Long time lurker to FM Owner-Any suggestions or advice?

[IzzyD]

First and foremost thanks you all for contributing to this forum. I have spent many hours scouring over the posts that have provided a lot of insight. I have sent private messages to many of you and you have taken the time to RESPOND...I thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, ideas, and advice.

I can't put the level of excitement in to words that will accurately share how I'm feeling. Open wheel has been a lifelong passion and most definitely bucket list item. So an opportunity presented itself and I finally decided to get off my a** and pull the trigger. I purchased 096-064 from Moses and Sitara at Texas Motorsports.

Being an OLD NEWBIE with zero experience I found that there was no better option than an FM to meet my main goals HAVE FUN and DEVELOP DRIVING SKILLS. I will be attending the Lucas Oil Racing 2 Day Basic School this upcoming week, Sebring and already booked the 2 DAY Advanced School in January 9-10, Homestead.

MY PLAN - After attending both schools go meet my girl. She will be stored at Texas Motorsports for what I'm thinking an entire year. I will be driving her at least one weekend per month as I will be in skill development more. Once that year is completed I will assess where I am, the progress, and come up with a plan for year 2.

REASON FOR WRITING THIS THREAD - I would greatly appreciate any suggestion or advice you may be able to provide...maybe thinking back to when you first started in comparison to where you are now.

I do have a specific question on driver safety equipment - HNR DEVICE. I've had a lot of folks tell me not to try to save money in this area and to go with the NEXT GEN R2 - BUT, ALL of the folks I know at the local racetrack are wearing HANS DEVICES. While safety is of utmost importance I realize that COMFORT is just as important. Kindly share which HNR device you are using and if you'd recommend or better yet buy it again.

THANK YOU in advance!

Cheers,
IzzyD

[TimH]

HANS is the original. For a long time it was the only option and once you have one you need a good reason to change. My good reason came when with a different car I needed a different driving position. I am VERY happy with my NecksGen2. A little more comfortable, a lot more adaptable, and I have no reason to doubt any difference in safety.

One perhaps radical suggestion for driver development - consider taking the wings off your FM for the first few months so you can learn mechanical grip before getting into the complications of aero. I've never seen that done but...

[TeamLMR]

First and foremost thanks you all for contributing to this forum. I have spent many hours scouring over the posts that have provided a lot of insight. I have sent private messages to many of you and you have taken the time to RESPOND...I thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, ideas, and advice.

I can't put the level of excitement in to words that will accurately share how I'm feeling. Open wheel has been a lifelong passion and most definitely bucket list item. So an opportunity presented itself and I finally decided to get off my a** and pull the trigger. I purchased 096-064 from Moses and Sitara at Texas Motorsports.

Being an OLD NEWBIE with zero experience I found that there was no better option than an FM to meet my main goals HAVE FUN and DEVELOP DRIVING SKILLS. I will be attending the Lucas Oil Racing 2 Day Basic School this upcoming week, Sebring and already booked the 2 DAY Advanced School in January 9-10, Homestead.

MY PLAN - After attending both schools go meet my girl. She will be stored at Texas Motorsports for what I'm thinking an entire year. I will be driving her at least one weekend per month as I will be in skill development more. Once that year is completed I will assess where I am, the progress, and come up with a plan for year 2.

REASON FOR WRITING THIS THREAD - I would greatly appreciate any suggestion or advice you may be able to provide...maybe thinking back to when you first started in comparison to where you are now.

I do have a specific question on driver safety equipment - HNR DEVICE. I've had a lot of folks tell me not to try to save money in this area and to go with the NEXT GEN R2 - BUT, ALL of the folks I know at the local racetrack are wearing HANS DEVICES. While safety is of utmost importance I realize that COMFORT is just as important. Kindly share which HNR device you are using and if you'd recommend or better yet buy it again.

THANK YOU in advance!

Cheers,
IzzyD

Congratulations on your purchase and your savvy move to keep the car with Moses for a year. There's nobody better than him when it comes to knowledge on FM. When I bought my FM (sight unseen but based on Mo's knowledge) I flew to TX and spent a few days at the shop with Mo to learn the intricacies of that car. A shakedown run at Cresson and then I was good to go.

In regards to the HANS device. My philosophy is that GM and Mercedes poured millions of dollars into development of the HANS, therefore that's what I use. I'm sure that other brands are fine and may work better on an individual basis, but for me I'm sticking with the original. The best overall advice I can give you when it comes to safety is - don't be cheap. Buy the best safety equipment you can. After all, when you're out on the track, everything is fine - until it isn't. Those are the moments you'll be glad you bought the best. . .

In regards to the driving portion, read good coaching books, watch good in-car FM videos by successful drivers and listen to race driving podcasts to get your mind ready for the mental aspects of the sport. If you can afford a driver coach, or extra test day seat time, that's also a great way to speed up your learning curve. If your car has a data acquisition system, that's another good way to learn and understand what's happening. If it's an Aim system, they provide a lot of good YT videos on different aspects of understanding and using data. BTW, always be learning. Every time you hit the track you should be learning something and you can always improve.

