Advice On Helmets .... Again

[Steve Campbell]

Dear all,

 

I'm planning to take the car on a track this year (hopefully a track day organised by the club). Got the FIA rollbar, fire extinguisher ... now to helmets. I've read through quite a lot of the links with regard to helmets but would like to clarify a few things ...

 

Most of the links say you need one of the following :

 

SNELL SA95

SFI Foundation 31.1, 31.2

BS 6658 Type A/FR

 

Can someone describe what the difference is between these & other helmets or let me have a link to read myself ?

 

Does anyone have 'ballpark' figures for what you should be paying for a helmet of this quality / standard ? I went to the local bike shop and the cheapest they had (Type A) was in the region of £150 & on up to £400 ? Is this in the right range ?

 

I'm ONLY going to be doing track days and am not interested in sprints or competitive driving i.e I'll be on the track once or twice a year (hopefully not off it during these excursions !!) .

 

£150 isn't much to save your life ... I just don't want to be ripped off.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Steve Campbell

P889 GRR

[Pierson Broome]

Hi Steve,

 

This thread seems to surface quite frequently, so without wishing to re-write all that's gone before, much of it technical, much of it medical, I'd suggest that you have a trawl through the archive on the site to find related topics - there are quite a few.

 

The Snell standard you mention has just been superceded by a '2000' rating, the new car race helmets from Arai, Bieffe, Bell, etc., etc., all now conforming to this - helmets with the Snell 95 standard continue to be acceptable in competition up until the end of December 2003, though.

 

BS6658-85 A/FR is a British Standards Institute mark - effectively you'll see a BS 'Kite' mark on the helmet in either green, blue of red - green is type B (not acceptable for competition), blue type A (acceptable by national bodies such as the RACMSA, but not internationally, IIRC) and red type A (internationally acceptable and also with a Fire Resistant lining - the 'FR' bit). Things may have moved on a bit since I last looked at this and no doubt others will correct me if there have been changes.

 

Bottom line, as always, and I'd say in particular here, is spend as much as you can afford on a helmet. The big-name lids such as Arai, etc., are the ones used by professional drivers and for a reason. Comfort is equally important, so don't buy without trying on a helmet, and have it sized correctly for proper fit.

 

Bike (road) helmets do seem to be cheaper than even their competition-car equivalents, some of which is down to the Nomex fire retardation, but even then, the advice has to be to buy the best you can afford. Also remember that your comment about 'GBP150.00 to save your life...' can never strictly be true - but then neither can the most expensive race helmet ever designed - remember Ayrton?

 

Have a look at http://www.fia.com/homepage/selection-a.html for more details from a competitive perspective, but also to get the names/addresses of the standards bodies if you want to know more about the differences.

 

Good luck on the track - and have fun!

 

Pierson

[mark.hall]

I would agree Pierson in that you should buy the best lid you can afford, and would consider an Arai or Shoei. If you want a bargain, get along to the Motorcycle Show at Alexandra Palace (if you are close enough). They will expect you to try on lids, so no need to be shy, and you should be able to pick up a pretty good bargain. You probably won't find any nomex lined lids there, but you could always buy a nomex balaclava, which helps to keep the inside of your lid clean, as well as it's intended function.

[Andrew Walker]

Steve,

Have a look at the Snell Foundation web page www.smf.org/faqs.html it's very informative and will tell you the difference between helmets for bikes and those for cars.

I just bought a Snell SA2000 rated helmet made by AGV for OMP from Demon Tweeks for 277 quid (inc VAT) - which is the cheapest Snell SA2000 helmet that I've seen.

Having read the Snell web page I didn't want to go for anything which didn't have their rating.

There should be a small article in Low Flying about helmets this month I think.

[Matt Prior]

As well as agreeing with what's been said here, I just feel it's worth emphasising the importance of having a lid correctly fitted.

