Sam shows what safety gear you need for track racing: a Bell M8 FIA-spec helmet, Nomex fire-proof suit and gloves, Simpson neck brace, and racing shoes. Motorcycle helmets won't cut it. He walks through fit and cost-effective options so you're ready before race season.
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Okay, so let's go through a walkthrough of the entire kit. It really starts to kind of creep up on you, surprisingly how much there goes into it. So again, there's variations by virtue of what activity it is that you're doing. In the Ultimate Streetcar Challenge, this is the full kit and then some to be able to actually go out on the road course, in my case Road America. So that's maybe. I don't know if we'll actually go from top to bottom, but we'll kind of attempt to do that. I've had a number of helmets, have a number of helmets, all motorcycle related as of late, and none of those qualify. Motorcycle helmets are not spec'd out at the same level as racing helmets. I'm sure there's a variety of reasons. The one that I'm particularly aware of is that DOT certified motorcycle helmets are not fireproof. This is a Bell M8 and it's really pretty nice. They have a carbon version of this which is actually quite a bit more expensive, but not all that much lighter, which I was really surprised and pleasantly surprised to hear, so I could save a few dollars on it. It's got a Nomex flame proof interior. It's got a very nice design in that I was able to off the shelf, so to speak, comfortably fit this. But you can get different pads in here if they don't fit your face. Well, I have kind of a, I have a big head but kind of a narrow face. So I was really happy with the size of this. A lot of times, at least with motorcycle helmets I have a difficult time. So the fireproof is really kind of the, the main thing about it. It's got a lot of other specs and bells and whistles with regard to has vents for defogging. Also the specs are such that you can't wear an open face helmet even if you have an enclosed car. So that's one of the key things with the rules. And also as I mentioned with regard to neck restraints, this helmet, some helmets you have to drill. This is a very affordable helmet. You can spend $5,000 on a helmet. I did not. You can take a look. I'll put Northstar's link to their website. You can talk to the guys and if you're in the Chicago area, go visit them or look at them online. They very kindly, while I waited, installed this clip in here. You can do it yourself too if you wish. But it'll fit up nicely with the neck harness that you'll see in just A second. Oh, and also a little neat factoid, Kevlar neck strap. Kevlar is always going to be an extra. That is Kevlar is always going to be in yellow. That's also a nice little feature. So a lot of spec to this helmet. Again, I'll put links in the show notes. There is just a lot going on with this helmet, which is really, really pretty cool and a great price point. You also need fireproof gloves. Pretty much everything I got is in Sparco. I'm not. I paid for all of this. I don't have any sponsorship, so I'm not biased in any which way other than I like them and I'm a user. But if Bell or Sparco would like to sponsor me in the future, I'm more than happy to. So Sparco flame proof fireproof gloves also come in kind of a nice package to keep things nice fireproof stock socks that also meet the FIA standards. A lot of this stuff. Sparco is Italian. I didn't realize that. I'm a old Ducati builder, so that that speaks nicely to design and whatnot. Sparco, this is the suit that I was talking about. That is the double layer. I can't really. There's not really a whole lot to show you with that, but that's what it is. It's very comfortable. It's got a nice waist cinch, which is nice. I weigh a little bit under 175. I'm 6 foot 2 and it fit just really, really nicely. Supposed to be of different dimensions. You can get different sizes and stuff. But this was a very affordable, very nice option. It also comes with a very nice carrying case if you like, for track day. Put your name and your team and whatnot on it. The Italian flag, colors, etc. It's got a little zipper for extra kit if you want in there too, which is just all nice. Really presents in a nice package. This is OMP's head sock. This is not required. This is one of the little extras that I chose to have. It just makes it a little easier, a little bit more comfortable with getting your helmet on and being comfortable in it. Also, I think actually adds a little shelf life to your helmet since it's, you know, the oils and whatnot from your hair and skin and sweat while racing. Don't permeate into the Nomex materials and stuff. Kind of keeps everything nice. So that's a nice little bonus piece. Not required by rules, but for comfort and just longevity and taking care of your gear. This is the neck Brace or neck hard harness. This is by Simpson. Let me just show you the box that it came in, which is. Oops, nice. It is carbon fiber, not fake carbon fiber, real carbon fiber. And I can't really demonstrate it on, but you can sort of imagine or envision that these straps go over your right and left shoulder. This then is at your back. And then these loop hooks, which I think you've got good fidelity in this video to be able to see that detail these. Then clip in to these in the back that I showed you. They just sort of like snap on and snap off so that your head and you can see FIA approve your head and neck and back and spine get a little bit more of a rigidity or act as a unit together so your big, heavy head and helmet isn't flopping around on a very delicate neck and connected to your spinal cord. So this was kind of a nice thing, like I said. Also, therefore, it saved me from having to redo my seat. Redo my harness allows me to run stock seats and stock seat belts to be able to do that and be safe. They also give you a kit of materials and a sticker, which is always fun. So really, this is new to me, familiar with these other kinds of things, but this was a new piece and I was really glad. Again, tip of the hat to the folks at Northstar for being able to educate me around that and save the embarrassment of not having the proper setup when I get there. I also want to shout out, I'll put this in the notes that John Reuther, who is the founder and owner and president of Northstar Motorsports in Lake Barrington, Illinois, was just awesome. So Steve Gentile, he. Those two guys just helped fit me and kind of held my hand through this whole process. And actually, you know, these two guys are just really amazing car guys in general as well, too. And. And John had some great stories about Vic Elford. I had the opportunity to study under Vic Elford when I took my racing course, and Vic was just amazing. Look him up. He's now passed, but he is probably one of the penultimate Porsche racers, Le Mans, et cetera. What a CB he has. And then finally, we've worked our way down. This is Sparco. Also, I need to race an Italian car next time with all this Italian kit. But this is what I mentioned before. These are leather. It's like a sueded leather, which is nice, and that comes up and covers the ankle. So I just kind of really wanted to make sure there were others that do meet the FIA standards. But Since Ultimate Streetcar said leather, I didn't want to get there and be embarrassed or have a problem. So you can kind of see all the sizes and specs and whatnot with them. They're not, I wouldn't call them light. I'm a runner and I know what a light shoe feels like. And I wouldn't want to put a whole lot of miles on foot with these. But I think they should be terrific for being on the course and doing the kinds of things I'm going to be doing. So that will wrap it up for this kind of first edition of getting race prepped. I'll also be talking about, as I mentioned, I plan on going to do land speed racing. So I'll be talking about that. It'll be exactly the same kit. So this video, this segment of this video will be duplicated in that. But we'll go over those rules and how all that works. And then also once I'm on the track, I'll be doing on track footage. We'll be talking about that and I'll be talking about, this is the prep for me. I'll be talking about the prep for the car, some of the racing pieces that come separately with the car, about getting those installed, about the downloadable PDF from General Motors, about prepping your car, fluids and all sorts of things. With that, we'll do a deep dive into that and demystify that. So this is exciting right where I'm at now, it's pretty snowy and cold, but it's nice to get all this stuff together now so when the weather does get better and I can start getting out that I know that everything's all safe and ready for the roads. So drive safe. I hope you enjoyed this video. If so, please subscribe, share it with your friends. Like it and there'll be more coming your way. Even though for me right now when I'm shooting this, it's winter time. But this is the time to get things in order and organized and learn and register and prep. Thanks. Drive safe. Race safe. Sam.
