Frank Thomas suit fitment

Interested in a used Frank Thomas XTiII Size 44 leathers for 1st time track day and potential vintage racing down the road. I'm 5'7" with a 44 chest, 34 waist, 175 lbs., 29 inseam. I'm longed trunk but short legs. My Teknic 42 suit is very tight in the chest and neck. My trunk in 35 inches from crotch to highest point of shoulder. Does anybody know if the 44 in the FT would fit me? I can't try it on as the suit is on the West coast.

 

I haven't seen any Frank Thomas product that hasn't failed miserably in a crash. I would stay away from it.

 

Mike, thanks for the input, appreciate that. I had my Teknic altered to fit my crotch area, now need more room in the chest, neck area, I'm afraid of dumping more money into it. I was thinking of cutting my loses & going with a 44. I'm short, but my chest/back is in between a 43-44.

 

It think it will fit loose but for some reason they thought the arms needed enough room for 23" biceps, your gonna have a lot of material flapping around in that area unless your a mini Jay Cutler.

+1 to regularguy. I checked these out once and ended up with a used AGV for about the same price(atleast what they were selling for at the time). Invest the money in a decent suit.

 

Agreed. Working with TPM, I see a lot of track day crashes and always make it a point to check out crashed gear. Since the Cycle Gear boom of cheap FT suits, I've seen a lot more of them at the track and a lot of them failed in crashes. Granted, every crash is different, but when I see things like the stretch material and stitching fail, it raises a red flag.

For what it's worth, I don't think the entry-level Dianese suits that CG sells are on par, quality-wise, with a "real" Dianese suits.

 

Stitching blows out

 

IIRC there was a certain model Frank Thomas suit that had stitching issues. I have one that was purchased ~ '05. I've had 2 low sides on it and the suit has held up.

 

i had 4 crashes in my frank thomas and it held up perfectly fine. but the fit is absolutely horrible. the legs are about 3-4 sizes to big around. the chest area was ok. the length was ok. the arms were baggy as can be. i ofcourse got rid of it recently and got me a new alpinstars from Riders Discount

 

Well I just got a quote for a chest alteration of $79 with shipping included for my Teknic suit, now I'm leaning towards getting one more alteration done! The work she did for my crotch area was great, quality look & feel.

 

Get the Teknic altered.

The above is similar to my experience with FT suits. I bought mine in the spring of 2008 for my first track excursion, where my lack of attention to details (such as remembering where the turns were) put me on the ground hard. The suit held up well, but did need some repairs as a result (of course, they had to patch the track surface as well).

However, as I picked up pace, the arms would flap in the breeze, leaving me with marks on my arms. I eventually picked up a used Tecnic and am quite happy with it.

 

With the sale that RD was having, no way could i pass up the deal on the A* suit. sold my FT suit and put some moneys with it and got the new suit

 

Drop, which one did you get? I was curiuous & went to their web site. Do they have any promo codes to use?

A appreciate all the input folks! I'll probably be working towards a custom fitted Teknic for now, LOL!

 

Like all of them said, they suck my buddy crashed in one. Fell apart everywhere.

 

i got the one on the front page.. the a* charger. normally 999.99 on sale for 499.99

 

I had Alexa at Spyder leatherworks do some alterations and lettering on my AGV sit and it made all the difference in the world. I had her do double zippers while she was at it so I could more easily get in and out with my bad shoulders. The price was right and they fit me so much better.

Ken

 

I wrecked pretty good @ my first trackday a few years ago in a Frank Thomas suit and it held up amazingly. The textile stuff just inside of the shoulder ripped open a bit but the rest of the suit held up very well considering I went tumbling down the asphalt at 80. I still use it today and it fits really well all around. My only gripe is that the knee armor gets uncomfortable after a while.

 

well I'm getting my Teknic back this week, but I didn't realize I need front armour. what do you guys use & I guess you need to buy a suit with that in mind?..