best trackday full face helmet for £300
best trackday full face helmet for £300
Author
Discussion

matt 2LT

Original Poster:

4,487 posts

207 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
basically i need a full face helmet for track days.

maximum budget of £300.

there are no motorsport shops that would sell helmets near me, so will have to order off internet.

would something like this be good: http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDeta...

or can i get something better from somewhere else?

cheers,
matt

A.Wang

541 posts

221 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
Demon Thieves will take you and your credit card for a ride, so I'd do a bit of shopping around elsewhere.

I have found V2 Sport (or Pro if you're in open cars) for £139. They had some good stuff written about them and at that price, it's a bargain as it meets the Snell2005 standard.

There might be a bit of a lead time though, as they are out of stock until late August. All depends on when you need the helmet!

matt 2LT

Original Poster:

4,487 posts

207 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
that doesn't look too bad for the price.

i don't need it till the 6th of september, so i should get it before then, i might call them and find out when in august they are getting them.

i take it, this correct specifications/ approved for track days?

timarnold

515 posts

266 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
Matt

The Sparco WTT you've linked to is an old model that goes out of date shortly. It's also not Snell Approved. Snell is the main approval for motor sport helmets.

There has been much talk over the last two years of regulations being introduced for helmets used on car track days that would be in line with racing regulations. If/when this happens, it will rule out the use of motorcycle helmets, and out-of-date car helmets or car helmets that don't meet a certain standard. While 'IF' these regulations are introduced it's not yet known what the minimum standard would be, it would be prudent if buying a new helmet right now, to buy one that would definitely be of a sufficiently high standard to comply with any regulations that might be introduced.

I've heard just this morning, that in the light of recent events (Henry Surtees and Felipe Massa) certain people are putting more pressure on the governing bodies to introduce new regulations ASAP.

I will PM you something that may help, as soon as I have posted this!

Tim smile

Thorny

1,076 posts

234 months

Monday 27th July 2009
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You don't have to go to a motorsport shop - I got mine from a motorbike dealership and am really pleased with it.

timarnold

515 posts

266 months

Monday 27th July 2009
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Matt... have emailed you.

emicen

9,146 posts

242 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
Could you shed more light on these changes Tim?

Although I heard of Surtees' death and Massa having a severe injury I haven't heard/seen what caused either.

I'm looking at competing next year and don't want to go buy a helmet with 6658 A/FR approval only for them to superceed even that before the 2010 season.

rdjohn

7,017 posts

219 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
Slightly off-track; but do visors need frequent replacement?

Mine has no obvious damage but is 3 years old, has stopped flying kitty litter and very slight "bruising" where it snaps down onto the helmet.

timarnold

515 posts

266 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
emicen said:
Could you shed more light on these changes Tim?

Although I heard of Surtees' death and Massa having a severe injury I haven't heard/seen what caused either.

I'm looking at competing next year and don't want to go buy a helmet with 6658 A/FR approval only for them to superceed even that before the 2010 season.
I can't shed any more light on it at the moment. All I've heard is certain people are pushing for track day helmet regulations to come in line with racing. It's been talked about for a while now but so far nothing has happened.

Henry Surtees and Felipe Massa were both victims of freak accidents where they were hit on the head by flying debris. In Surtees' case the 'debris' was a wheel that came off another car, which bounced off the top of his head; in Massa's case it was a spring that came off Barrichello's car and hit his helmet, apparently going partially into the aperture and fracturing the bone behind his eyebrow, and forcing his head back so violently that it has fractured the base of his skull.

Whether any helmet would fully protect someone from such impacts (especially the Henry Surtees one) I don't know, but I suppose it's more about liability and the TDO's and circuits needing to be seen to be making sure safety equipment is up to a high standard. Bit like when I worked in engineering many moons ago and a guy was crushed and killed by some (tons of) heavy machinery falling on him... the first question asked by the factory acts inspectors was, 'Was he wearing his hard hat?', as if it would have made any fking difference, but it could technically have affected who was liable!

matt 2LT

Original Poster:

4,487 posts

207 months

Monday 27th July 2009
quotequote all
cheers tim, ill give them a ring tomorrow.

timarnold

515 posts

266 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
no prob! I'm sure you'll get a good deal! smile

emicen

9,146 posts

242 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
Good link for those V2 helmets!

