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Impact Racing products to be decertified by the SFI

FYI in case anyone is using Impact Racing products.

http://www.sfifoundation.com

Quote:

SFI Foundation, Inc., has issued a Notice of Decertification; Notice of Cease and Desist, and a notice terminating all Contracts of Participation to Impact Racing [owned by safety pioneer Bill Simpson]. Effective April 27, 2010, all products manufactured and/or distributed by Impact Racing pursuant to SFI Specification Programs 3.2A, 3.3, 16.1, and 16.5 are decertified. Evidence obtained by SFI shows that over a period of years Impact Racing has engaged in the production and use of counterfeit SFI conformance labels and patches, and affixed them to Impact products for use in motorsports. Under the Contracts of Participation between SFI and Impact, SFI conformance labels and patches may only be obtained from SFI and no other source.

Evidence shows that Impact had counterfeit SFI labels and patches made in Asia and then affixed them to Impact products it distributed to members of the racing community. To SFI's knowledge, Impact never advised its customers that its products contained phony SFI labels and patches. Impact never advised SFI of its systematic and longstanding practice of counterfeiting and distributing SFI patches and labeling.

Impact has been directed to cease and desist from this practice. SFI has directed Impact to immediately notify all affected customers to remove the counterfeit labeling and to offer the affected customers a full refund of the purchase price. SFI is requesting that all counterfeit conformance labels removed from Impact products be sent to SFI.

SFI has elected not to decertify these products immediately in order to minimize the potential hardships to members of the racing community that have been brought about by Impact's counterfeiting activities and also elected to terminate all Contracts of Participation with Impact Racing effective 90 days from March 24, 2010. Under the terms of the Contracts, either party may terminate the agreements without penalty upon 90 days notice. This means that Impact will no longer be able to participate in any SFI programs after this 90 day period. SFI has taken these actions in the best interests of the safety and integrity of the racing community. This is in keeping with SFI's mission and purpose

From Impact's website

http://www.impactraceproducts.com/
:thmbsdwn:

Hmmm...another controversy involving Bill Simpson.:_paranoid

Do you guys remember when somebody hacked the GM delco lables, boxing, and numbers and started producing and selling Chinese knock of Delco parts (oil filter, etc) that even the GM parts people didn't know were fake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69MyWay (Post 278803)

I had never heard of this. What products were knock offs aside from filters?

And as mentioned above about this being ANOTHER issue with Simpson. What happened in the past? I would like to know anything there is to know so I can make a good decision when it comes time to buy my harnesses and gear.

NASCAR said the Simpson harness in Enhardt's car failed which led to his death. Simpson supposedly files suit against NASCAR ever year on the anniversary of his death for damage to reprutation etc etc. I have no idea of anything else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70rs (Post 278840)

What happened in the past? I would like to know anything there is to know so I can make a good decision when it comes time to buy my harnesses and gear.

From the SFI Website

Quote:

July, 2009

July 19, 2009 - NOTICE OF TEMPORARY PRODUCT DECERTIFICATION. Effective July 9, 2009: Pursuant to SFI Test Laboratory reports, SFI Foundation, Inc. has reason to believe that certain Impact Racing products manufactured in the year 2007 do not fully comply with the minimum standards set forth in the SFI Specification 3.2A Program. Therefore, pursuant to Section 12.0 of the program, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, and UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, any and all driver suits, pants, and jackets manufactured by Impact Racing pursuant to SFI Spec 3.2A/15 and 3.2A/20 at any time during the year 2007 are hereby TEMPORARILY DECERTIFIED by SFI Foundation, Inc. This temporary decertification applies to all such products whether or not they have been updated, upgraded, rebadged, or recertified by Impact Racing. This temporary decertification applies even if the product now has a 2009 SFI label affixed to the product. The date of manufacture of the product is determinative.

This decertification is temporary and will remain in effect until further notice from SFI. The manufacturer has challenged SFI’s findings in this matter and is conducting its own review of the findings and the full compliance of the products in question. SFI’s investigation continues. This decertification may be modified, withdrawn, or made permanent

Quote:

March, 2009

March 20, 2009 - IMPACT RACING PRODUCT RECALL. Any and all driver suits, pants, jackets, shoes and boots manufactured by Impact Racing pursuant to SFI Specifications 3.2A/15, 3.2A/20, 3.3/15 and 3.3/20 at any time during the year 2008 have been decertified by SFI Foundation, Inc. and must be immediately returned to Impact Racing offices or an Impact representative. Impact Racing has reason to believe that these products do not fully comply with the stated SFI Specifications and therefore do not meet SFI manufacturer certification requirements. This recall applies to all such products whether or not they have been updated, rebadged, or recertified by Impact Racing. This recall applies even if the product now has a 2009 SFI patch or label affixed to the product. All applicable sanctioning bodies have been notified by Impact of this noncompliance. Please contact www.impactraceproducts.com for information or contact Impact Racing directly.

and the ongoing counterfit HANS supports:

Quote:

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The SFI Foundation, which sets safety standards and certifies equipment such as uniforms and helmets, announced Friday that it has terminated contracts with Impact Racing and all of its driver suits, arm restraints, shoes, gloves, socks, underclothing, helmet supports, and driver restraint systems will be decertified effective April 27.

The announcement comes while SFI and HANS Device creator Hubbard/Downing Inc. are suing Impact, owned by renowned safety pioneer Bill Simpson, over the use of counterfeit HANS helmet clips put on Impact helmets. The counterfeit clips had both HANS and SFI logos.

