driver cooling systems
Buyer’s Guide: Driver Cooling Systems
Summer temperatures are already upon us in many parts of the country. Out on the track in full race gear, those high temps translate to a whole lot of heat exposure for drivers – especially those participating in endurance events. Adding a driver cooling system to your racecar – which channels ice water through a specially-designed shirt worn by the driver – is a good idea not only because of the increased comfort for the driver, but also because fatigue caused by that heat can reduce one’s ability to concentrate, in turn affecting not only lap times but safety as well. Here we’ll explain how to go from Point A – no driver cooling system – to Point B – a race-ready system with a cooling shirt.
How Driver Cooling Works
It’s summer time and the rising temperature just makes it that much hotter in a race car, where temps can exceed 120 degrees. Here at Winding Road, we always advise drivers to add a driver cooling system to their car. Keeping your core body temperature at a safe level helps reduce hydration and fatigue, leaving to improved performance throughout your race.
Gear Spotlight: Techniche Self-Contained Cooling Vest
Avoiding fatigue while behind the wheel of a race car is a difficult task to accomplish. Racing is a physical sport and race cars inherently generate a lot of heat. The high temperatures of racing during the summer make this even more difficult. Recently we posted a guide to driver cooling systems, as these systems make a huge difference when you’re behind the wheel, but the Techniche Cooling Vest, in particular, is a bit of an outlier in that realm due to its unique design and lower price point than the box-based systems, making it an interesting consideration for those looking to make enduring the heat on track more manageable.
Quick Drive: 2013 Ford Mustang GT Coupe
Its suspension is noticeably softer than the 302, with a higher degree of roll and vertical motion. It still feels rather planted, but it requires more thought, lacking the ability to charge into a turn. The balance is impressive, and steering with the throttle is definitely a viable option. It took some adjusting, as the crisper throttle response on the Boss made this sort of technique easier to manage. There’s still plenty of feedback, owed in large part to the same heavily bolstered Recaro seats (this time wrapped in leather instead of fabric). That’s a good thing, because much like the 302, the GT is pretty devoid of feedback through the steering.
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