need some autocrossers opinions

[Roywhitep5]

i've caught the autocrossing bug and am looking at helmets online. have you heard anything bad about these?

http://www.bellhelmets.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=6188

 

[GhostMercury]

bell is a good helmet (motorcycle riders opinion) but for autocrossing you dont need something heavy dutty cause the chances of you needing the helmet are slim to none. so yes that would do just fine

 

[Kansei]

What is the Snell rating of that helmet? the page said it was "dot approved".. hmm

 

[Roywhitep5]

it was mainly apealing to me because of the price. the dot aproved thing made me wonder too

 

[Kansei]

it was mainly apealing to me because of the price. the dot aproved thing made me wonder too

understandable, but at least in the FLR-SCCA I know they have to be up to a certain Snell rating to be used. I'm in the market for a helmet now too, but I don't think the season here starts until april or may (arrggghhhh)

 

[Nutari]

I went down today to watch the opener event for our local SCCA. Oh man.. looks like fun. I was supposed to run but I got there too late.

I will also be needing a 'cheap'ish helmet so I can at least participate.

 

[Roywhitep5]

http://www.bellhelmets.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=6904

same thing here DOT aproved

 

[melicha8]

Yeah Roy. It has to have a snell rating within the last 10 years. Mine is snell 2000 so I'm good for three mores

 

[Roywhitep5]

http://www.bellhelmets.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=6577

so far this looks like the only good one

oh andrew, i signed up for scca membership

 

[Tom03es]

Make sure the helmet has an SA2005 or M2005 rating- or SA2000 or M2000 but these will probably all be out of stock by now. Otherwise you will be wasting your money as it won't be legal for SCCA competition. Only having a DOT rating is worthless in SCCA.

My advice- go to a motorcycle shop and try on a bunch. If you've never worn a helmet before, getting one that fits properly might take a few tries.

I have a full-faced HJC that I got for about $100 at a local motorcycle shop. There is some debate on whether a full-faced helmet is better or worse in a car with an airbag. Some believe that if you have a full-faced helmet and the airbag goes off, it will catch the helmet and snap your neck back. The SCCA came out a few years ago and said that they believed that it was not the case.

 

[sm76]

For Autocross, I would suggest going to a motorcycle shop and trying on some helmets as suggested above. I always liked an open face helmet for autocross because I could hear the engine, tires, etc a lot clearer.
I switched to a full-face helmet when I started track driving because some debris (like stones and rubber) does make it in the window and its nice having your face covered.

 

[Shadow102]

also check out racerwholesale.com they are the main distributer of g-force racing helmets which are Snell rated and they have a pretty good deal on there stuff since the owner of g-force owns them too

 

[Jas00x]

also check out racerwholesale.com they are the main distributer of g-force racing helmets which are Snell rated and they have a pretty good deal on there stuff since the owner of g-force owns them too

+1 to Racer Wholesale. Pretty much everyone I know uses these helmets- the GF750 is a great buy for an SA2005 helmet. I would go ahead and get the SA2005 so it will be up to code a little longer. As mentioned before, you don't really ever have to "use" the helmet in Autocorss, but if you want to try some High speed track events, they will require the newer ratings and possibly a closed-face helmet.
And trust me, once you get bitten by the bug..it doesn't just go away after a couple of years!

 

[Roywhitep5]

my fc dosent have airbags and i like having teeth so i guess full face it is

 

[Vanimaniac]

I like open-faced helmets.

You could go try some on. Find out what you like and in what size and then comparison shop online/ebay/etc.

SA is probably overkill if all you'll be doing is autocrossing. M rated are just fine for that purpose. M2005 will last you 5 more years (with regards to SCCA rules) than buying an M2000.

Van

 

[SooberDude]

What is the Snell rating of that helmet? the page said it was "dot approved".. hmm

This guy is implying that to race SCCA you have to have a Snell approved helmet and he is 100% correct.

 

[Kansei]

This guy is implying that to race SCCA you have to have a Snell approved helmet and he is 100% correct.

yeah I guess I wasn't specific

but yeah since it's 07 don't bother buying a helmet that isn't Snell 2005 approved.. a Snell 2000 is only good for a couple more years, though they say a helmet is probably only good for 5 years of use anyway.. dunno if that's hardcore every day use or what.

 

[aMaff]

they say a helmet is probably only good for 5 years of use anyway.. dunno if that's hardcore every day use or what.

the materials deteriorate over time, but for autocross use (the occasional bang on the 'oh s***' handle / roll bar) it'll protect your melon just fine.

 

[Roywhitep5]

http://www.soloracer.com/zampfsa1.html

so far, this is the best i've found. i plan on doing track days too

 

[Roywhitep5]

so what do you guys think of it?