without giving you a headache. You can
start with your hat size but that is just the beginning.
With the helmet on, chin strap undone and neck held
rigid, twist the helmet left and right to check for
excessive play. Then, with the chin strap on, rock
the helmet back then forward to see if it can roll
off. Finally, watch a half-hour TV show with the helmet
on. If it feels snug during these tests but doesn’t
give you a headache, you have the right size. |
Suits: |
| The
more layers of fire resistant material you are wearing,
the better protected you are from fire. Most sanctioning
bodies require either a single-layer suit with fire
retardant underwear, a double-layer suit with underwear
or a three-layer suit without underwear. There are
some two-layer suits that do not need underwear, but
they achieve this rating only by being extra heavy.
A good three-layer suit is usually lighter than these
heavy two-layer suits. |
| Most
burns occur not from direct contact with flame, but
from the heat. Because of this the space between the
layers of a suit protect you just as much as the fabric
does. This space acts as a cushion of cool air between
your skin and the heat from the flame. It takes about
six seconds for the temperature of a flame to transfer
through a one-layer suit. A two-layer suit gives you
about 14 seconds. A three-layer suit uses two cushions
of air between three layers of fabric for 18-26 seconds
of protection from the heat. |
| Features
to look for in a suit include Nomex III or Nomex Delta
C fabric, sewn together with Nomex or Kevlar thread,
Nomex zippers, double-sewn ‘serged’ seams
and knit panels for ventilation (but not too much
because the knit fabric wears out quicker). |
Gloves: |
| Gloves
should be snug but comfortable when making a fist.
Features to look for include two-layers of Nomex and
Nomex under the palm. Some gloves are even sewn inside-out
so the seams are on the outside. Although this is
the most comfortable, it is the most expensive and
the least durable. If you are racing a formula car
you might want padding across the knuckles if they
scrape the bodywork when you shift. You might also
want a padded palm to prevent blisters from a vibrating
wheel. Some gloves even have padding or extra leather
around the thumb. The only drawback to all this protection
is a loss of feel, but that is usually preferable
to blisters! |
Shoes: |
| Racing
shoes not only protect you from fire, but also help
prevent you from tripping over yourself in the tiny
footwells of formula cars. Racing shoes should feel
like a slipper – light, sleek and communicative.
They come hi-top, mid-height, or lo-top. The hi-top
offers the most fire protection, but can restrict
ankle movement and fatigue your ankles and calves
from working the pedals. An easy solution to this
is to leave the top loose. A full Nomex interior is
nice, but not too much padding as this will reduce
sensitivity. Some shoes use a soft rubber sole. This
gives great pedal feel, but fatigues your feet as
the pedals dig in. Good shoes have a sole that is
thin but stiff. Some even use a carbon fiber plate.
This allows the sole to be extremely thin for maximum
sensitivity, but also very stiff so pedal pressure
is distributed across the entire foot. The sole should
also roll up the back of the shoes and the right side
of the right foot – areas that wear the most.
Some use a leather pad sewn on the right side instead
of an extension of the glued rubber sole. This prevents
it from peeling away under heavy use. |
Accessories: |
| There
are many accessories to be aware of. Nomex underwear
is usually required if you are not wearing a 3-layer
suit. You might want Nomex underwear anyway if you
are using exotic fuels or have fuel lines running
through the cockpit. It is nice to have for those
cooler track days, and can also be used to absorb
sweat to keep your suit clean. Head socks (balaclavas)
are usually required if you have a beard or mustache.
Nomex socks are required. Its nice to have two or
three pairs to get you through a weekend. Most open-cockpit
racers use arm-restraints to keep arms inside the
car in case of a rollover. A helmet support is a must.
This loose-fitting neck brace prevents the helmet
from over-extending and breaking your neck in an accident.
Formula car drivers need the horseshoe U-shaped collar
to allow you to tuck your head down. Sedan racers
can use the 360° type. Make sure it's Nomex. It
is nice for the horseshoe collars to have tapered
ends, and ‘memory foam’ is also a plus.
For your helmet you might want a spare or tinted shield,
a spare shield pivot kit and wrench, tearoffs and
a FogCity fogshield. FogCity is a specially treated
plastic liner that sticks to the inside of the shield
making it like a double pane window preventing it
from fogging up – forever. Nothing else on the
market is as reliable. Lastly, an equipment bag is
nice. Look for one with multiple compartments to separate
the clean from the dirty. One compartment should be
big enough for your helmet and you might want it to
be small enough to work as a carry-on at the airport. |
| Now
not everyone has the budget to buy all of this stuff.
How do you decide how much protection you need? An
accountant once told me that deciding what to claim
on your taxes wasn’t so much about right or wrong,
but about what you were comfortable with (he doesn’t
do my taxes anymore). This is the way it is with safety
equipment. Once you have met the minimum requirements,
you have to decide what your comfort level is - how
much protection you need to feel comfortable in the
car. The way I see it, proper equipment will allow
me to KEEP RACING as long as possible. Racers may
not fear death, but what about an injury that relegates
you to the grandstands? Not a pleasant thought. In
any case, have these things sorted out BEFORE you
get to the race track, so these thoughts don’t
occur when you are in the car! |
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