Cool Vests

[VW16VRacer]

Go Kirk!

Always looking at the other side of the coin.

[JamesB]

There have been some good articals in sports car about endurance training for racing this month (july.) Last month they covered diet, both very good reads.

I have fallen off my excersize routine since about march (finding the motivation.) But in general I am pretty active overall so I have not gained much in weight. But I started back this week and can already feel the difference. I already sweat alot and can handle heat well, but I think if I ever did long stints I would likely need some air piped around me at the least.

[lateapex911]

I'm with kirk on this one. Except my 'poison' is swimming. Actually, I do some meets and long distance swims too. Traditionally, the National Championship season is over in April/May, so it coincides well with racing. But these past few years i've been doing a big charity swim here in the Northeast across Long Island Sound, which is in August. Last year Ii had to do it with two broken ribs, thanks to a qualifying (!) crash where I was the meat in a 4 wide sandwich at the Glen. I will NOT be doing the swim this year with broken ribs!

But, if there's a pool around it's a phenominal way to get in shape. Great cardio, and you use more muscles than you'd think doing it. Plus, it's not bad on the joints. I still get hot in the car, but a standard regional race is no big deal. I did a 3 hour enduro alone in August....and that was fine too, but it was only 85 or so.

So, my mantra is, fitness first, fancy stuff later.

[Nickel Dime]

I have another way to keep cool in the car. I just call my ex-wife before every race. That sends a chill down my spine that lasts for hours.

[CaptainWho]

cool shirt from your favorite supplier (~$125) ... 12 VDC 500 gallon per hour bilge pump (~15-20) ... maybe eight feet of hose (with leftovers) ... 8-16 qt cooler with lid that seals _well_ (~20) ... miscellaneous hardware and sealant crap that's probably lying around in your garage ... a little angle iron or a few eye bolts and a couple of nylon straps to retain it ... you're pretty much where the FAST system that retails around $385 gets you ... if you really want to get snazzy, drop the $40 or so with your race supplier to get an extra set of the dry breaks to put on the cooler to mate with the ones on the shirt

[pvyoung]

The Original Cool Vest I highly recommended it.

Perry Young

[anrkii]

I am making my own water flow cool suit
one of these costs about $500 :


OR , you can pick up one of these on ebay for $40:


if you get one with a pad, it comes with the quick disconnects already. stich some tubing on a tee shirt, and you will need a 12$ power reducer for 12v. easy stuff.

total expense of about $60-$75