Have fun, enjoy your new race car and good luck with your new endeavor. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask. Most guys that run the FM are more than happy and willing to help.

Larry Mason

[IzzyD]

HANS is the original. For a long time it was the only option and once you have one you need a good reason to change. My good reason came when with a different car I needed a different driving position. I am VERY happy with my NecksGen2. A little more comfortable, a lot more adaptable, and I have no reason to doubt any difference in safety.

One perhaps radical suggestion for driver development - consider taking the wings off your FM for the first few months so you can learn mechanical grip before getting into the complications of aero. I've never seen that done but...

Thank you TIm! I appreciate your sharing the information on the current HNR you use and also the suggestion on getting familiar with the car's handling without the wing.

[IzzyD]

Congratulations on your purchase and your savvy move to keep the car with Moses for a year. There's nobody better than him when it comes to knowledge on FM. When I bought my FM (sight unseen but based on Mo's knowledge) I flew to TX and spent a few days at the shop with Mo to learn the intricacies of that car. A shakedown run at Cresson and then I was good to go.

In regards to the HANS device. My philosophy is that GM and Mercedes poured millions of dollars into development of the HANS, therefore that's what I use. I'm sure that other brands are fine and may work better on an individual basis, but for me I'm sticking with the original. The best overall advice I can give you when it comes to safety is - don't be cheap. Buy the best safety equipment you can. After all, when you're out on the track, everything is fine - until it isn't. Those are the moments you'll be glad you bought the best. . .

In regards to the driving portion, read good coaching books, watch good in-car FM videos by successful drivers and listen to race driving podcasts to get your mind ready for the mental aspects of the sport. If you can afford a driver coach, or extra test day seat time, that's also a great way to speed up your learning curve. If your car has a data acquisition system, that's another good way to learn and understand what's happening. If it's an Aim system, they provide a lot of good YT videos on different aspects of understanding and using data. BTW, always be learning. Every time you hit the track you should be learning something and you can always improve.

Have fun, enjoy your new race car and good luck with your new endeavor. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask. Most guys that run the FM are more than happy and willing to help.

Larry Mason

Thank you Larry. I think alike in the sense of not trying to reinvent the wheel when someone has spent some much in developing such an item. I will not cut costs when it comes to safety as that is most important to me and my family.

I too purchased the car unseen from Moses and Sitara. They have proven to be most delightful to work with and Moses' reputation and dedication to the FM is just priceless.

[Dee]

I drive two different open wheel cars a Penske rt5 and a Swift 016 , the seat position is very different, I found that the adjustable HANS works as I can change the angle to suit my helmet position.
Dee

[TexasDad]

Nearly everyone uses HANS, but NG is really versatile from one car to another (OW to SC). I doubt there is any provable safety difference between the two types, but if FIA rating matters in any of your future plans (it does not in SCCA racing) then HANS is the answer. NG is not FIA rated.

Most importantly, welcome! You will find the folks at Cresson in the FM community really helpful and much less focused on who is faster that day then having a fun and safe time. The regular FM club races would be a good place for you to start getting race experience in a low stress environment (there is one this Saturday, for example).

[IzzyD]

I drive two different open wheel cars a Penske rt5 and a Swift 016 , the seat position is very different, I found that the adjustable HANS works as I can change the angle to suit my helmet position.
Dee

Thank you Dee! Reading review after review and thanks to the folks that have responded to my post it seems to be wisest to proceed with the purchase of a Hans device.

I appreciate your taking the time to respond.

Cheers!

[IzzyD]

Nearly everyone uses HANS, but NG is really versatile from one car to another (OW to SC). I doubt there is any provable safety difference between the two types, but if FIA rating matters in any of your future plans (it does not in SCCA racing) then HANS is the answer. NG is not FIA rated.

Most importantly, welcome! You will find the folks at Cresson in the FM community really helpful and much less focused on who is faster that day then having a fun and safe time. The regular FM club races would be a good place for you to start getting race experience in a low stress environment (there is one this Saturday, for example).

Thank you for the WELCOME! I believe that learning from the folks that have the most experience in the FM is priceless. I'm excited to go meet my girl and take her on the track for the first time. I just wrapped up the Lucas Basic school and learned a lot from those guys...I believe that trusting their process was probably responsible for my comfort level in the car and the improvement I experienced from session 1 to session 8 on the 2nd day. Next, on Jan 9th, I will be attending the Advanced school at my local track, Homestead.

I am big of safety and believe that Hans is the way to go for me. I know that there are other brands out there but, for a couple of hundred dollars more I feel it's the best option for me.

THANK YOU again!

Cheers.