i've got to get some new fire resistant socks, and i'm being steered towards the simpson stuff by local race shop. now, its more expensive, so i'm guessing the margins are higher, but i have always had trouble with my nomex socks - they keep falling down. my fat calves stretch them out, and they don't stay. the shop is telling me the simpson stuff won't do this.

anyone using it or nomex socks that don't have this problem?

ahm

 

The reason that nomex socks fall down is they can't put any stretchable fabric in the weave of the socks. I haven't tried the Simpson product, but don't see how it can be much better. Let's hear from you if you decide to get the CarbonX and how it performs.

 

i had a double weekend (hyperfest) two weeks ago, and used my simpson carbonx socks for the first time. i'm very impressed with them. they are thick, but surprisingly, seemed to breathe really well, and have enough elastic so they don't stretch around my calves, then fall down. it was like a million degrees all weekend, and i was stunned they didn't seem to make my feet feel like the center of the sun. highly recommended over std. nomex. i still use nomex balaclava, but the socks are worth the higher price (~$15 for nomex pair, $30 for carbonx). i can't justify that delta for any of the other underclothes, but the socks are worth it to me.

ahm

 

Sounds good. I'll have to pick up a pair.

 

OT, how'd your race go the other weekend? I see Snobeck did pretty well again, and it looks like you were right behind Ratcliffe in the 2nd race. I heard about the crazy flying Me-otter in T3, was that Saturday or Sunday?

 

absolutely forking awesome. saturday i was just trying to get comfortable in the car and at summit. for it being my local track, i've got the least seat time there. seriously, i've got i think 6-7 events at VIR and about the same at pocono (plus lots up north), but only two at summit. anyway, my setup was way off - front ride height is an honest 1.5" too high. after putting the suspension on, i never even got it aligned

sunday i felt better in the car (and got my transponder location fixed so at least my laps counted the tree surfer left asphalt two cars in front of me at the beginning of the race on sunday - i heard a variety of stories about it, but it looked to be like he got nudged left rear, started going right and overcorrected. it was spectacular as hell, although thankfully the damage was incredibly minimal. he was driving it in the paddock after they pulled him out of the trees. more impressive was the wreck in sunday 'stinger' qualifying - one of the h1 (i think) cars lifted coming out of 10, and nosed it into the wall. motor pushed down a couple of inches, whole front subframe seriously tweaked. it was a major incident, and i had finally gotten a decent qualifying lap going, come out of 10 to see parts rolling across the track and this guy's car steaming, sitting on the inside. at least the driver was ok, cuz that car was done.

the king rat guy (australian? nz?) and i diced most of the way, but my setup was so wrong i was just boiling the fronts about 1/2 way through. i held him off until lap 10 or so, then had to concede the position coming down the chute. i think fixing the front ride height and getting the alignment done should net me at least 1/2 sec a lap, if not closer to a sec. if i could heel-toe at race pace, that'd probably be another .25. just getting the setup closer should bring me into the hunt with the regional guys. the national folks OTOH.... gonna need some more seat time before i can run with them.

i'm kind of stuck now though because i trailered my z up to connecticut to do the turbo install (can you say air-conditioned garage ), so i can't get the miata anywhere at the moment. i'm hoping to get up to CT and finish the install the weekend of aug 7/8. after some dyno tuning, i'm hoping i can get it to the track by the end of august and see how it runs

i'll probably do some more SM in september. sounds like you were able to do something about your housing situation - find what you wanted?

ahm

ps - bumpdrafting is fun

 

ahm- thanks for the feedback on the CarbonX socks. Not that you would want to test them, but I'd hope they are THAT much better at keeping the tootsies from getting singed in the event of a fire.

When I lived in N. Virginia in the mid-80's, Summit Point was my home track. Great circuit and lots of fun- glad to hear it's still that way!

 

i don't know if they are actually any better from a protection standpoint, but since they're SFI/FIA rated, they have to at least meet the standards. i never doubted the nomex in that regard (and i don't doubt the carbonx), but it was more of a comfort/fit difference that makes it worthwhile to me. like i said, i can't justify a marked price difference for the rest of the underclothes - i don't have a problem with the nomex shirts and underpants (well, a little itchy maybe). the socks just always stretched, and then fell down. my suits elastic ankle cuffs usually kept them tucked in, but it was annoying. the simpson socks dealt with that little annoyance at a relatively minor cost. the price difference for the pants and shirt is the same, percentage-wise, but absolute dollars is much more. the gforce top/bottom are ~$45/ea. the simpson stuff is $90/ea. $90 difference for the set is pretty significant with no real benefit *TO*ME*. for someone else, it may be worth it.

i like summit, especially for the miata - it reminds me of lime rock (my real 'home' track), but it does have some negatives. the concrete at the bottom of the chute is rough on everything, and facilities leave something to be desired (naming the roach coach food stand 'chez summit point' is just obnoxious), and paddock facilities are mediocre. VIR has become my gold standard, although the track has such big straights its a little boring in the miata. the facilities there are just phenomenal, and the track surface is excellent. LRP has many of the same issues as summit, but i grew up there, so its just 'character' having OG at summit is big plus, and they don't seem to have track markup like most trackside stores (LRP's OMP store is terrible in this regard) - basically the shop has the same prices as the webstore, which is a real plus if you get caught in a pinch.

i'm just excited to really be racing - its taken almost three years to get here. between getting the car prepped, buying a tow vehicle and trailer, an ugly job change, and all of life's little dramas in between, it felt wonderful to be out there dicing. its actually kind of funny that i finally got out there, i'm getting the turbo on the z now, and doing a ~5500 mile motorcycle trip have all happened within a month or so of each other - its been kind of vehicular nirvana i've got lots more planned for the z, but need to let the credit cards cool down since i don't plan on buying any vehicles next year, i should be able to get a full season of racing in, get my instructor license, and just be spending lots of quality track time and meeting other like-minded crazies. what could be better?

ahm