new race suit ? where to buy and which one?
Discussion
what a mine field of potential suits.
anyone with the experience to point me in the right direction.
ie. are we talking demon/gpr/merlin/ or is there a clever better value for money alternative on the net or overseas.
all advice welcome, also better to buy at autosport or race retro ?
regards
Tim.
anyone with the experience to point me in the right direction.
ie. are we talking demon/gpr/merlin/ or is there a clever better value for money alternative on the net or overseas.
all advice welcome, also better to buy at autosport or race retro ?
regards
Tim.
I got a 3 layer made to measure ordered at the show for less than a sparco 2 layer from DT.
http://www.advanced-wear.co.uk
fits great.
http://www.advanced-wear.co.uk
fits great.
I’m also buying a new suit this year and intending buying, ordering or at the very least making a decision at Autosport as Demon Tweeks, Grand Prix Racewear, AWS, Sparco, OMP and Stand 21 are usually all there, so you can see and try on most options all in one day.
I’ll be looking for the lightest weight as a trade off against price. Not for weight, but on the basis that lighter is cooler. If you flick through the DT catalogue they helpfully put the fabric weight of most suits (grammes per square metre). I had a quick look at some suits at GPR just before Christmas and was gobsmacked how much things have advanced since I bought my current suit in 2003 (which at the time was top of OMP’s range) - compared to what is available now it’s like a duvet! The newer ones are so much thinner and lighter but still have the same or better safety standards. Given the heat generated by our cars (particularly closed cars like mine), it will make a huge difference to driver comfort.
The other main thing is fit. Although I suspect a lot of the suits are made in the same factory irrespective of brand, they do seem to have different cuts. 10 years ago the OMP cut fitted me better than Sparco as it was slightly longer in the body. So unless you are going custom/tailored you need to try them all on and get the right fit. And make sure they are comfortable sat down.
Safety standards are the other thing to look for – you want something with the latest standard to give you the longest period of use. They don’t change them that often and the last one they phased out was the 1985/6 standard, but worth getting the most recent if you can. 2 or 3 layer shouldn’t make any difference to safety, they both have to meet the same safety standard – the more expensive suits get there with lower weight, the cheaper ones do it with 2 layers of thick/heavy fabric.
Sparco and OMP have the most off the shelf options, then Alpinestars. Sabelt and Puma seem to be relatively expensive and Adidas only seem to have one option. Stand 21 suits are only sold direct and I don’t know much about them, other than they are used by a large number of professional drivers. They have an option to connect the suit to an external cold air supply which sounds interesting – but I can’t visualise it! AWS are a less well known UK brand – as Graham says they can do a custom suit for the same price as an off the shelf suit from one of the big brands but I’d still be looking for the fabric to be lightweight. Having said that when I was looking for some suits for refuellers I was expecting AWS to be cheaper that Sparco and OMP’s models and that just wasn’t the case.
In terms of who to buy from: you can directly compare GPR and DT prices. GPR will embroider your name on the belt free of charge but DT give 10% to racers enrolled in their pole position club. In general DT appear cheaper than GPR, but I’d look for GPR to price match DT. AWS and Stand 21 you buy direct. It’s also worth having in mind prices from some of the smaller outlets if you decide on a particular suit – e.g. as you say, Merlin. And as with everything in motorsport, always ask for a discount and always haggle!
The final thing to say is that suits seem very expensive - but if you don’t go putting on loads of weight and you look after the suit (take it off before getting under the car to look at an oil leak!!) you can get at least 10 years out of them. Compare that to a set of tyres…
I’m going to the show on both Thurs and Friday as I want to explore all the options – and still have time for a refreshment or two
Looking forward to it – I’m intrigued by the Stand 21 ventilated thingummy…
I’ll be looking for the lightest weight as a trade off against price. Not for weight, but on the basis that lighter is cooler. If you flick through the DT catalogue they helpfully put the fabric weight of most suits (grammes per square metre). I had a quick look at some suits at GPR just before Christmas and was gobsmacked how much things have advanced since I bought my current suit in 2003 (which at the time was top of OMP’s range) - compared to what is available now it’s like a duvet! The newer ones are so much thinner and lighter but still have the same or better safety standards. Given the heat generated by our cars (particularly closed cars like mine), it will make a huge difference to driver comfort.
