It's no doubt feasible for a ricochet to take out your nether regions, but
seems unlikely if you have any kind of floor and seat at all. Peyote
simply has a hefty steel plate covering the area of a likely trajectory.
Perhaps not enough, but I wrestled with a blanket a gave up. The plate
gives me some level of confidence while it's minimalistic nature keeps me
honest about revs and careful shifting.
Just a general note to those blanket wearers, you're probably as likely to
have a bouncing bearing cap modify your gender as a piece of flywheel--the
carom angle is better and the floor between your feet is thin. Of course I
worry equally about meteor strikes to my increasingly unprotected cranium
and what I'd do with all the money if I won the lottery (God says "meet me
half way--buy a ticket").
-----Original Message-----
From: Don Marshall [mailto:marshall@nefcom.net]
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 2:22 PM
To: Bolton, Rich; fot@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Fly Wheel Protection Question
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bolton, Rich" <rbolton@chartbank.net>
To: <fot@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 12:23
Subject: Fly Wheel Protection Question
> My questions is.......What is (if any) the normal practice that
> everyone
is
> using to protect the cockpit area from this type of failure? Do I
> need to consider similar protection from the drive shaft (since it is
> about 6
inches
> from me)?
> I have heard of things called "blast blankets", and "tunnel skirts"
> that
are
> suppose to give the driver additional protection. Do these devices
> work,
and
> if so, where do I find the source for these types of products or are
> they just gimmicks?
Hi Rich, I hope they're not a gimmick because that's what I'm using... it
wraps the whole transmission and supposedly will contain all the bits
inside. The problem I see with the steel and aluminum shields is that
they only protect you from bits flying straight out toward your feet and
legs. I've heard stories, which may just be urban legends, about bits
ricocheting off the track under the car and coming back up through the
floor. By the time they get back up to the floor the car has moved a foot
or two forward exposing other body parts to potential damage. Someone on
the list had a run of ballistic blankets made a couple years ago, I don't
remember who just now or whether it's possible to get more. Whatever, I'm
happy I have one. Cheers, Don
|