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Originally Posted by Mike_Yi
A buddy of mine said, "Don't get Pilotis. Get a real pair of racing shoes." I never asked what he meant by that.
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Well, there are Racing shoes and Driving shoes. Most of what Piloti sells fall into the Driving shoe category.
But, the DTM is an SFI-certified, Nomex lined, fire-resistant Racing shoe just like those from Simpson, Sparco, Oakley, Alpinestars, etc.
SFI, originally run by SEMA, is now an independent safety foundation similar to the Snell Foundation and deals primarily with driver apparel - shoes, gloves, firesuits, etc. Many race sanctioning bodies adopt SFI specs and standards into their rules such as: ARAC, ALMS, IHRA, NASCAR, IRL, NHRA, SCCA, WKA.
True racing shoes are purpose built just for racing. They generally do not wear well when used for walking around as one poster mentioned. Nor are they really comfortable, especially when compared to Pilotis for anything but driving.
Despite the name, Pilotis are American designed shoes. The founder spent years working for Adidas, Reebok and K-Swiss designing athletic shoes. He broke away and founded Piloti to produce both Racing and Driving shoes. Enthusiasts who don't want a pure Racing shoe (often $250+) like Pilotis because they are more versatile and less expensive.
But, your buddy's a little confused because Pilotis are worn by several top drivers in many leagues such as Robbie Gordon (NASCAR), Scott Pruet (IRL, CHAMP) and Colin McRae, who won the World Rally Championship and died last year. Go to any DE, AX or Track day and you'll see quite a few Piloti shod drivers.
It's really a matter of preference (maybe a little ego), and possibly that those who've not worn Pilotis just don't get how good they are.