Nomex flight suits (Page 1 of 3)

3.7: Fire-Retardant Clothing: Full SFI 3.2/A- or FIA 8856-2000-certified fire-retardant driving suits must be worn by all drivers at all times while inside the car. If using a single-layer SFI 3.2/A1 or 3.2/A3 suit, driver must also wear fire-retardant SFI- or FIA-certified longjohns. Multilayer suits rated SFI 3.2/A5 or higher are highly recommended and may be worn without longjohns. Fire-retardant FIA- or SFI-rated racing gloves and shoes are required. And yeah, while they may very well be superior, military-spec or firefighter suits are not FIA- or SFI-rated, so we can't accept them.

First I'd like to say I bought nomex socks already, and think people should have them, but if it isn't in the rules its kind of shady to demand them at the track, and force those that didn't have them to go to the store around the corner to buy them.

No one asked me about my lack of nomex socks at MSR just a few weeks ago?

You guys should have been at the Sears Point race. There was a gal there doing gear check who was impossibly obnoxious about the nomex socks. She had worked up a little speech that was oh-so-dear about the importance of nomex socks and far more "clever" than the time-worn adage about ten cent heads and ten cent helmets. I was privileged to be entertained by her speech only about half a dozen times while waiting in line.

Of course, then when I presented my gear, complete with nomex socks, she then felt like I needed to enjoy her monologue one more time before I tore my ears off.

It was so annoying that now that I think about it again, I almost wonder if she wasn't doing it as a sort of public performance art thing. That race is in the San Fran environs...

FWIW and in the interest of adding something of possibly valuable contribution to this thread beyond venting my spleen, IMHO the Carbon-X socks are much more comfortable than nomex.

I figured nomex socks were a given.  I have them anyway from my (very short) open wheel days.  They are cheap enough I don't see what the big deal is when some of us are spending nearly $1k on a helmet/HANS setup.

Nothing is a given IMO. I don't need to be hassled or talked down to by some lady at tech if something is not a rule. I have been in that situation before and it is a big pain in the ass. Although I might just buy them to not have an issue, but the instigator in me wants to not buy them just to be an ass.

LOL. Best laugh of the day so far. Well done, sir.

If I remember right wool and silk are the best of the natural materials but cotton is good.   I don't think there are such a thing as silk socks, but it does mean your fine to race with your Silk Pajamas under your race suit like you are Hugh Hefner.

There are silk socks, at least there used to be. Skiers used them, because they are warm and thin, so boots fit better. Now we have synthetics that are much better, but VERY flammable. I don't intend to be an ass at tech, I will  probably buy the stupid socks, my point was that if the tech people are going to hassle us about it, just make it a rule and that way there is no room for argument.

Yea I know they melt, I should have said that instead of calling them flammable. I actually advise my customers to not put their ski sock in the drier because it can affect them.

I heard one of the guys at CMP "strongly recommend" nomex socks. I smell a rule change coming.