Flite

I need to get racing gear for an upcoming Chump car race. I need to get some of it anyway so I can stop borrowing helmets and stuff for track days. If I have the gear, I'll probably be more inclined to run my car as well.

The first thing I'm looking at are helmets. What do you wear and how do you like it? I'd like to stay in the $200-$400 range, and it has to be full face, type SA, and at least Snell SA2000.

I'm looking at these right now but I'm wide open to suggestion:

G-Force Pro eliminator - ~$280


Pyrotect Pro Airflow Duckbill - ~$330


Bell M4 Racer - $279 or $379 depending on if it's a BEL-101 or BEL-102 (BEL-102 has a larger eye port)


And then there's this for around $425... Pyrotect Pro Airflow Carbon Fiber. It's Snell SA2005. So it's a little more than I wanted to spend, and Snell SA2005 vs 2010 for the other ones. Besides the bling factor, it's also the lightest by a small margin. Is the carbon worth the ~$100-$150 price premium?

Cobra4B

FYI SA2000's are expiring this year.... helmets are good for 10 years. A SA2005 is good through 2015. I'd buy a SA2010 so it's good through 2020. You can find better deals on 2005s though.

FWIW mine is a SA2005 G-Force Hybrid.

EDIT - Helmet weight doesn't really matter for 25-30 min sessions or even 45-60 min races. It's when you're endurance racing and doing long stints that every ounce matters.

mportedcivicsi

Check out helmetcity.com I picked up a Pyrotect pro airflow (SA2010) for $230 shipped.

EDIT- Looks like they are about 300 now. And if you do go with SA2010 you may want to call before ordering. They just came out at the end of last year and not everyone has them in stock yet. I called 4 or 5 places looking for one.

D_Eclipse9916

How often do you use it? I use mine every weekend or every other weekend starting in March-November and mine after 5 years was absolutely destroyed. Hell, I shoulda replaced it last year. Also most safety gear proclaim a helmet should be replaced every 4-5 years anyway.

If you use it 5 times a year and its stored in a very good environment, get a SA2010 and youll be able to keep it for a while. Mine doesnt, so instead of spending extra on an sa2010, I just use the SA2005 deals as ill be replacing it in 5 years anyway.

Weight does matter as well if you do a decent amount of karting enduros, but Brians right, short track sprints it wont matter.

I also went with a lighter, smaller eyeport design this time around. You really dont need nearly as much vision as those big eyeports give (all it shows is your roof and your radio more). Still same side vision.

And go try on a bunch, whichever fits the best regardless of style...get.

Cobra4B

I use mine 5-8x weekends a year depending on how many events I run. I'm too big to fit in a go-kart so I don't do any of that and I hardly ever do any auto-x becuase I find it a bit boring. I shoot mine w/ Febreze and let it sit out and air out after a weekend at the track. If you're wearing a balaclava they'll last even longer.

The longest I'm on track is about 30-35 minutes in a practice, but running TTA you're on track 15-20 minutes per session.

Fit is key... I got lucky w/ my G-force, but next helmet I buy I'll probably drive up to OGRacing and try a bunch on. That said, most good racing apparel vendors have a free return policy because they want you to have the correct safety gear.

Flite

Well my MX helmet is 15 years old and in great shape, so I'm leaning away from the 2005 stuff. I think I'm kind of looking hardest at the pyrotect option the hardest so far.

Can anybody tell me what the point of the chin protrusion is though?

markell27

If your looking for something cheap and still pass go to your local motorcycle shop and pick-up an HJC or similar. Got mine for less than $150 for NASA HPDE. Certainly the Bells and Pyrotect and nicer, but I'm using mine 6 days a year... If I get to a point that I'm on track more then I'll invest in better safety gear.

WRXRacer111

The chin protrusion is for downforce/lift-reduction in an open cockpit car.

I've had my SA2005 GForce for about 5 years now. I happen to have a GForce shaped head, so that works out well for me. It's still in pretty decent condition. I don't wear a balaclava, I just make sure I let my helmet air out after every session. It never gets shoved into a bag wet, which is probably why it does not reek. I've never had a complaint about the weight. After drinking a whole lot of water before my 3 hour stint, I was much more concerned about my need to use a restroom as opposed to the weight of my helmet during an enduro.

Broke Neck

http://store.24hoursoflemons.com/dir...kit?tag=safety



This link should help out a little. This is what I was talking about with you.

Flite

Wow... kind of hard to argue with that ^