I dont see the rationale behind track day helmets mirroring MSA regs. Open top F1 car travelling at 150mph vs. tin top hot hatch doing nowhere near that. Sense of realism required! [although common sense is so far gone in this world it'll probably wind up you need a full blown MSA approved helmet to stand track side and spectate!]

DeadMeat_UK

3,058 posts

306 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
For that money, and it you definitely need full face I'd go for the best Arai or Shoei biker helmet you can afford. One or the other will fit your head shape best. Other than that, ensure ventilation is good.

mattdaniels

7,362 posts

306 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
Personally I'd never buy a helmet over the internet. You really need to go to a shop and try some on. Even if you know the size of your head, you may have a Shoei shaped head or an Arai shaped head - different helmets of the same size from different manufacturers will fit differently. You don't want to be to-ing and fro-ing buying and returning lids via mail order. Much better to do some side by side comparisons and get they best most comfortable one you can.

matt 2LT

Original Poster:

4,487 posts

207 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
does anyone know of anywhere in the south west that would sell track day helmets?

as i would like to try some on.

like im guessing that something like this would be good enough:

http://rallynuts.com/motorsport/Full_Face_Formula_...

but id really like to try the different sizes, to see which would suit me best.


and correct me if im wrong, but motorbike helmets don't have the required specification/type approval for track days do they?

Ian 1

55 posts

229 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
What is the criteria helmets have to meet for competition use? be that msa or whatever.

Cheers.

emicen

9,146 posts

242 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
Snell SA2005
Snell SA2000
BS6658 Type A/FR
SFI Foundation 31.1a / 31.2a

(that's from memory although that might be from last years blue book)


OzCupra

152 posts

202 months

Tuesday 28th July 2009
quotequote all
Merlin Motorsport @ Castle combe would be a good place as well to try before you buy.

Also if ou know what you want Des Moore(DMRR.net), Montgomery Motorsport or Peter Lloyd Rallying are all probably the cheapest out there for the major race and rally brand helmets.

GC8

19,910 posts

214 months

Thursday 30th July 2009
quotequote all
timarnold said:
I can't shed any more light on it at the moment. All I've heard is certain people are pushing for track day helmet regulations to come in line with racing. It's been talked about for a while now but so far nothing has happened.
Theyre far from informed then, if they think that itll make a difference... A 2010 legal BS6658 TypeA/Fr helmet will give EXACTLY the same impact protection as a PH-derided BS6658 TypeA 'bike' helmet (because its exactly the same, but for the addition of a Nomex removable lining!). Further to that Im not aware of any TypeA helmets that wont pass Snell's impact tests (completely reviewed for Snell 2010 btw, with the pointless repeat impact test that people foolishly get excited about, changed).....

emicen

9,146 posts

242 months

Friday 31st July 2009
quotequote all
GC8 said:
timarnold said:
I can't shed any more light on it at the moment. All I've heard is certain people are pushing for track day helmet regulations to come in line with racing. It's been talked about for a while now but so far nothing has happened.
Theyre far from informed then, if they think that itll make a difference... A 2010 legal BS6658 TypeA/Fr helmet will give EXACTLY the same impact protection as a PH-derided BS6658 TypeA 'bike' helmet (because its exactly the same, but for the addition of a Nomex removable lining!). Further to that Im not aware of any TypeA helmets that wont pass Snell's impact tests (completely reviewed for Snell 2010 btw, with the pointless repeat impact test that people foolishly get excited about, changed).....
Does that mean they are softening the criteria effectively? As in it won't need the double impact on the same point anymore so will be able to be a better energy absorber?