“Under the Contracts of Participation between SFI and Impact, SFI conformance labels and patches may only be obtained from SFI and no other source,” the SFI news release said. “Evidence shows that Impact had counterfeit SFI labels and patches made in Asia and then affixed them to Impact products it distributed to members of the racing community.”

NASCAR requires certain safety equipment to have SFI certification. Any drivers using Impact gear will have to change providers following April 27.

According to documents as part of the lawsuit, which deals only with clips and not uniforms, HANS alleges that Impact Racing bought counterfeit clips from China-based Richard Hung Enterprises for $8.90 a set – compared to $41.25 for the real clips – and were sold at a price of $52 a set ($13 below the HANS retail price).

In a deposition filed with the case, Simpson said while he did not dispute the clips were counterfeit, he never authorized anyone to engrave SFI or HANS markings on the clips.

Also in his deposition, Simpson said Impact made $52,000 in profit in 2008.

The bolding is mine and tells me everything that I need to know to make a decision.

Thanks James. I appreciate the info very much.

Now I can make my decisions.:thumbsup:

one of his factories in Indy got nailed years ago by d.e.a because supposedly they were selling drugs and shipping them inside helmets. I used to work for simpson, he is a genuine A-HOLE!! treats his people like ****, he gets whatever he deserves

I wore this at my last track event. Its SA1969. Its my noggin'

http://lh4.ggpht.com/__OT3YJ9o9Ao/S4...vilHelmet2.JPG

Even has my racing/lucky number. :thumbsup:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/__OT3YJ9o9Ao/S4...vilHelmet3.JPG

yes I have a screw loose.

That's awesome Dane. Got to have a sense of humor in life.:thumbsup:

Delco came out with a an article and statement to help identify or protect consumers from counterfeit parts:

Here are just a few examples of what
GM’s Global Brand Protection team and
authorities have uncovered:
• Oil filters with “filtering” elements
consisting of old rags and
perforated food cans, or that melt
when heated to a certain
temperature
• T ransmission fluid that was really a
cheap grade of crude oil dyed red
for appearance
• Counterfeit grilles that discolor
and fade rapidly and are made of
cheap materials that would impact
crash performance in a collision
• Brake pads made of paper and
pressed wood, or even grass
Most Comm only
Counterfeited Pa rts
According to ACDelco, the most
commonly produced counterfeit parts
are maintenance and high-volume
items such as oil and air filters, shock
absorbers, fan belts, disc brake pads
and shoes, air conditioning compressors,
starters, spark plugs and oxygen sensors.
Other popular fakes include:
• Valves and valve lifters
• Distributor caps
• Gasoline filters
• Rocker arms and camshafts
• Antifreeze/coolant and
transmission fluids
• Bearings
• Alternators and generators

http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/int_V23I308.pdf

Consumer protection

http://www.acdelco.com/parts/counterfeit/index.jsp

WOW!! Filter elements made from old rags, grass brake pads, trans fluid dyed oil.......I hope I never end up with any of that crap on my truck.

Thanks for the heads up.:thumbsup:

The latest...

Quote:

SFI Foundation Inc. has filed a lawsuit and sought a restraining order against Bill Simpson's Impact Racing LLC to ban the sale of fire suits, seat belts and other uncertified Impact gear it says bear counterfeit SFI labels or patches. A federal judge in Indianapolis on Thursday issued an order granting much of what SFI wanted, said Peter Yarbrough, an attorney for the not-for-profit. Yarbrough did not immediately have details of the order available and it did not appear in the court's online docket Thursday. California-based SFI sets standards for several racing organizations, including NASCAR, the National Hot Rod Association and the Indy Racing League.

The lawsuit alleges that between November 2005 and August 2008, Simpson instructed an Impact employee to have an Asian vendor produce counterfeit SFI labels that were affixed to various products, including seat belts, arm restraints, fire suits, head socks, gloves and boots. SFI plans to decertify those Impact products made during that time, Yarbrough said. The sale of conformance labels to manufacturers is SFI's main source of income and its loss would cause a "severe financial hardship," SFI said in its lawsuit. SFI and Impact issued a joint statement Thursday night saying Impact had provided sworn testimony that no counterfeit SFI labels have been used on company products made in 2009 and 2010. SFI said it will not decertify Impact products made in those years. The complaint accuses Impact of counterfeiting, fraud and misrepresentation, unfair competition, unfair and deceptive trade practices and breach of contract and seeks unspecified damages.

An Impact Racing employee who answered the phone Thursday said Simpson was not available for comment. A phone message also was left at the office of Impact Racing's Indianapolis attorney, Edward Harris III

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue (Post 278929)

I wore this at my last track event. Its SA1969. Its my noggin

Even has my racing/lucky number.

yes I have a screw loose.

Let's hope you never need that thing to actually protect your head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyNova (Post 278916)

After this I decided to take the Simpson harnesses out of Penny and put in some SafeQuip stuff.. didn't want his name on there any more (plus the belts were getting old).

Nice when a company sacrafices safety to make more cash...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve1968LS2 (Post 279881)

yeah, sounds like they did it in the past, and now are not doing it anymore, but the damage has been done. Pretty stupid thing to do if true, and the liability issue of doing it................... :faint:

Jody

Quote:

Originally Posted by camcojb (Post 279883)

I know Simpson isn't owned my Simpson anymore.. but still, his name is starting to leave a bad taste like Shelby does these days...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve1968LS2 (Post 279944)

I know Simpson isn't owned my Simpson anymore.. but still, his name is starting to leave a bad taste like Shelby does these days...

Hey, my Shelby shaving cream works great!