Topic: Where to buy cheap gear

I've been shopping around for required safety gear and I've found some pretty good deals so far.  I see the forum rules regarding advertising for websites etc, but this seems to only apply to posts where the writer is trying to advertise for their own personal gain.  Would I be breaking the rules to post links to websites where I've found good deals? 

I've so far bought myself a fire suit, shoes, and socks for a total of about $90, shipping and tax included.  I also found SA2015 helmets as low as $65 but I decided to hold out for SA2020 since I don't really expect to be fielding a team until 2023 or 24.

I'm also curious to hear from other bargain shoppers where they are finding the best deals.  And as a more general discussion, when is the best time of year to be looking for closeout/clearance deals?  Should I be waiting till black friday?  After Christmas?  After new year's?  February?  What's considered "off season" in auto racing?

Re: Where to buy cheap gear

My only comment here is you may want to think twice about super cheap safety gear. If you're buying from any sites like ali express or similar, return it. Knock off gear is downright dangerous, and there have been some fake belts getting caught recently that are outright scary in a crash. Safety gear should be bought from a reputable shop, or from the manufacturer to make sure it's real. If gear inspection thinks your stuff is knock off, they can tell you that you won't be driving that weekend. The stuff that saves your life in an accident is not the place to go super cheap.

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Re: Where to buy cheap gear

TheEngineer wrote:

My only comment here is you may want to think twice about super cheap safety gear. If you're buying from any sites like ali express or similar, return it. Knock off gear is downright dangerous, and there have been some fake belts getting caught recently that are outright scary in a crash. Safety gear should be bought from a reputable shop, or from the manufacturer to make sure it's real. If gear inspection thinks your stuff is knock off, they can tell you that you won't be driving that weekend. The stuff that saves your life in an accident is not the place to go super cheap.

I fully agree with you here.  I've so far only used US sellers who appear to have a physical store beyond their internet presence.  And I've only bought brands that are well known.  I would definitely not order anything off of Wish, Alibaba, or anywhere in China. Ebay sellers are scrutinized thoroughly and generally ignored if they appear to be just some dude instead of an actual business.  I like to think I have a pretty good nose for scammers and junk merchandise but constant vigilance is important.

What I'm looking for is not necessarily "the cheapest" race gear I can find, but rather the biggest discounts on well-known quality goods.  Clearance sales, closeouts, last year's model, stuff like that.

Re: Where to buy cheap gear

the knock off stuff often comes branded as the real deal. The belts being caught are all branded as real brands like sparco and OMP. Inspect the gear when you get it. verify the SFI and other rating tags. There are counterfeit identification guides floating around too.

deals and closeouts are fine, just trying to make sure people are aware that there is a lot of knock off stuff out there right now that isn't always obvious for being knock off.



A word on driving suits. The basic cheap ones like the basics suit from the Lemons store are not nomex, they are just lots of heavy cotton. The more expensive suits are actually nomex and are actually more comfortable because they are lighter and have less material. In my own opinion, the better suit is worth the extra money, especially if you race somewhere hot. I did a number of years in the cheaper heavy suit before getting a good one, and man I wish I upgraded sooner. Everyone has their own opinion on what's ok to deal with, but just in case others weren't aware of the differences in suits.

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Re: Where to buy cheap gear

I'll echo the sentiment of avoiding overly cheap/sketchy gear.  God knows there's a ton of obviously knock off stuff on ebay, but there are deals to be had if you look and are smart about where you're looking.

I found my suit on ebay from the gforce outlet shop.  It's the shop that g-force uses to sell off closeout goods, or things like display models (like the one I got).  The deals are pretty good.

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Re: Where to buy cheap gear

You only get one life... What's the point of cheeping out on safety gear if it puts you at risk?

If you can only afford a $100 racing suit and $60 helmets, perhaps wheel to wheel racing isn't for you. You do realize how much a weekend of this sport usually costs, right?

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Re: Where to buy cheap gear

Fishah wrote:

You only get one life... What's the point of cheeping out on safety gear if it puts you at risk?

