[joeyazzata29]

I dont mean to be blowing up the forum but its my first Camaro and my first track days and you guys have all been a knowledgeable resource so far!

I understand all track days/clubs/hdpe are different with different safety rules, but do people wear fire suits to HPDE? Or is that just too far?

I raced oval and a little road course for almost a decade, Ive seen injuries, ive seen fires, ive seen people burned bad by fires, solo fires, fires with stuck doors, fires with the car pinned against the wall with another car on fire pinned against the other side of the car. I've been on fire, multiple times.

link to me on fire -
skip to 7min 20sec, driver infront of me was blowing up so he clutched it in the middle of the straight away. My front bumper got pushed thru one of my oil coolers.

Ive seen 3-4 fatalities, even a sadly 12yr old at the track from above^ (all of which not involving fire)

I HAVE a firesuit, id feel pretty stupid leaving it at home and having something happen.

My main concern with the HPDE is even on an oval, EMS takes 15-45sec to get there sometimes. Crash on a road course and the response time COULD be even longer. Often in a street car crash, the doors will become jammed and not open-able lol. In a Camaro, the window opening IS TOO SMALL TO CLIMB OUT OF W A HELMET ON, therefore id be trapped lol... that could be really, really bad with fire.

I really dont care what the people in the pits think about me wearing a full blown race suit, but even personally, with out others opinions, I myself dont want to be out there trying to look like Michael Schumacher with my street car lol.

Whats all the track guys opinions on this? I understand this has been asked before maybe here and on other forums but I feel I shared some info and wanted some thought.

[kropscamaro16]

most of the time track guys hpde just wear gloves/helmet/head socks and jeans and closed toe shoes and long sleeve shirts like myself , some guys go full out and wear full race suits and helmets and gloves and race shoes and even hans devices but its not very common

[joeyazzata29]

Originally Posted by kropscamaro16

most of the time track guys hpde just wear gloves/helmet/head socks and jeans and closed toe shoes and long sleeve shirts like myself , some guys go full out and wear full race suits and helmets and gloves and race shoes and even hans devices but its not very common

Yeah ive seen thats the standard here as well for track day gear.

no matter what I'll be wearing the Simpson Hybrid S as ALL the racing fatalities ive seen have involved a basilar skull fracture, look it up if you've never heard.

Its basically a flaw in physics with cars and crashing. You strap yourself to the seat, you hit something hard, you stop, your car stops, your head with the added weight of a helmet continues forward, ( the actual motion is your head trying to come straight up and off your neck, commonly misunderstood for your head moving downwards too far on impact )

3point belts let you move a little before locking, then the airbag catches your head and prevents this injury.

However airbags and seatbelts are tested at 30-35mph, and do not account for the added weight of a helmet on your specific neck.

I highly, highly recommend head and neck restraints.

[kropscamaro16]

yea i agree im trying to step up my track game this year and id say about 75% of people i see at the track dont wear them but also a ton of guys dont have race seats and harnesses and roll cages either...the line between street car/track car is definately a big one

[parish8]

Who cares what the others think. Most of the time we are out with our sxs we are the only ones wearing helmets. Why aren’t these people wearing helmets?

[joeyazzata29]

Originally Posted by kropscamaro16

yea i agree im trying to step up my track game this year and id say about 75% of people i see at the track dont wear them but also a ton of guys dont have race seats and harnesses and roll cages either...the line between street car/track car is definately a big one

Before anything the head and neck restraint is so important! There was a solid 20 year span where everyone was dying from basically the same exact injury, since the HANS and others, fatalities have basically been completely eliminated with the exception of safety cell intrusion or complete structural failure (a risk with a street car especially if youre unlucky enough to roll one)

If you use a racing harness, your risk for a basilar skull fracture is extreme compared to 3 point belts. Never strap in to a full harness with out head and neck restraint, youre basically using your neck as a tether for your head at that point. those couple inches of give can save lives with 3points, but like I said the added weight of your helmet has a huge effect when under G loads on your neck/brainstem/temporal bones etc.

I get that at track days almost no-one wears head restraints, and even at the local amateur oval racing level you'll see 1-5 of 100 guys with out one. whenever someone unfortunately gets a lethal injury, its one of those 5 guys.

It doesn't happen often, its a specific angle of hit with many factors, but IF it does happen to you youre almost certainly screwed

[joeyazzata29]

Originally Posted by parish8

Who cares what the others think. Most of the time we are out with our sxs we are the only ones wearing helmets. Why aren’t these people wearing helmets?

yeah man I agree especially since I already have one it'd be stupid to leave it at home based on judgement, I guess I was wondering how many people go full gear at track day?

