Helmet help

[PetrolHeadSeb]

I'm in the process of buying my first helmet. At the moment I'll only be using it for track days, but over the next year I'm working to get my national B race licence so I'm trying to get a helmet which meets the current MSA safety requirements now.

At the moment I'm considering (without the HANS posts);

Sparco WTT Touring
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Motorsport/Helmets_&...

Bell K1 Sport SV
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Motorsport/Helmets_&...

I'm currently swaying toward the Sparco one, but I can't tell what it's "Lightweight Composite Shell" is actually made of, does anybody know whether it's Carbon/Kevlar/Glass, like the Bell one?

If any one has any other suggestions / comments, please let me know!

[Dunney]

The best thing to do is get down to your local shop an try a few on. Personally, I have found the Arai the best, comfiest on my head, and the safest! Sparco haven't been making them anywhere near as long, and they really don't have the same feel. The best tip is to try them on, different people have different shaped heads!

[FWDRacer]

If you've got a cheap head, buy a cheap helmet. Buy the very best you can afford.

Hans post equipped skidlids will future the helmet. I think Hans will eventually become mandatory in all club forms of motorsport.

[bikemonster]

FWDRacer said:

If you've got a cheap head, buy a cheap helmet. Buy the very best you can afford.

Hans post equipped skidlids will future the helmet. I think Hans will eventually become mandatory in all club forms of motorsport.

IIRC the cheap head thing was from a Bell advertising campaign.

I'm not sure that it stands up to scrutiny (pun unintended) though if the two helmets being compared both pass the same tests.

[anonymous-user]

bikemonster said:

FWDRacer said:

If you've got a cheap head, buy a cheap helmet. Buy the very best you can afford.

Hans post equipped skidlids will future the helmet. I think Hans will eventually become mandatory in all club forms of motorsport.

IIRC the cheap head thing was from a Bell advertising campaign.

I'm not sure that it stands up to scrutiny (pun unintended) though if the two helmets being compared both pass the same tests.

exactly. there is a call to be made about comfort, stability at speed, weight and the quality of components but the "if you've got a cheap head buy a cheap helmet" line is just marketing nonsense. if a cheap helmet passes the same snell test as the megabucks one you have to assume that megabucks are designed to exceed the test and thats where the money is.

i have heard rumours that a HANS device will be compulsary for 2012 in UK club motorsport but i doubt thats true as it wont be confirmed until the publication of the blue book next year and then that leaves people just a year to get therir stuff together to supply them...

[T180985]

recently bought the Bell Sport 4 Helmet for Drag Racing & Track Days which is SA2005 approved so good for another few years yet, wore it recently at a track day for the first time and found it very light and comfortable even when the weather warmed up

little cheaper than the one you have already mentioned so may be worth considering?

[FWDRacer]

bikemonster said:

FWDRacer said:

If you've got a cheap head, buy a cheap helmet. Buy the very best you can afford.

Hans post equipped skidlids will future the helmet. I think Hans will eventually become mandatory in all club forms of motorsport.

IIRC the cheap head thing was from a Bell advertising campaign.

I'm not sure that it stands up to scrutiny (pun unintended) though if the two helmets being compared both pass the same tests.

There is passing a test and then here is comfortably pasing a test. I've never used a Bell - for one simple reason - lid for lid they are heavy. I'm not drawn into the Arai spin either - and the discipline you race in will dictate visor aperture size. A narrow visor is a disadvantage in Karts, and open face helmet whilst OK in closed car... What form(s) of sport will you be getting into?

For the record I use a closed face helmet in closed car - tend to race with visor down - just my choice.

Edited by FWDRacer on Friday 23 July 20:13

[andye30m3]

T180985 said:

recently bought the Bell Sport 4 Helmet for Drag Racing & Track Days which is SA2005 approved so good for another few years yet, wore it recently at a track day for the first time and found it very light and comfortable even when the weather warmed up

little cheaper than the one you have already mentioned so may be worth considering?

I bought a bell sport 4 and am pleased with it.

With regards to hans I bought mine with the post fitted as if I hadn't they'd only have gone an made hans mandatory for racing.

[PetrolHeadSeb]

The hans point has crossed my mind, thinking about it now, I probably will go for a helmet with hans posts to be on the safe side. When you're spending £350+ it seems silly to risk having the helmet fall outside regulation for the sake of an extra £75ish. Some helmets seem to have drill points for the posts if not actually fitted, I assume this means they can be retro fitted relatively easily? Has anyone done this or know how much it costs?

I'm not 100% sure what type of racing I'll be getting into yet, but I know it would be car not kart racing (although I do sometimes do a bit of karting so it would be handy to be able to use my helmet), probably stock hatch or something similar.