If you can only afford a $100 racing suit and $60 helmets, perhaps wheel to wheel racing isn't for you. You do realize how much a weekend of this sport usually costs, right?

Counterpoint would be if you can get a $500 suit for $250 and a $200 helmet for $125...why wouldn't you?  It mostly is a question of your savvy and time.

Re: Where to buy cheap gear

surprised nobody mentioned it yet: raceimage.com

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Re: Where to buy cheap gear

Fishah wrote:

You only get one life... What's the point of cheeping out on safety gear if it puts you at risk?

If you can only afford a $100 racing suit and $60 helmets, perhaps wheel to wheel racing isn't for you. You do realize how much a weekend of this sport usually costs, right?

Yes.  Don't be offended if I can do it cheaper though.

Re: Where to buy cheap gear

Since we're talking gear, I wanted to give a shout-out to Jeremy at G-Force.  I bought one of their Pro Series suits that was on eBay closeout a couple years ago.  You know, the yellow ones that half the paddock seemingly has.  The zipper fabric parted in the middle probably from sitting down with the suit halfway zipped down.  I inquired with them about a replacement zipper and having a local shop sew it in.  Jeremy said to sent the suit in and it was $40 to have a new zipper put in.  They just notified me that they repaired the suit under warranty and are shipping it back on their own dime.  They really didn't need to do that and just wanted to give them a shout out for doing that.

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Re: Where to buy cheap gear

derekste wrote:

surprised nobody mentioned it yet: raceimage.com

We did...you missed it.

12 (edited by Fishah 2019-11-15 04:14 PM)

Re: Where to buy cheap gear

OnkelUdo wrote:
Fishah wrote:

You only get one life... What's the point of cheeping out on safety gear if it puts you at risk?

If you can only afford a $100 racing suit and $60 helmets, perhaps wheel to wheel racing isn't for you. You do realize how much a weekend of this sport usually costs, right?

Counterpoint would be if you can get a $500 suit for $250 and a $200 helmet for $125...why wouldn't you?  It mostly is a question of your savvy and time.

Sure, but that's not what he said.

He said firesuit, plus shoes and socks for $90.

And he's looking at $65 helmets.

I don't care how savvy you are, that sounds sketchy as fuck.

King 1 wrote:
Fishah wrote:

You only get one life... What's the point of cheeping out on safety gear if it puts you at risk?

If you can only afford a $100 racing suit and $60 helmets, perhaps wheel to wheel racing isn't for you. You do realize how much a weekend of this sport usually costs, right?

Yes.  Don't be offended if I can do it cheaper though.

The cost of gear is the least expensive part of this whole sport. I encourage frugality, as long as it doesn't get in the way of sense.

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Re: Where to buy cheap gear

Well now that I'm done purchasing everything I intend to get from them for now, and I don't have to worry about yall buying them out, and since no one seems to worry about naming websites here, I'll go ahead and let you all know: Saferacer dot com has some incredible deals going on right now.  I looked into them for reviews and information and whatnot.  Some complaints about slow service and poor communication but nothing serious.  They seem to have(had?) a sponsorship deal with SCCA and various clubs.

Even though I'm trying to do this for the least money possible, I went with Alpinestars underwear and socks since they were cheaper than any regular price stuff out there.  Also Alpinestars gloves, even though I probably could have found g-force for less.  And I got Racequip shoes.

Shoes: $21 (those are sold out now but they have quite a few other good deals on shoes)
Socks: $10.50
Underpants: $34.50
Undershirt: $40.50
Gloves: $36

They have even better deals on some of these but not in my size so this was the best I could do. If you happen to be a size small, definitely check out their deals on suits.  SFI-5 for under $100.  They seem to be adding things here and there because I just got the gloves today and I haven't seen them on there before now.  Sizes and colors are extremely limited but definitely take a look.  All their $65 helmets appear to be gone though.

I also got a G-Force suit via Ebay from Speedway Motors for $35 plus tax and shipping.  Speedway's actual website has some pretty good deals on clearance items but they seem to list them even cheaper on Ebay.

Re: Where to buy cheap gear

When my car caught on fire, my first thought was thank god I didn't buy budget shit.