I don't have any sort of cool suit, but I do have a Camelbak Unbottle in my car so I can drink while driving (woo!). Makes a huge difference to how I feel.
Or you could try Janel's ram air technique.
I don't have any sort of cool suit, but I do have a Camelbak Unbottle in my car so I can drink while driving (woo!). Makes a huge difference to how I feel.
Or you could try Janel's ram air technique.
Basil Exposition wrote: I use one of these: http://www.coolvest.com/RPCM_Cooling_Vest/RPCM_Concealable_Cool_Vest.aspx Much less expensive and complex than the cool shirt setup. They have capacity for front and rear packs, but I only go with the front pack so it doesn't affect my seating. Works well for me. I've got a buddy that overfilled his cool shirt cooler. Water splashed out under the rear tire on the outlap and almost caused him to spin.
I am pretty sure the rules won't allow that - it isn't made from nomex. Not that the stewards are checking my skivies on the grid but I do not want to weld some nylon to my chest in a fire.
Funny you say that about the water - my friend crashed out of the race on the 3rd lap from a top 5 spot because his cooler strap came loose and dumped 5 gal of ice/water first into his footwell and then under the rear slicks in turn 4 at Summit.
i have a duct in the window the hose is connected to a bilge pump and then hose running to my helmet. as for the cool shirt i bit the bullet and bought one for $155 and then bought a cold therapy system off ebay for $60.
So far I have found the cooler to be pretty easy and havea plan:
I bought 60"x36" swath of nomex fabric and I am going to make a corset that wraps my torso and attaches to itself with a velcro overlap. I'll find a sewing machine somewhere - my grandmother had one and since my folks never throw anything out... should be free for me. I'll sew two layers with straight lines so the tubing can go straight thru and loop out the ends (think soft trans cooler). Kind of a "best of" from the interweb search in that it is extrnal to the shirt so it does not need to be washed so much and also can be one-size fits all. It can also theoretically be used on legs.
I'll use dry breaks but for the cooler - I'll loop thin copper line thru it to fittings so the water is separate from the ice (like an external beer tap cooler). That way... I should need less ice/water weight and can make the cooler small. I'll run two circuits thru it so one can be used to cool air to my helmet or a second corset keeping my junk cool. So... all that is needed should be a small cooler, crushed ice, a water bottle and some way to bleed it quickly when connected.
Stay tuned!
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I am pretty sure the rules won't allow that - it isn't made from nomex. Not that the stewards are checking my skivies on the grid but I do not want to weld some nylon to my chest in a fire.
My shirt is 100% cotton. I have a 3 layer suit so no need for nomex underwear. As for sewing... You need to have a sewing machine and know how to use it to make the shirt. All you need is a second piece of fabric and you sew it on to make what is like a pocket. Just don't sew in the bottom. So you have 6 or 8 vertical channels (open on both ends) you run the tube in both front and rear. Don't try to sew the tubing direct to the shirt.
joepaluch wrote: As for sewing... You need to have a sewing machine and know how to use it to make the shirt.
I have access to one and a plan ;)
I'm in about $35 for enough nomex cloth to screw up twice and a roll of 1/4" medical/lab tubing. If it comes out well - I'll buy the rest of the stuff and finish the job.
I used $5 of cotton and I did it wrong once.
Use paper and draw out the path for the lines. It takes some effort to lay them out so that they pop out where you need then and also crossover the to the back. Plus they need to miss you HANS shoulder pads too.
joepaluch wrote: Plus they need to miss you HANS shoulder pads too.
Awesome input right there - I have a Rage R3 but... same difference. They need to go around the back-plate and strap area.
DIY cool shirt is the way to go - about $150 for the cooler and shirt. Here's my DIY thread on the Lemons forums: http://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/viewtopic.php?id=4181 . It stayed ice cold for about 60 minutes, then "mostly" cold for another 30minutes or so in 105F heat. Felt like having the A/C on full blast - it was very effective.
A forced air helmet helps a lot also - keeps my glasses from fogging and my head from sweating
fifty wrote: DIY cool shirt is the way to go - about $150 for the cooler and shirt. Here's my DIY thread on the Lemons forums: http://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/viewtopic.php?id=4181 . It stayed ice cold for about 60 minutes, then "mostly" cold for another 30minutes or so in 105F heat. Felt like having the A/C on full blast - it was very effective. A forced air helmet helps a lot also - keeps my glasses from fogging and my head from sweating
Your links in that thread lead to a dead URL that has been replaced with advertising.
Caveat: I am not a GRM Elite. But I did come across this the other day: kooleraire
For $40 (plus s&h, of course!!) they sell you a piece of plastic that fits inside certain coolers, a 12v. fan w/a cigarette lighter plug, and an outlet hole. You put blocks of ice inside the cooler, plug in the fan, and out comes cool air. Seems too simple. But in a racecar, it could be even simpler. It is set up for a 1.5 pvc fitting outlet. Run a hose from a back window NACA duct to the cooler, and a hose to a forced-air helmet. You lose 75% of your body heat through your head. The koolaire website also talks about using frozen milk jugs and pop bottles. From my standpoint, this would mean easy swap-out at driver swaps during a chumpcar race. And for $40, it's worth a try. BTW, no, I don't have any interest in this company, don't even know it it's legit. Caveat Emptor, YMMV, yada, yada, yada.
pstrbrc wrote: You lose 75% of your body heat through your head.
Not true.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/17/medicalresearch-humanbehaviour
^ Intriguing. A lot like the DIY cooler A/C projects, but in a neat package.
I'd be really interested to see if these things are any good. My DD is a truck with no A/C, which I can handle, but I hope to be on track next season in a tin top sedan, so I'm keeping an eye on this thread.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Your links in that thread lead to a dead URL that has been replaced with advertising.
Then here's the ingredients: 1. A cooler - any cooler is fine, but regular ones will leak at the lid. We used the same "dry box" model that Cool Shirt uses. Here's a link, price shop it 'cos you might find it cheaper: http://www.austinkayak.com/products/3531/Engel-13-Quart-Dry-Box-Cooler-UC-13.html
Bilge Pump: get the smallest one from WalMart - it's $18 and has tons of flow. Screw it to the base of the cooler, use silicone caulk to try and seal the screw holes. Here's an example: http://www.walmart.com/ip/SeaSense-Bilge-Pump-with-Float-Switch/16617790
Dry Breaks fittings: These are cosmetically different from the dry break fittings that Cool Shirt uses, but are 100% compatible with their shirts (verified by "yours truly" 
):
www.mcmaster.com parts 5923K61 and 5923K31 . You need 2 x male and 2 x female.
1/4" flexible acrylic hose to connect the cool box to the shirt. Home Depot and Lowes have the tubing in massive rolls for ~ $0.30 / foot
Various brass pipe reducers / adapters, washers, nuts etc to connect the supply (bilge pump >>> side of cooler >>>1/4" supply hose) and return lines
Silicone caulk to waterproof the holes in the cooler.
Male hose ends go on the supply and return lines to the box, female ends are attached to the shirt. Which leads us to:
The shirt:
Basically 2 x cotton undershirts , one inside the other. make this pattern front and back, thread some 1/4" hose through the vertical "tunnels", put the female hose ends on the end of the hose. you want the shirts snug for maximum heat conduction, so if you wear a large, buy 2 x mediums.
the shirts were a bit of a fustercluck, since the loops of the hose at the ends of the vertical tunnels get caught on everything and make the shirt hard to put on. In hindsight, I should've sewn a flap of fabric over the ends to keep them out of the way. Or just bought a Cool Shirt, which if you have 100 bones is totally worth it. Hope this helps, Iain
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I bought 60"x36" swath of nomex fabric
I'm not sure what your safety gear is like, but i also run a 3 layer suit and considered a Nomex cool shirt to be overkill for 2 reasons: 1. Cotton is fire retardant and 2. There's an assload of water in the shirt, ready to be released
Did you check what other commercial manufacturers are using? I'm pretty sure it's not nomex, or any other racing type fire retardant fabric.
fifty wrote:Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I bought 60"x36" swath of nomex fabricI'm not sure what your safety gear is like, but i also run a 3 layer suit and considered a Nomex cool shirt to be overkill for 2 reasons: 1. Cotton is fire retardant and 2. There's an assload of water in the shirt, ready to be released
The ones I looked at this weekend were Nomex or CarbonX for sale at the OG store at Summit. I have a 3 layer suit and my boxers are cotton so I don't see an issue with that either - I just figured if it was nomex no one could complain at all. I plan to make an adjustable corset instead of sewing it to a shirt so... just wrap it around whatever you want to be cool and turn on the pump.
Just a tip, you can find "dry break" fittings from computer modding shops, they use them for liquid cooling systems.
windshield tearoffs block 14% of the heat per layer coming thru windshield and you can also use a clear Infrared layer to block even more of the suns heat . I know a guy
windshield tearoffs block 14% of the heat per layer coming thru windshield and you can also use a clear Infrared layer to block even more of the suns heat . www.tearoffguys.com At sebring 12 hr we actually put heat rejection film on many cars on the side windows and back windows
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This is a window sunscreen that I cut up and stuck on my Miata's transmission tunnel using black RTV silicone. It is lightweight and very effective.
Pick up some "Reflectix" at Home Depot. Same stuff (basically aluminumized bubble wrap), but in a 25' roll. Stick it on with the waterproof foil tape. It's what I use on my cars for when I want light weight heat protection.
In reply to Keith:
I used that on the K20 firewall, it's really good stuff, helps deaden sound and is cheap ... and mice can't swipe it for nesting like they did the factory insulation 
applied it w/ spray upholstery adhesive and sealed it w/ this: http://www.homedepot.com/buy/paint/adhesives-tape/322-aluminum-foil-tape-189-in-x-50-yd-54217.html
Cut the roof off? 
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