 

As well as just sizing it for your head, the (trained fitter) should try and pick you up by it to make sure it's snug enough (it's likely to feel too tight when you first try it); also make sure that it fits all over your head - if the lining is only making contact in a few places on your scalp then the helmet probably just isn't right for you.

 

It may be that the manufacturer's particular shape doesn't suit the shape of your head. My ex-girlfriend's Arai is a great helmet, but I can't wear it because I wear glasses, while she had to turn down many manufacturers (including Shoei) because they didn't suit the shape of her head.

 

The fitter should also check that your chin and nose don't make premature contact with hard edges of the lid (ie. around the visor) when it's moved around on your head.

 

Worth considering, too, that the more you pay, generally, the quieter it'll be (though this mostly relates to wind noise - more of a problem on bikes than cars).

 

 

[tgracing]

In my experience once you get over 300 quid you are paying for weight saving (kevlar and composites, etc.)

 

As Matt says make sure it's a snug fit when you buy it as the lining will pack down with use. A fitter will generally look for the cheek pads to press your cheeks (face cheeks Anna) in and squidge them around when moving the helmet (crash helmet Anna).

Cheers,

 

Davebo

C7 CAR

[Anna Rexia]

I agree, the fit of a helmet must be right! smile.gif I once did two laps of Nurburgring wearing Mr. Rexia's helmet with a pair of gloves inside it to take up the space 'cos he packed his spare helmet instead of mine. Felt like my head was being ripped off, all the balance was wrong and on the long straight I had to ease off because my kneck hurt so much - fit is everything! wink.gif

[CHRIS CLARK]

Anna.

 

There is no 'K' in neck! Is this 'cos all V/X owners want a 'K'?

 

Cause trouble ? Who, me?

[Steve Brown]

Out of interest, is it possible to get a Snell 95 helmet tested (to make sure it's OK) and reclassed as Snell 2000?

[Red SLR]

I am booked onto a track day in March and I also need a lid.

 

I was looking around at the Weekend for some.

 

Prices are as found in Motorcycle City Sale.

 

Nolan BS approved : £89 (down from 189)

Arai BS approved and some other approval : £199 (down from 350)

Shoei Race Replica : £399 (down from 600)

 

Others were avaliable from about £30 up. The bloke in the shop said the BS ones were ok for track days but if I wanted one for competition use then Demon Tweeks is the best place.

 

Ta.

 

Simon.

 

X777CAT

[Pierson Broome]

Here you go - forget spending anything less than your pension on a helmet, Herr Schumacher (M.) has redefined the standard again....

 

"Michael Schumacher has taken an unusual safety step ahead of the new season – by using a bullet-proof helmet.

 

The world champion tried out the new helmet at Barcelona this week. It was made by German company Schuberth, who supply equipment to the country’s armed forces.

 

As well as being bullet-proof, the new helmet weighs only 1290g, considerably less than Schumacher’s previous model. It also contains a revolutionary air filter and a lock on the visor to prevent it being forced open in the event of violent impacts.

 

The kevlar and carbon-fibre helmet took five weeks to produce and not to be out done Michael’s younger brother Ralf has now ordered one."

 

 

The article (from the ITV-F1 web-site) doesn't quote the cost, though....

 

 

Pierson

 

[Hurdsey]

Simon

i bought a new helmet last week from EARS Motorsport in Macclesfield, type A/FR all the right stickers £85, i will bring it along to the karting a week on friday so you can have a look.

Changing the subject just a little, while there i got a price for tyres, i run yoko A520, 205-50-15, the cheapest price i got round M/c was £95 sad.gif inc vat from Dave Sheldon just off Deansgate, EARS price £66 biggrin.gif inc vat thumbsup.gif

[Slipper man]

Steve - read the Snell web site Andrew refers to. Very interesting. (The answer's no, by the way)

 

The starnge thing about MSA regs is how illogical they can be. My 3 year old top end Arai is now out of date for competition (SA90), but my ancient open face helmet is a BSI 6658 -85 type A, and is therefore OK for competition!