A firesuit protects you from the heat of a fire not the fire itself and only for a few seconds depending on what type of suit you get. 2 things to consider, protection & comfort. What’s the TPP (thermal protection penetration) how long before a 2nd degree burn on your skin. So if your suit has a 25 rating you have about 12 seconds before that happens, TPP is about ½ of the rating. Ask the maker of the suit what type of stitching they use a 3 or a 5 thread surging, you want the 5. Your firesuit should be a loose fit but not to the point you like you have a full load in your pants but you’re not getting a tuxedo either. You want to be able to put your hands up without “hurting” yourself ok? Impact Racing has a fire retardant material. Bill Simpson had his bare hand holding it while it was on fire and was talking away as material didn’t even burn or char. He burned it for at least 5min. Dave Despain (Wind Tunnel) finally got nervous and asked him to stop. Carbon X material for underwear better protection. Underwear will pull moisture away from your body thus reducing the chance of a burn and is more comfortable than a t-shirt I’ve seen so many drivers wear. Most burns occur through heat transfer causing the sweat on body to boil, good underwear will absorb sweat reduce risk of burn from this steam or hot water. The underwear can add as much as 6-7 seconds of protection in a fire. Use a 1pc suit, 2piece has a tendency to ride up in back exposing the body to fire and if your upside down with a fuel leak you don’t want that chance the alcohol will run inside your suit. Also had a driver win his 1st race wearing a 2 pc & while he’s jumping up down his pants were falling down. The SFI patch tells how long suit protects you from 2nd degree burns in a gas fire. Suit is torn send to the manufacturer for repair, single layer just throw it away even if it’s new they don’t give much protection or use them as coveralls in the garage. Do not use anti-persperant, the body sweats to cool its self you can use it after races or ride back home in the racecar because you'll stink. Do not wear jewelry metal stays hot after heat source gone and can also cause a bad cut. Remove dentures or partials keep them in a plastic bag in the pocket of your fire suit in case you win and you're interviewed. Use coveralls if you work on your car if you get the suit too greasy and it will burn like a wick in oil lamp. Make 2 copies of measuring chart and use a cloth tape measure to get driver measurements. After a while you may forget some measurements get the copy out and re-measure driver any differences should be resolved. Either try on a suit at a racing show or call the manufacturer and ask how they measure for a suit, you will need a cloth tape as the ¼ X 10 foot tape is not flexible for this job. If your uncomfortable measuring yourself go to a tailor and explain what you want and let them measure you, be sure to tell them to leave extra room. If you try on a suit wear it for a while, go through the motions of driving sitting, getting in and out of the car. Don’t buy a used suit unless it’s only been worn a few times. Suit should be a little baggy, as air will help insulate driver from fire. Suit should have fire proof sewing thread. Be sure there are no sharp or abrasive edges to damage your suit. Also the US ARMY will not allow personal to wear Under Armor it will either shrink or melt to your skin if exposed to extreme heat my friend’s son told me this. I was wearing some and grinding I ended up with a nasty burn on my arm and that stuff stuck to my skin.
---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
More of my ramblings
