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General >> Rally >> Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
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Message started by Napping on 10/19/10 at 11:16:53

Title: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by Napping on 10/19/10 at 11:16:53

I'm trying to put a list of gear I'd need to co-drive in various stage rally events, from GCFR to Tall Pines, but the list of avaliable equipment is pretty overwhelming. I need to narrow down my options as much as I can.

I assume many of you faced with same issue in past. Help me come up with a list of gear to procure.

I have a general picture: open face helmet with intercom, head and neck restraint.
But what about closing? there are shoes, suit, what's under suit, gloves. I have vague idea on requirements there.

Thanks in advance!

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by jgardhouse on 10/19/10 at 13:33:40

I run:
Peltor open face helmet (G87 I think - the new style one)
HANS Professional Device w/ QR
SFI Suit w/ SFI Underwear (G-Force) - because they come in fat american sizes, not because I like the product.
Nomex socks/baliclava (non-approved) from CSC Racing
DC ProSpec FIA

If I was to do it again, I would go with a closed face Peltor, solely from a safety standpoint. Peltor has warranty service out of Missisauga which is good. Stilo would be another top choice. Either/or, but I found a better fit with Peltor for my shape of head.

I would NOT ever rely on a SA2005 helmet - BSA A/FR is a much superior standard (I would also run it only with FIA cage padding - I'd steal it from my car if I was riding with someone else with SFI Padding). Factory installed HANS anchors.

I like the HANS QR release, others don't, but if you do run them, you MUST trim the pull lanyards to be shorter! If you're larger, smaller or oddly shaped, make sure you buy the right HANS for you - in my case, this was a 30M not the standard 20M that many people run - I had to buy the pro model for this, but the Sport is absolutely fine

Buy an FIA rated suit and be done with it. I'm personally a fan of OMP. I've had cheaper SFI suits (multiple) in the past.

I have nomex underwear. It adds an extra layer of heat and because of that I've left it in my bag more then I have worn it. CARS rules say as long as the suit is FIA or SFI /5 rated, you can even go commando underneath (not recommended).

Gloves - just make sure you have a pair of work gloves (Mechanix brand, naturally) in your co-d bag for when you have to change a flat. No rules requirement for gloves.

Boots - dress for the weather - FIA booties suck when you're standing in a snowbank. Nomex socks are probably a good idea, I'd buy FIA so if rules change, you're good to go.

You've probably noticed that I've not really recommended anything cheap. I learnt my lesson. I have two helmets and two suits because of this (one set gets used for guests at test days now).

My three cents.

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by Napping on 10/19/10 at 15:18:18

Thanks for great write up, very educational.

I'm roughly ~5'11'', ~160lbs, so I assume most equipment I'll need would be medium size or close to it.

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by Alexei S on 10/19/10 at 19:45:06

The HANS website has measurements for their devices, you may want to check those against your neck measurements or just go to a place like CSC Racing and try them out.

When I started co-driving:

Peltor helmet + intercom.
Leaf Racewear 2 layer suit (so I don't have to bother with the nomex underwear with a 1 layer and it's accepted in other racing series)
HANS sport series (a bit cheaper than pro, and I personally don't notice the extra weight)
Nomex balaclava

In terms of other co-driver gear:
- Small laptop bag that I used for a co-driver's bag, it had lots of pockets for pens, pencils, etc
- 2 wrist watches, just in case 1 fails :P
- Staedler (?) 2 mm mechanical pencil + soft/dark leads. I wish I had discovered this sooner, it makes writing notes during recce a MILLION times easier than traditional mechanical pencils. This won't snap on you when you're trying to write notes over bumpy roads.
- Spare batteries for intercom
- Sliding zipper plastic bags, because I sucked as a co-driver and got sick on pretty much every rally.

Plus a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff I'm forgetting. Don't forget to get your first aid course in too for the licence.

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by jimmy on 10/20/10 at 08:49:21

I prefer a full face helmet. I switched years ago when I bought a full face for my motorcycle and thought - why not one for the rally car. Since then I've seen a few videos of crashes and I would never go back to an open face (plus, the mic stays in one place).

Note that the current BS spec expires in 2013 (p. 40) - so consider that if you are buying a helmet with only BS certification.

Balaclava to go with it. Keeps it clean, un-sweaty, and warmer in the winter.

You only have one head and there are no do-overs......

press on,

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by Doug_Woods on 10/20/10 at 09:11:20

Never go rallying without a roll of toilet paper in the car.

Seriously consider buying your own seat with head/shoulder wings and moving it from car to car.

Doug Woods

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by Jeannie on 10/20/10 at 11:17:41

If your intercom ever fails, better have hand signals agreed on! I had a full-face helmet at TN 2003 and the intercom failed. It made communicating a real bugger.

But I'm sure everyone is using way more reliable intercom systems than we had at that time . . . .

I really enjoyed having an open-face Peltor after that.

Jeannie

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by Jeff_Hagan on 10/21/10 at 11:29:05

For intercoms, something to keep in mind: having a Peltor headset is a lot more flexible if you're going from car to car.

If you have a Peltor headset, you can get an adapter to plug it into a Terraphone amp, but there's no way to plug a Terraphone headset into a Peltor amp.

Title: Re: Rally Co-Driver Gear - what do I need?
Post by Jeff_Hagan on 10/21/10 at 11:35:30

Napping wrote on 10/19/10 at 11:16:53:

I have a general picture: open face helmet with intercom, head and neck restraint.

Not just any head and neck restraint. Under the current CARS rules, it can only be a HANS device or a Hutchins Hybrid Pro. There are other devices on the market, but they're not legal for rally in Canada.