Arrwin

Hey guys,

After driving through the mountains of Colorado, I am quickly realizing that our cars' potential can barely be tapped into on public roads, esp. in NYC. So...I've been toying with the idea of attending a "Novice Day" @ a PCA DE.

Although a fire extinguisher or tech inspection are not required for a "Novice Day", a helmet of course is. I know they usually have loaners, but if I end up getting hooked, I will need to invest in one of these.

Any recommendations in the NYC Metro area that stock helmets? I understand the web is not the way to go as fit is critical.

Thanks again guys. I can already hear the "cha-chings" $$ leaving my pocket.

nile13

The fit is important, but not crusial for a casual autocrosser/DE driver. It's not like you're riding a bike for hours on end.
You might try and get a better idea of which helmet company fits your type of head better and than look at the net. I got both my Bieffes and teh latest HJC from the net. 25+ autocrosses plus some instructiong per season, and I'm still (arguably) OK

Novice

I got my Helmet, extinguisher and mount from http://www.stable-energies.com/home.asp. That is the nearest shop I found in the area.

JC in NY

Victor is local. Check http://www.vasracingsuits.com. He has all of the helmets in stock in his store.

cobalt

Try Stable Energies, Bob and his daughter Laurette are very nice helpful PCAers. Just a ten minute ride out of the city.

No affiliation.

amfp

Agree about Stable Energies. They really knew how to get the right size and manufacture to best fit my head for safety and comfort. If I did it alone, the helmet and brand would have been wrong. I just forgot that helmet padding does stretch and later conform to the head. BTW, no affiliation.

jonathank2000

Aarwin,
I do a lot of track time on my superbike. I have several helmets that I've bought for the different bikes that I have either worn only once or twice. I always where a liner with my helmets so they are very clean. If you are interested, PM me.

JPhillips-998

be careful w/bike helmets. They don't meet the PCA requirements.

jonathank2000

Jeff,
Hmmm....Now I'm curious since I don't race cars but it would seem to me that superbike (not dirt bike) race helmets would be designed for better protection than car helmets, no? ... interesting.

JPhillips-998

No, a superbike helmet will not suffice. there are two classifications. An M (motorcycle) and I think it is an "s" designation. A motorcycle helmet is designed to take multiple (as in bouncing down the road) impacts. An auto race helmet is designed to take one major impact. Not sure of the engineering behind the designs but they are very different helmets.

Novice

AFAIK, the major difference is the extra fire protection for SA rated helmets
The following are from http://store.yahoo.com/soloracerdotcom/helmettech.html
HELMET RATINGS

SA Rated Helmets:
Snell "SA" (Sports Application) rated professional helmets are designed for auto racing and provide extreme impact resistance and higher fire protection.

M Rated Helmets:
Snell "M" (Motorcycle) rated helmets are designed for motorcycling and other motorsports. They offer slightly less protection than SA rated helmets.

What are the key differences between SA and M Rated Helmets:

SA standard requires flammability test while the M standard does not.
SA standard has rollbar impact test while M standard does not.
SA standard allows narrower visual field than M standard (Some SA helmets aren't street legal).

When will Snell 2005 Helmets be available?
From what we've heard, Snell 2005 Helmets will not be available until after October 1, 2005.

jonathank2000

Wow.. thanks for the wealth of information Gerry... Now I understand and it makes total sense.