[joeyazzata29]

Originally Posted by kropscamaro16

yea i agree im trying to step up my track game this year and id say about 75% of people i see at the track dont wear them but also a ton of guys dont have race seats and harnesses and roll cages either...the line between street car/track car is definately a big one

Harnesses are going to have pros/cons. It was basically discovered in the mid 90's to early 2000s you need a head and neck restraint with full belts.

roll cages turn my car into a race car and not a daily driver, just not accessible to the masses

no matter what your situation is why not be as protected as possible in the equipment you have? a head and neck restraint for cars with 3point belts has been on the table for a long time and its finally here. will we take advantage of it? or will we slowly wait for bad stuff to happen untill they become mandated like most forms of motorsport

[Jimbeau11]

If you have a fire suit, wear it. Likely no one will care and if they do so what. I've seen fire also, but rarely.

[kropscamaro16]

any reason on the simpson one vs hans one? and i heard it takes a bit of time getting used to wearing or are they pretty comfy?

[JD_]

I recently added a 4-point cage from Garage Therapy in Raleigh and 6-point harness (Schroth Flexi 2x2) to my 1LE and bought a Schroth SHR Flex Head Restraint to go along with it. I am now looking to get a firesuit for HPDE days but since I am "fluffy" as Gabriel Iglesias likes to call it, one-piece suits seem less than optimal so I am looking at the various 2-piece suits like drag racers use.

[joeyazzata29]

Originally Posted by kropscamaro16

any reason on the simpson one vs hans one? and i heard it takes a bit of time getting used to wearing or are they pretty comfy?

The HANS and Simpson are often called uncomfortable untill you use one, a proper fitting HANS under tight shoulder belts doesn't really feel too different than without one, I have a hybrid S and I cant feel it in my street car but in a race car with a metal seat back you can feel the hybrid. they make a foam seat insert to cure this.

The HANS ONLY works with racing harness in a FULL containment seat (head and shoulder rests as well) and doesn't provide side impact protection, as thats for the headrest. The Hans needs the shoulder belts to hold it down on your chest as thats how it works

they hybrid, you wear kind of like a tight backpack as it doesn't neeed any equipment other than your body and your helmet to function. Keep in mind ONLY the hybrid S is approved for 3point belts, while ive heard people have used others models with 3points, I wouldn't risk that kind of liability.

I haven't heard or read directly from Simpson that the hybrid protects in side impacts, but I know the HANS doesn't protect in side impacts at all.

Personally in a full blown race car im using the HANS 10/10 times with a full containment seat, 5+ point belts, etc just because I own one, but the hybrid is definitely suitable for both full blown and track day setups.

Once you get on track and start pushing you forget you're wearing one anyways that goes for either

[joeyazzata29]

Originally Posted by Jimbeau11

If you have a fire suit, wear it. Likely no one will care and if they do so what. I've seen fire also, but rarely.

I hear you thanks for the input!

[joeyazzata29]

Originally Posted by JD_

I recently added a 4-point cage from Garage Therapy in Raleigh and 6-point harness (Schroth Flexi 2x2) to my 1LE and bought a Schroth SHR Flex Head Restraint to go along with it. I am now looking to get a firesuit for HPDE days but since I am "fluffy" as Gabriel Iglesias likes to call it, one-piece suits seem less than optimal so I am looking at the various 2-piece suits like drag racers use.

Thats awesome im jealous as hell. If I could afford to keep my 2017 Silverado with this camaro I woulda got that manual 1LE and made it a caged track car, unforntally my SS is filling my racecar void while being my commuter.

Props to you for going caged with a real harness. You need that head and neck restraint with that setup as you made your car safer, but now your weak point is your head and neck.

The suits definitely took an athletic fit turn a couple years ago, id think Simpson and impact still make a fluffier 1pc suit lol, its worth a call (especially Simpson)

As for me im 5'9 sometimes 150 sometimes 165 depends on what lifes like and even at a young age ive been blessed with a nice dad bod LMAO. The Alpinestars suits actually squeeze my waist fat and make me look kind of ripped but in reality im just suffocating lol.. and with the modern athletic suits one or two sizes up makes the mid section fit right, but everything else too big.

*** Alpinestars Knoxville could be a good fit for you!! more of a standard fit and fairly priced without the added jazz