patinum

I've gotten a few questions about helmets lately so I thought I'd copy/paste/modify a pm reply I sent to a local UMW guy.

A helmet is a necessary item for most levels of motorsports. It's a difficult item to purchase as it can be a $400+ investment into a sport you may not even like. But if spending that much or a little less on head protection scares you, maybe motorsports is not right for you at this time (ie, motorsports is expensive and potentially dangerous).

On the one hand you shouldn't skimp out by buying a cheap helmet, but you should also know that more expensive does not always equal better. Car racing helmets can range in price from $150 to $400 for basic helmets. Anything much more above that and you're most likely paying for non-necessary (but sometimes useful) features or lightness. For the record, I have a Bell Sport 3 helmet I bought 6 years ago (SA2000) for $300 which I will be replacing this year.

Depending on what you do (autocross, track, karts, etc.) and who you run with (SCCA, NASA, Midwest council, Windy city miata club), you may or may not need a full face helmet. I highly recommend getting a full face helmet for a few reasons.

1) I've never been told by any club that I couldn't run with them. Some of the small autox clubs let open faced helmets run, but not all. I'd hate to limit myself because I wanted to save $50.
2) It only happened once, but a chunk of flying tire hit me in the helmet face on track once. Only has to make contact once to ruin my day/life.

A good local place to try on helmets is Northstar Motorsports in Barrington. They have a pretty good selection. I bought my helmet there 6 years ago and the people there were very knowledgeable and helpful. The place is a bit hard to find as it's in an industrial park and they hold semi-inconvenient hours if you work a regular 9 to 5. But they are open Saturday mornings and again, are top notch. I also hear that Touge Factory is also selling helmets now.

It's a good idea to try on a helmet before you buy it. It's hard to guess the size and even with the correct size, one helmet might feel better than another (maybe you want something more or less snug on the cheeks for example). You could always try it on in store and buy it online to save a few bucks. Personally, I like to support local business - especially when it comes to a relatively niche market like auto racing.

There are different specifications for helmets. For motorsports you'll want a Snell rated SA2005 or later helmet. Do not worry about DOT rating. Snell rates helmets every 5 years and clubs will "expire" helmets after 10 years. For example, all helmets made between 1995 and 2000 were rated SA95. All of these helmets, even if it was made in 2000, expired in 2005. A SA2005 helmet will expire in 2015. The SA2010 helmets were supposed to come out this year, but have been delayed until October (IIRC). No sense in waiting though as you'll most likely want to replace your helmet after 5 years anyway and you might be able to get a good helmet on clearance. All the helmets at Northstar should be SA2005. If you go to other places you may find a MA2005 helmet - that's for motorcylces and is cool with some autox organizations but not many.

Some autocross clubs have loaner helmets. I know that Chicago VW and Windy City Miata club have loaners either for free, rental, or deposit. If you do decide to use a loaner helmet I recommend at least buying a head sock. Helmets are kind of like shoes - people sweat in them. Think about having hot summer day with a bucket of absorbent padding around your face. Not something I'd like to share IMO. I have not seen a track day that has loaner helmets.

I hope this helps. Since I've never had to use a loaner helmet, I forget which autox clubs have loaners. If others want to chime in, we can keep a list going.

Autocross clubs with loaner helmets
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Windy City Miata Club
Chicago VW Organization

patinum

Another note. Another safety certification board, SFI, has recently removed their approval for Impact Racing helmets. This seems like it is because Impact Racing was printing their own certification labels. I'd imagine that the helmets are safe, but Impact Racing was partaking in illegal if not shady business practices. Given the number of options out there, I would stay away.

patinum

Bell Racing FAQ:

http://www.bellracing.com/public/index/faqs/

Chris S2K

Is the figure in bold above a typo?

laurensdejong

Do you know if there are helmets that are both SA2005 and MA2005?

K1ngfunK

I learned after some research that SCCA (as well as any smaller group I've ever autoXed with) allows BOTH motorcycle and auto snell certified helmets for autoX / solo II events.

patinum

No. My helmet is made out of cocaine and uranium.

Just kidding. $300. I've bought cars for less than $3k!

Kamron

It's my understanding that SA is slightly higher rating than MA with the tests being almost identical except for flame retardance (for SA only) and some additional impact tests (for SA only); this would mean that all SA rated helmets should also pass MA. I could easily be wrong about this.

patinum

From what I've heard, SA rated helmets should be legal for motorcycle use.

This is from the Bell racing site FAQ:
So it looks like an SA rated helmet will give you fire protection at the potential expense of field of vision.

If I rode, I would probably have a dedicated bike helmet, although I would not hesitate to give a bitch...I mean passenger, my car helmet.

SoloVR6

Not to my knowledge. Conventional wisom is that a MA helmet is designed to take one big impact, whereas a SA helmet will hold up to multiple impacts (like bouncing around a roll cage until the car comes to rest) It would be hard to build a helmet to both requirements. Edit: Probably old wisdom.

Regarding loaner helmets. Not only is it like putting a bowling shoe on your bare feet, it's a pain to have to track one down to get ready for your runs. If you want to take autocrossing half-way serious. Buy a helmet. Having everything you need to sit and focus on your driving is worth the expense.

I have yet to see an autocross club turn away a current MA helmet. Track days however are a different story.

I opt for a closed face helmet and I use it all the time. Autocross, track days and even indoor karting. I never have to worry about borrowing a helmet anywhere. It does make it harder to instruct with the closed face, but I'm fond of the secure feeling.