My son and I both need racing suits. There are so many options that figuring out what we want online is difficult. Add to that the seeming randomness of sizes and how to take measurements, and my confidence in getting something that really fits without trying things on is very low. My son will also need a helmet which is much better tried on.
So, I'm looking for suggestions for good places to do in-person shopping that's not too far from Ann Arbor, Michigan. I can see driving as much as 4 hours for a really good experience.
So far, the prime candidate is Lane Automotive. Their focus seems to be muscle cars/hot rods/drag racing/circle track, so I'm a little concerned they will be light on stuff appropriate for Formula Ford racing. That would be a 2 hour drive for us. Anyone have any experience there?
Any other suggestions?
I used to buy my stuff from Leaf Racewear in London, Ontario. With the current Covid restrictions you would have to have a test to get into Canada and I think you can get back into the US with just a vaccination card, or the same test would still be valid anyway. They have a showroom with some samples, but not a lot of stuff to try on, it's all made to order. The advantage would be that they can measure you and talk about fit right there. My Leaf suit was made to measure and I picked the design and colours. I could bring it over so you can see how it held up to a decade of use.
In the Detroit area I have bought other things from Averill Racing Stuff.......racing-stuff.com......They sell suits, but I have no idea what they have to try on.
Edit: Leaf's order form for their better suits ask for 20 different body measurements to get a perfect fit.
It's a five or six hour drive for you, but you could try Pegasus Racing in New Berlin, WI. They say they have a lot of suits in stock and they have a showroom. https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/advcat.asp?CategoryID=SUIT
Let me second Pegasus. I've bought most of my stuff from them over the decades. They are always at Elkhart lake races. So Formula Ford is their strong suit. (Sorry about the pun)
You sit different in a Formula Car than a circle track car and suits reflect that difference. Drag racing guys seldom have the same measure of protection road race guys do.
Listen to them regarding helmets. Some helmets really aren't good in an Open formula car but have a great following in sedans etc. The buffeting will flat wear you out not to mention put a big strain on your neck muscles.
In my Black Jack spl. At 150+ mph the right helmet actually makes me faster and I have really massive neck muscles.
Good input!
I buy a lot of stuff from Pegasus, but I hadn't thought of them because they are outside my arbitrary 4 hour driving limit. I'll have to check on what they make available to try on in their showroom. That might be worth a trip.
Leaf looks really interesting too. I had to laugh at one of the items on their body measurement form: "Weight - don't lie". I'm not sure how border crossings work at the moment, but I'll have to check that out. And given the detail on the form, there would seem to be a higher probability of success with a custom suit.
shopping in a racing suit.
The other thing to get clear in your head beforehand is "How much do you want to spend?" Suits start at $250 and go as high as you want. I looked at some suits at the Runoffs at Indy a few years ago and the weight differences, material stiffness, etc was really interesting. Top end suits were like wearing a pair of pajamas (slight exaggeration) compared to a less expensive 3 layer suit. The other thing to consider for your son is how much will he bulk up over the next few years? He's right at the age where he can change size pretty quickly and grow out of a suit. Not bad if it's a $350 one, but a $1000 one will hurt a bit more. If his height is sort of fixed now, he might be better with a looser fit to last a few years.
Just wanted to pile on and say that it's 1000% worth it to go to a well-stocked store and try on suits and helmets before buying. After doing this last year, I realize there was a 0% chance of me getting gear that fits as perfectly and comfortably if I had tried to buy the stuff online. Different brands fit differently, so it's not just about the size number. IMO it's also worth spending the money to get a well-made, lightweight suit... there's nothing worse than wearing a heavy snowmobile suit in a hot race car in the middle of the summer. They last for years and years, it's an investment that pays itself back a thousand times over.
If for some reason you find yourself in Atlanta, I can highly recommend Discovery Parts. Ron and his team are very knowledgeable, and they always have tons of inventory.
I asked for input on the Waterford FB page. Several said Lane, one added Leaf, and another said you can go to Jeg's in Columbus and if you call ahead they can have any suit from the warehouse in the store for you to try on, look at, fondle, etc.
One guy had been to Lane in September and he said they had suits on the rack then.
RJS used to have an outlet in Sterling Heights, but they've closed that down and are based in Florida now.
In reply to pkingham (Forum Supporter) :
Nicer suits fit pretty exactly and most online stores (saferacer is who I used) have very liberal return policies. Mine fit perfectly using the measurements online...
frenchyd said:
Drag racing guys seldom have the same measure of protection road race guys do.
Depends on which level. The NHRA is pretty lax on slower cars; show up with a relatively stock street car on test and tune night and the rule is basically "Wear pants." But at higher levels, you'll see minimum specs of SFI 3.2A/15 and higher. If you're not running 7.49 or quicker in the quarter, you're generally looking at about the same fire suit requirements as an SCCA club level racer. Although as you've noted, the suit may need to be a somewhat different shape.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Thanks Warren! Looks like we'll try Lane first since they are the easy button.
