SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS introduces the Woven Filament Firesuits for the 2003 racing season.

Feb 25, 2003 - The new Simpson Filament Nomex® Firesuits are becoming the latest in a long history of advances in fire protection safety. Simpson Performance Products developed the "Future Suit" which is constructed with a revolutionary new material called Filament Nomex®. The knit weave allowed the material to stretch and breath allowing more comfort to the driver while providing superior protection. "We determined that the material dissipated the energy far better than expected during complete suit testing at DuPont's Thermo Man® Laboratory," states Doug Doolen, Vice President of Sales at Simpson. "The filament outer layer actually carbonizes, breaks off and consequently dissipates much of the heat that would have been directed towards the driver. Further, our barrier fabric beneath the outer- shell provides a secondary protective layer to reduce heat transfer. We’re seeing burn percentages reduced to less than half those seen with traditional double layer suits during 7 second exposures at approximately 1800 degrees F. These same burn percentages can be reduced further with the use of Simpson Nomex® Long Underwear, which has been shown to increase system performance by over 50%."

The Simpson Woven Filament Nomex® Firesuit, Style MTO-19 and F-19, is a very sleek addition to the filament family. The military uses this material as Flight Jackets for the top fighter pilots in the country. "Pound for pound, this is the best performing fabric we have. It is a tight weave with good sheen and color retention,” Doug Doolen states. "We are seeing a 10 to 15% improvement in performance based on the weight of the fabric. This is the lightest SFI 3.2A-5 rated suit in our line with a total suit weight of approximately 3 pounds."

Since 1959, Simpson Performance Products has been the leading safety manufacturer in the motorsports industry. Simpson believes in putting safety first and is dedicated to elevating the standards of racing safety through continuous development, refinement and testing. The one thing that remains constant is Simpson’s commitment to racer safety.