FWDRacer - what helmet do you use?

Edited by PetrolHeadSeb on Saturday 24th July 01:30

[FWDRacer]

OMP - AGV. Big visor/field of vision - very light - comfortable. Not sure if my model is made any longer. Be mindful of the British/Snell standards - I I think Snell 2005 may be the RACMSA legal minimum very soon. Mine is Snell 2000 and despite my lid being unmarked and kept in a dark when not in use - will be no longer valid if the mooted RACMSA changes come through. Sensible "life-ing" of a helmet or legislation in cahoots with the manufacturers?

My next lid will have HANS posts.

Edited by FWDRacer on Saturday 24th July 09:56

[Forbes82]

I don't believe HANS can be retro-fitted, this is what we were told a month or so ago when my dad was buying a new helmet. I think needing HANS does depend a bit on what you are racing, for high powered single seaters i'd say its a must, with it being less important the further you get removed from that.

FWIW my dad had always used Bell, but found the latest Arai much more comfortable and so went with them. I think Helmet choice is all about comfort and fit (And safety of course, this is assuming they are all of similar quality).

[Asterix]

Remember, a heavy helmet will contribute to having a labrador tied to your head.

On a more serious note - am I right in thinking that HANS can be employed in pretty much every race spec car assuming that they have a proper harness? I'm sure that even in the lower classes, if you have a shunt HANS might help with any head/neck injury.

Edited by Asterix on Saturday 24th July 12:20

[davepoth]

they think HANS would have saved Dale Earnhardt in his last crash. So yes, if you are in an accident, regardless of the car, it'll help.

[PetrolHeadSeb]

There's been a few times that I've heard people praising HANS this year. I saw this the other day, I'm sure HANS would have helped a bit in this one too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsca3UqysrI

[El Guapo]

A good fit is the most important factor. Some brands will suit your head shape and some will not. I cannot wear Shoei, for example, because they pinch my forehead, giving me a migraine after about 5 minutes.

[PetrolHeadSeb]

I've decided to give the Bell K1 Sport SV a go, ordered in white with HANS posts. It should be here Tuesday so I'll see how I get on with it and report back.

[D14 AYS]

PetrolHeadSeb said:

I've decided to give the Bell K1 Sport SV a go, ordered in white with HANS posts. It should be here Tuesday so I'll see how I get on with it and report back.

I have this helmet and for me its perfect, good luck with yours hope it fits

[bikemonster]

FWDRacer said:

There is passing a test and then here is comfortably pasing a test.

FWDRacer, I am generally interested, not sniping. Is there any reason to believe that a more expensive crash hat that passes a given test has passed it any more comfortably than a cheaper hat that has passed the same test?

James

[anonymous-user]

no one tells us by how much the helmet passes a test like SNELL so unless you are prepared to do some serious sleuthing - because i doubt the information is that easily avaialble - you have to assume that the likes of Impact Helmets are cheaper because they dont shell out a fortune on helmets for professionals, adverts etc etc in comparison to Bell, Arai et al

[thunderbelmont]

pablo said:

no one tells us by how much the helmet passes a test like SNELL so unless you are prepared to do some serious sleuthing - because i doubt the information is that easily avaialble - you have to assume that the likes of Impact Helmets are cheaper because they dont shell out a fortune on helmets for professionals, adverts etc etc in comparison to Bell, Arai et al

Actually, look at NASCAR, Indycar, and Drag Racing. You'll see that the primary brands there are Impact, Simpson, Bell for lids, suits from Impact, Simpson, Alpine Stars.

Impact has been through the mill this year - they had a bad interal problem with quality on their off the peg suits, and someone thought it would be a good idea to have some hans posts made (faked). A few senior staff have "left". A spat with SFI has also followed over the hooky suits and dodgy posts. Nothing FIA approved is affected. Nothing Snell approved is affected.

Impact is the new company set up by Mr Motorsport Safety - Bill Simpson. He invented fire suits, he put harnesses in cars, he developed the braking chute for drag racing.

You might guess that I'm interested in Impact - well I had a made-to-measure suit from them, it's full three layer FIA, has lots of nice features, and is light and comfortable. I also had a new hat from them too, which is the same spec as a lot of NASCAR drivers use. If it's good enough for them, I think it should be pretty good. It fits as well as the Arai GP5, and the AGV Integrale that I also have.

When it comes to cost of the hat, well I maintain that some manufactuers take the $$$$ out of us with their prices. If they meet the standard, then they meet the standard.

And I don't think I'd use an open face hat in competition, or even track days, unless it was for instructing purposes (so you can hear me screaming at you!)