The other main thing is fit. Although I suspect a lot of the suits are made in the same factory irrespective of brand, they do seem to have different cuts. 10 years ago the OMP cut fitted me better than Sparco as it was slightly longer in the body. So unless you are going custom/tailored you need to try them all on and get the right fit. And make sure they are comfortable sat down.
Safety standards are the other thing to look for – you want something with the latest standard to give you the longest period of use. They don’t change them that often and the last one they phased out was the 1985/6 standard, but worth getting the most recent if you can. 2 or 3 layer shouldn’t make any difference to safety, they both have to meet the same safety standard – the more expensive suits get there with lower weight, the cheaper ones do it with 2 layers of thick/heavy fabric.
Sparco and OMP have the most off the shelf options, then Alpinestars. Sabelt and Puma seem to be relatively expensive and Adidas only seem to have one option. Stand 21 suits are only sold direct and I don’t know much about them, other than they are used by a large number of professional drivers. They have an option to connect the suit to an external cold air supply which sounds interesting – but I can’t visualise it! AWS are a less well known UK brand – as Graham says they can do a custom suit for the same price as an off the shelf suit from one of the big brands but I’d still be looking for the fabric to be lightweight. Having said that when I was looking for some suits for refuellers I was expecting AWS to be cheaper that Sparco and OMP’s models and that just wasn’t the case.
In terms of who to buy from: you can directly compare GPR and DT prices. GPR will embroider your name on the belt free of charge but DT give 10% to racers enrolled in their pole position club. In general DT appear cheaper than GPR, but I’d look for GPR to price match DT. AWS and Stand 21 you buy direct. It’s also worth having in mind prices from some of the smaller outlets if you decide on a particular suit – e.g. as you say, Merlin. And as with everything in motorsport, always ask for a discount and always haggle!
The final thing to say is that suits seem very expensive - but if you don’t go putting on loads of weight and you look after the suit (take it off before getting under the car to look at an oil leak!!) you can get at least 10 years out of them. Compare that to a set of tyres…
I’m going to the show on both Thurs and Friday as I want to explore all the options – and still have time for a refreshment or two
Looking forward to it – I’m intrigued by the Stand 21 ventilated thingummy…Me and DC use this place for clothing especially if you join there club for the discount probably only of interest to people on a budget........
http://www.rallynuts.com/race-suits.html
probably only of interest to people on a budget........http://www.rallynuts.com/race-suits.html
wadsapple said:
Me and DC use this place for clothing especially if you join there club for the discount probably only of interest to people on a budget........
http://www.rallynuts.com/race-suits.html
Yip, if you "join up" (free) expect to pay 15% less than all the other shops. I've had loads of stuff from here and can recommend them probably only of interest to people on a budget........http://www.rallynuts.com/race-suits.html
Thanks for the Rallynuts club tip - I've now registered and the discounts in some cases are better than DT.
They give 15% off OMP and 10% off Sparco. Their base prices are the same as DT, so assuming you get the 10% pole position club discount, Sparco prices are the same but OMP products are cheapest at Rallynuts.
Merlin prices are identical to DT base prices, so you'd need a 10% discount to match DT.
All pre haggling / special show discounts....
They give 15% off OMP and 10% off Sparco. Their base prices are the same as DT, so assuming you get the 10% pole position club discount, Sparco prices are the same but OMP products are cheapest at Rallynuts.
Merlin prices are identical to DT base prices, so you'd need a 10% discount to match DT.
All pre haggling / special show discounts....
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