DmitryZ

I would like to get a full-face helmet for Autocross. Mainly I will be doing Solo2 but who knows, racing is an incurable disease, and eventually I might find my Z and myself at couple HPDEs or Solo1.

The problem is that I really don’t know that much about racing helmets – never bought one before. I know/heard that Simpson and Bell are good/reputable companies to buy from so I decided to concentrate on those. I figured I’d get a full-face SA00 helmet. I know and M rated helmet would probably work for Solo2 but as I mentioned before, who knows where I will want to venture. Better buy the right helmet now then having to buy a second one down the road.

Here are some of the things I am looking for:

1. Of course it must protect my head.
2. I wear glasses so a wide eyeport is a good thing to have.
3. Good ventilation to me is worth spending a couple extra bucks.
4. Not too heavy
5. 300-500 dollar range.

I figured the best thing to do would be to go to a store and try some of them on for correct fit and correct fit in my Z. I am 6.0 so hopefully I will not be having the same problems of my head hitting the roof as some of the taller folks. However, I cant find a store!!!! I called both Bell and Simpson with no luck. Simpson has a couple dealers in NJ but they are all a good drive from where I live. The guy at Bell told me they do majority of their business online and don’t have any distributors in NJ?! Yellow pages mostly has places that sell motorcycle helmets.

I figured I am stuck with buying a helmet online. How comfortable are you guys/girls at buying this stuff online? Did you get the right fit right out of the box? I read fitting instructions on Bell website but they seem to put a large emphasis on trying out a helmet before you buy.

I need comments on the following:

1. Your online helmet buying experience i.e website name, did you get the right fit, if not: was return policy good.

2. I have the following models that I thought would work for me:
Bell: M2 and M2 Pro because I like the larger
eyeport since I do wear glasses
Simpson: Voyager and Super Voyager because one of the members in the other thread mentioned that these have a pretty low profile to prevent roof interference.

I would really, really appreciate ANY advice you can give me regarding buying a good Helmet: companies, above models, any other models, websites to buy etc. I know there are experienced racers out here that live in their helmets. Maybe someone even knows a place in Northern NJ where I can go try this stuff out.


Thanks

Dmitry

GaryM05

It sounds to me like you've got your priorities straight as far as price range, variables to look at, etc. My suggestion would be to not buy over the web unless you have already tried on a particular model in a particular size, and just want to get it at a lower price online than what your local shop has it for (although I found that most online shops have higher prices than my local shops.)

The best way to find local shops is just to open the phone book to the automobile-tuning/repair section, start calling places and ask if they know of someone that carries helmets. They should have a pretty good idea of what other shops there are in your area that carry helmets. You might also want to try calling motorcycle shops and ask if they know of local places that carry SA helmets. Another idea might be to find your regional SCCA contact info and call/e-mail one of the leaders or members and ask them.

As for helmet models, the M2 and Voyager/Super Voyager lines seem to be the most popular 'entry-level' helmets. Some other brands to consider would be Bieffe and G-Force (this one is more of a budget manufacturer.)

The most important thing when you're trying on a helmet is to make sure you try it on in your car to ensure that you have proper head clearance. I can't tell you how many helmets I tried on that fit my head in the store, but that pressed up against the ceiling when I tried to sit in the car with them on. Good luck!

Gary

zPilott

iTrader: (3)

Sizes are different among manufacturers, and different helmets seemed to be shaped differently. I think you really need to find a place to try some on, because I got wierd presssure points with some helmets (or maybe I just got a pointy head) I ended up getting the M2 pro for the same reasons you mentioned (eyeport, weight were my main concerns, and the liner and the bigger range of sizes on the pro model make it more comfortable) but I tried on every helmet in my price range. The only one that I liked better was a $999 Arai.

Anyway, I would take some more time trying to find local shops, and drive a bit, if you have to. If you haven't already, post in your regional forum, or see if any of the race tracks in your area have a speed shop.

mcclaskz

I got the G-Force, Pro Force 1 (SA00) for ~$275, my brother in law has the M2 and the eyeport is very similar in size. The Pro-Force1 has more vents in back and that helped me. I have no complaints. Oh, I also always wear my sunglasses and it is comfortable.

commasense

I'll second the recommendation of the Bell M-2. My favorite helmet story is from a show I saw on Evel Kneivel about 25 years ago, when I was just getting in to motorcycling. He was trying to do an indoor jump over a whole bunch of busses inside a big arena. To get up enough speed, he had to enter through one of the big portals on the ground level, and he was supposed to land and go out through the portal on the other side. But he lost it on the landing, and slid, head first, into the cinderblock wall a few feet to the right of the portal opening. While he's lying there waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he looks at the 4-inch dent in the cinderblock he had made and then at the Bell helmet he was wearing, and said, "That's a real testament to the quality of these helmets." It wasn't a Bell commercial, but it should have been. From that time until Bell stopped making motorcycle helmets themselves, I always wore a Bell. Now that I'm in cars, I'm happily wearing a real Bell again.

I also echo the advice that you MUST try it on before you buy. Fit is very important, and as someone has mentioned, the manufacturers' sizes vary. It should be snug enough that it doesn't shift around when you shake your head, but not so tight that the pressure is uncomfortable.

And as long as the shop where you try it on is within $10-20 of the best Web price you can get, buy it there. Support your local merchants.

