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Today was pricey a.k.a going racing ain't cheap

N

Neil Haughey

New member
Well today I decided to have a bit of a splurge and buy the remaining kit I need/wanted for my quest to one day eventually get out on track and not continually feel jealous of Mark and Paul F [:D].
- Arai GP-6S
- Stand21 RS.2 HANS device
- Alpinestars nomex vest
- OMP nomex socks
- Addidas race boots

To add to the Alpinestars GP-1 race suit I got a deal on a couple of weeks back (£340 +vat walk in job from GPR), and nomex balaclava and gloves I already had. Those of you who have gone down this road understand how much my wallet has been hammered on this little lot. Still though staying alive is the first priority [:)].

What I have learned though from trying on countless different brands of equipment. Well yes its true Arai helmets are the dogs danglies, the one I bought today is the most comfortable helmet I have tried on by a country mile and I have tried pretty much all of Bell, Simpson, Sparco & OMP. Its the first and only helmet I have tried that is a properly tight fit but with 0 pressure points/pain. Alpinestars suits are superbly comfortable as well, the flat seams don't irritate. Their material seems softer than the others I have tried on and the cut and shoulder design gives complete freedom of movement. But you guys already knew Arai and Alpinestars make great kit. The real surprise has been the Addidas boots. The guy in Merlin commented that they are surprised they don't sell more of em and I can feel why now, these are the most comfortable boots/shoes I have ever worn to do anything. They feel really well made out of nice materials, properly solid sole and yet cheaper than many others.

Big thanks to the guys at Merlin motorsport up at Castle Combe, and GPR at Silverstone. Whilst my racing life hasn't really started yet I can already advise that one must go to a real shop and try on all this stuff. I have taken a fancy to stuff I have seen on the net only to find it was gash and uncomfortable in reality (OMP race suit for example and Bell helmets). Be a pain and try everything on, its what those guys are there for. Same for sizing, the catalogue sizing is all over the place compared to reality.

Cheers
Neil
 
[:D] In terms of confidence you are probably right. TBH I just came to the conclusion that one just has to swallow paying for all this stuff. I could have got the cheapest gear but I know I would only go and buy the better stuff later anyway. The helmet in particular is a case of not scrimping. My biker mate wears Arai, he said to me only yesterday you only have one head so how much is your head worth. The other thing is stuff like a HANS is paid for by doing an extra 10 hours work, the consequences of not having it could be financial ruin for me (ignoring the obvious physical injury), I can't really afford to take time of work so I tend to see it all as a bit like my health insurance.
 
Good stuff Neil - like you say, cutting corners on things like this is just a false economy which you'll always live to regret. When it comes to things like this if people can't afford to get the right gear then maybe people should consider if they can afford to do it at all, because I can imagine that the cost of getting into racing will pale into insignificance compared with the cost of actually racing.
 
I prefer Arai, but I do have a Simpson that fits sort-of-alright too. The Bandits are designed for ball-headed Americans and theyre usually uncomfortable for Europeans to wear (this is why so many are available 'worn once'); but the RX7 seemed to have a more European-shaped design. Whether this is still the case with newer RX7-type Simpsons I cant say. I dont think that Id entertain the thought of buying a new one because of the raft of foolish 'Stig' remarks that you have to endure from the hard-of-thinking/Jeremy Clarkson fans...


 

ORIGINAL: sawood12

Good stuff Neil - like you say, cutting corners on things like this is just a false economy which you'll always live to regret. When it comes to things like this if people can't afford to get the right gear then maybe people should consider if they can afford to do it at all, because I can imagine that the cost of getting into racing will pale into insignificance compared with the cost of actually racing.
Click to expand...

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head Scott. I think its hilarious when ppl talk about buying all their race gear for a few hundred quid, when you will be spending at least that much pretty much every race weekend for even the cheapest race series. So far I have only gone slightly over what I expected to spend at each stage. I reckon for example about £5K per year is the bare minimum to do pretty much anything, more like double that, minimum, to do the PCGB championship. Having said that though I know plenty of ppl that spend about 5 grand a year on booze and fags so it depends on ones priorities to some extent.
 
ORIGINAL: sawood12
... cutting corners on things like this is just a false economy which you'll always live to regret.
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Snag is that you may not. [:eek:]

I recall going to the National Motorcycle Show about 8 years ago, with my dad (a casualty surgeon.) We couldn't help but notice how many other people at the show had one part or another of their anatomy in plaster, or was missing an arm or leg. My dad pointed out that for each two or three damaged people there, there was probably one who would have liked to be there but got killed while riding ...

Some things are dangerous. How much is your life worth?


Oli.
 
Totally sympathise[&:]£££,buts it is all one off purchases sort of,like you say could save your life.Look forward to seeing another Blue 944 out there[:)]
 
Cheers Mark. I had a good chat with Kev this morning, I have heard now all about the antics of you lot at Spa [:D]. ISTR you will be there on Saturday. We will be in from fairly early so Kev can set my seat up properly with me in it all kitted up. All my kit will be in tow so please not to much micky taking from you lot [:D].

 
Hi Neil

A distinct lack of progress photos of the car...............any piccies, we`d love to see them.
 
[;)] I will take my camera with me on Saturday. It went of to the spray shop Wednesday last to have a final blowover. I guess it must be sat at EMC at the moment pretty much all done. Next hurdle is finding a good time for its first outing and shakedown setup.
 
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