hal m

Well, I finally signed up to participate in the local PCA club autocross school.

I need to get a helmet. What do you recommend for a newbie?

Any other advise for a first timer? I will let my mechanic do a quick once over before the event and I guess they will "tech" the car there.

Hal

ca993twin

Hal,

I would suggest that you will get hooked, and you should think long term on the helmet. First of all get the very latest Snell-rated helmet so it can last for a while. Second, I recommend a full face helmet with a flip-up visor. Third, try to get a light weight helmet without spending a small fortune. Your neck will love you.

Be sure you have plenty of brake pad thickness, and plenty of tread on the the tires. Do not be shocked by how rapidly these will get used up.

Autocross, driver ed at Laguna or Thunderhill, then some wheel-to-wheel. Once bitten, you can't stop.

hal m

Steve,

Thanks for the advice.

Is there a good place in the South Bay to get a helmet. Someone suggested a motorcycle store otherwise I need to drag up to Infineon for a race helmet.

Regards,
Hal

Slate993tt

Try wine country motorsports. If I can find the website I will post otherwise just google them.

Motorcycle helmets and racing helmets are rated at different standards and different organizations don't let you run motorcycle helmets.

I have run Bell helmets over the years and have been very happy. Enjoy your track day.

Chad

CincyScott

This is exactly why I embarked on this Saturn Coupe project (other than the fact that all P-Car owners really yearn for plastic cars). I wanted to get into racing in something that I could a) blow up, b) wreck, c) fix cheaply.

I paid $500.00 for the car, will probably have $2k or so in it when I'm done, and will get some valuable experience for the price of a set of tires and brakes on my 993TT.

One of my buddies is an instructor in Formula Ford, so he's offered to let me tag along on their track days at Mid-Ohio. Fun!

cannon1000

I got a Bell SA2010 helmet from Apexperformance.net, a sponsor on here. Great deal.

hal m

do I need to figure out my hat size to order a helmet online?

bb993tt

^^ Bit dodgy to order online, Hal unless you're replacing one you already have and you know fits really well. Helmet manufacturers make sizes a bit different from each other. Some just fit particularly shaped heads better than others. All have "sizing charts" on their sites that allow you to measure your head and take your best shot. If there's *anywhere* you could visit and actually try on a couple of different manufacturers you'd be much better for it. FWIW I have an Arai GP5W, which wasn't what I went shopping for, but it fit better than the rest. Plus, it has a wider eye opening, helpful in an enclosed car. YRMV but best of luck.

ca993twin

Hal,

Many car clubs do not allow Snell Motorcycle Helmets (M10, etc), but want an automotive helmet (SA-10, etc). I have a nice M-90 I could sell you, or even better an SA80. I even have a cloth helmet and goggles. On second thought, never mind.

Turbodan

At the autocrosses up here (Canada) no one uses helmets.

hal m

Apparently our lawyers are better or worse than yours so helmets are required at this event.

I am actually going to be up in Sonoma this weekend so will try to stop by at Wine Country Motorsports and see if I can pick up a helmet. Might even wear it for the drive home!

Thanks to all.

bb993tt

Excellent notion!

cannon1000

"tech"ing the car usually involves them looking it over and making sure your wheel bolts are torqued correctly. Then you get a little sticker on your windshield.

Autocross is 4 to 5 sub 2 minute jaunts of you thrashing your car around. You're not going to cook brakes, wear out your oil or anything like that.

Get there with your tires at proper pressures....after the first run, see where the pressures are and how much roll you are getting on your tires...you will probably end up letting out some air to help on the corners. Everyone is helpful...ask around, find someone with similar car and ask what they run their pressures at.

Ask an instructor to ride with you on your first and second run...just a few bits of advise will help a bunch...plus they help you stay on course.

Bring lots of fluids (I brought a couple bottles of water), a sandwich and maybe an energy bar or something. Clean your car out before getting there. You will drive half the day and work the other half (normally). Wear appropriate clothing (driving and working may require a wardrobe change to something more comfortable). Your car should have an air pump - leave it in the frunk in case you need it.

Bring some painters tape or other low adhesive tape. You probably will make numbers from it.

I am wearing gloves next time, since my hands sweat on the leather wheel. I bought flight gloves off ebay. Very comfortable.

Above all - have fun!

Chris

Yomi

I'll differ by saying I much prefer an open face helmet for autocrossing, and look for a SNELL SA2010 one. My favorite: Bell Mag helmets.

On the other hand, some HPDE places prefer a full face helmet, and if you ever see karting in your future you'll need a full face unless you want to see your dentist on a weekly basis. Either way, do Snell and prefer SA2010 (the newest standard).

Make sure you have air in your tires, and prefer too much to too little. It's easy to let air out, harder to add it unless you bring an air tank / compressor / bicycle pump (the latter does work, but only if you need to add a touch up). If you have to, other people will probably have some air, but it can be hard to find and I always hated someone borrowing my tank and then leaving me with nothing. Always ask before using someone's air tank. A good air gauge would be good to bring if you have one, but isn't necessary yet -- almost everyone will have one and happily let you borrow it (just please return it to them!). Besides, at your first few events it's more for information and letting air out than any fancy adjustment.

Ride with anyone who will let you (if your club allows), especially any instructors or very good drivers. Or if you just fancy their car. One nice thing I did when I had the stock Miata was get any experienced driver to drive my car every chance I could, while I rode with them. Then we'd switch and I'd drive while they rode, repeat as often as possible. A big help. You could do that too, but compared to a Porsche Turbo, a stock Miata is nearly impossible to break, cheap, and trivial to drive well for any decent autocrosser (and the good ones can chat with you and point at stuff while holding it on the edge of adhesion).

My checklist for autocross events includes: camera, video camera, membership card, money, coat, book, cell phone, clothes, driving shoes, driving gloves, helmet, rulebook, shoe polish, windbreaker, sunscreen, long underwear, umbrella, hat, pyrometer, air tank, water sprayer, rags, chair, impact wrench, breaker bar, torque wrench, extra lug nuts/bolts, racing jack, spacers, numbers, music for drive, sunglasses, water, snack, and coffee. A bunch of those are in the duffel bag I take to each event so 10 items get crossed off at once, and some of them are on the checklist just so I can think about whether I want it in the morning. I get really distracted the mornings of race events so I like having a list I can check things off of as they go into the car.

Last point: Have fun. Really, have a blast driving, and don't worry about all this stuff. One reason I ride with other people is because places like Disney will charge you $50 for the same thing at a quarter speed.

TRINITONY

In MD they provide extra loaner helmets, inquire if your chapter does. Why AX a turbo though - hopefully it's not a tight course? Remember to tape up, and don't go too close to guy in front of ya as he might throw crap your way....Remove everything from car, mats, glove compartment bits, etc....lol...stay focused, get a good night sleep, else all the cones would look like they're pointed in the same direction...have fun...