Another piece of advice: if you buy a helmet bag (I recommend that, too, for convenience and protection), don't put the helmet into the bag as soon as you finish an event. Let the inside lining dry out for a while or it will quickly turn rather ripe. If (or when) that happens, Febreeze works wonders.

DmitryZ

Thanks for all the comments. Keep them coming!!!

Following GaryM05 advice I went through the yellow pages again. 10 phone calls later, I am back where I started. Most of the performance shops around are kind of small. It really would get expensive for them to carry a helmet in lots of different sizes – those things are not cheap. A basic reply was “we can measure your head and order one for you if you like but we don’t stock them – too expensive”. As I mentioned in my previous post, I called Bell and they could not give me the names of any distributors in NJ! I tried Yahoo Yellow pages and searched around Englishtown (a regular spot for SCCA autocross in NJ) without any luck.

I found couple of local autocross pages so I will see if I can get some help there.

I am starting to agree more and more on the fact that I really need to try it on before I buy.

On the upside, I went to Bell website and they seem to have a fairly good return policy. I might have to bite the cost for the shipping but I am willing to spend a couple extra bucks to get this right.

Commasense: thanks for the heads up on the helmet bag-I never even thought of that. I would definitely buy from a local place if I could find one. It’s a matter of principle for me. If they have what I want in stock (or similar item), let me try it on and spend their time answering my questions I think leaving the place just so I can save a couple bucks online is a shi**y thing to do.


Dmitry

NCSUteg

If you ever plan on doing a track event you can't wear one of those m certified helments. You need the Snell certification which islike sa-2000 currently. I have a Bell Sport 3. http://www.thebellstore.com/Auto/racer.html
The upper left one. I like it, fits well and vents ok for an auto helment. It seems the motorcycle helments vent better. I think that is because the auto ones can withstand fire better. But anyway that is my 0.02.


ooh another idea, alot of autoX's (or all the ones I have been to) have loaner helmets for people to use. You could try one on at an AutoX or call up the club people that run it and try to find them and a helmet. This is how I found what size I need.

I see you found the store my bad, carry on.... ;-)

97 gsr

zPilott

iTrader: (3)

actually, M2000 is a snell rating (it is rated by the snell foundations) and most events that say 'snell rated' will usually allow M rated helmets (in my experience) but if they say SA then you must have SA. A couple of the local clubs around here will let you ride with M rated helmets, and I was considering getting one, since I have a motorcycle also, but decided to go with an SA to make sure I could go to more events.

I tried my M2 Pro riding my motorcycle and it is horrible for that. The was a lot of wind rushing through it, so it was hard to see and really loud, but the wost part is that it was lifting really bad and I felt like it was going to pull my head off. No problems in the Z though (well, not if I was half an inch shorter.....)

D'oh

When I got my helmet I wasn't sure what I wanted either.

All the places around me carried M helmets, but none had SA ones.

I ended up getting a motorcycle helmet from www.ridegear.com mainly because they had a sale and their "warehouse" was located right down the street from me which allowed me to go try on their helmet to see how it fit.

The SCCA autoX allows the M helmets, as do most of the track groups that I've seen. So far no-one has given me grief about the M helmet. I'm guessing that if you are not required to wear a race-suit, having an SA helmet over an M helmet doesn't buy you much additional protection.

I kinda went the opposite route that you did, and bought a very inexpensive helmet so I wouldn't feel bad about getting a better one if I ever needed to.

Anyhow, I hope you are able to find something that fits well.

Good luck!

Oh, a couple questions:
Is there timeframe in which a helmet should be replaced? Or are they like bike helmets - good until that first crash? Finally, how long do you long time racers tend to keep your helmets?

-D'oh!

mcclaskz

d'oh,
you can keep your helmet for ~10yrs. It depends on the tracks you go to and the clubs you race with. I know some tracks like CMP want a minimun of M95 for HPDE and SA95 for Time Trials. Others that I have participated with wanted SA95 or greater.

zPilott

iTrader: (3)

I am not sure though if they require 95 or newer because the helmets 'expire' or if it is just because the standards are higher.

jackwhale

I've been happy with my Simpson LX Plus. I use it for autocross and track days. Its really an open face design with a chin bar. I can put on and take off my glasses easily. Fit is good. I'm 6'1" and have plenty of room between the helmet and the ceiling.

Here's mine sitting on top of my car at Thunder Hill (SCCA track in No. Calif)
<helmetcity.com> carries Bell, Simpson, Bieffe. At least you can look at a variety of models and prices.

DmitryZ

Update,

Thanks for all the help. It is much appreciated.

I have had absolutely no luck with finding a local store. I contacted a local SCCA member who was extremely helpful. Unfortunately, the store that he suggested carries a very, very limited supply mostly in Small or XXLarge. So I will be going the online way. I called North Star motor sports (http://www.northstarmotorsports.com), I heard that store mentioned on this website so I figured I’ll give it a try, and they were extremely helpful in answering my questions and at this point I am almost sold on Bell M2 Pro.

I’ll go through instructions on Bell’s website to measure my head tonight and give them a call tomorrow to place my order. I can order directly from Bell and save a couple of bucks but I wanted to get few other things for my car, which North star has, so I will save a few bucks on the shipping.

I’ll keep you posted.

Dmitry

apex locator

iTrader: (5)

good luck. i have the bell m2 and really like it. i dont wear glasses but i like the larger eyeport

zPilott

iTrader: (3)

FYI, I just found this on www.smf.org: