In reply to irish44j:
Doesn't ken block sell a lot of shoes? Are any of his fire rated?
In reply to irish44j:
Doesn't ken block sell a lot of shoes? Are any of his fire rated?
nocones wrote: In reply to irish44j: SCCA puts year long stickers on. At national events they use a barcode on helmet that is scanned before runs. I am. Not sure if this is to ensure inspected helmet or another purpose but they will not put the sticker on without validation of the helmet for use during tech inspection.
probably depends on the event. Rallycross national challenge techs didn't look at my helmet at all, so far as I recall. The last SCCA year sticker I have on a helmet is from 2004 (ironically, on a Bieffe motorcycle helmet that was NEVER legal for autocross and was brought accidentally instead of my other helmet (since they both had similar bags...).
rcutclif wrote: In reply to irish44j: Doesn't ken block sell a lot of shoes? Are any of his fire rated?
No clue, I don't have enough flatbrim cred to wear DC shoes ;)
Sparco used to sell a fire rated rally shoe (wider sole, higher cut, more like an athletic shoe than a race shoe), but not sure they still do. I have a pair and they're not all that good for driving, IMO.
DC ProSpec 1s were SFI rated, ProSpec 2 and 3 were not (although they have gotten better with each revision, I bought a couple pairs of ProSpec 2s and 3s and didn't actually like the 1s much).
As to the HANS, with worst case scenario again, the resin used could degrade in 5 years if constantly exposed to UV. I'm sure they use better/more expensive resins though...
Ok, all this talk about seat belts has me thinking, if part of the reason for changing racing belts is exposure to UV Rays, dirt and grime, why is there no replacement requirement in passenger cars? Now I know that is kind of ridiculous,but, a 70-80 mph impact on the expressway with no helmet is going to hurt a lot and those belts are not looked at very often. How many cars out there are parked outside all day? How many get washed like my racing belts used to get after every race? I understand after any impact a helmet should be inspected, and belts too, but there has to be a little common sense here. People getting an interest in racing want to know why it's expensive?
Racing is so expensive because drivers will $$$$$$$$ on a cylinder head that might gain them .25 of second per lap but will howl when they need to spend $125 dollars for a new set of belts every five years and $250 on a helmet every 11 years. Having been over the bars at 85 mph, had a D-Sports Racer catch fire with me in it, seen a friend with a $40,000 race car, $30,000 truck, $10,000 trailer die because he didn't bother to spend $700 on a HANS Device and watched another go through six months of rehab because he got spit off his bike with a old cheap helmet I know why organizations require these things. All of this stuff does indeed degrade; belts blatters nets helmets all of it. Most of the people who make the rules have been around long enough to see people get killed or seriously hurt........beyond it being slow would you race on 15 year old tires??? No because, we all know that old tires come apart even when they "look" fine. Helmets, as mentioned, detoriorate plain and simple. This week I am taking the can off of cell on my Formula 500 and weighing the fire bottle to make sure both the bladder and the bottle are good. It's a $3500 Autocross car and if either the cell or the bottle are suspect they are going. This may cost me $800, if have to spend the money then I will run a set of take offs on the Datsun for the first few events of 2015 and put off a couple of other purchases to pay for the safety gear. As a racer of 2 and 4 wheels for 30 years now I can honestly say (myself included) racers are dumb. The stuff we put value in continues to amaze me, the stuff I put value in amazes me!!! Do the math, seats, belts, cell, net, HANS & helmets at the current replacement schedule cost about $300-$400 a year........meanwhile we'll gleefully spend $1400 a year on tires. Ask your family what they want you to buy, I hope to race for at least another 20 years. For the record when I first road raced with SCCA in 1992 I had an $1800 car and was wearing $900 worth of gear. I made 27K that year and my annual race budget was $800 I did 4 regional races (I could only race on Saturday) and 10 Autocrosses..........I replace my helmet every 5-6 and I am notoriously cheap. Again this stuff degrades, racers are good peole and there aren't enough good people in the world, buying a new helmet won't kill you......snell 2010 helmets will be on close out in about 12 months. Note we will have this same discussion in 2020.
Tom.
I always was told by the Old Timers that Safety gear is cheaper than Hospital Bills.
irish44j wrote: Thinking also about how HANS are usually only good for 5 years as well. Seeing as HANS are solid materials (vice fabrics), I'd love to know the rationale behind that. Maybe they could require that the little straps going to the helmet be replaced, but why the entire assembly (I think ours is made of carbon-fiber - not sure that breaks down such a short time period).
Do you have a reference that states this? The SCCA GCR only gives dates for helmets and harnesses.
HANS says to replace straps every 5 years but not the whole unit.
In reply to Tom1200:
Everything he said x10.
When I did the Sprite last year I spent about $8,000 on the car and what it took to make it safe and legal. On top of that my 3 layer suit was $1100, the helmet $300, the HANS device $600, the harness $300, the shoes $100, the gloves $60, the balaclava $50, the socks $20, and the car's fire system was on sale for $450. I hope to never, ever use that $3000 worth of stuff but if the time comes where it is required there won't be time to change my mind.
Most of this (aside from the helmet, harness, and fire bottle) are one time expenses until they wear out or become too outdated for your own comfort so it isn't really that bad once you're in.
In the big picture a $300-400 helmet is a drop in the buck - put $10 in a jar each month and when your current helmet expires the new one will be paid for.
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