Potomac-Greg

Not to go too adrift of the topic, but does helmet aero really work?

I have a Bell K.1 and I'm thinking about adding a "gurney" lip but only if it appreciably reduces the buffeting. Either that, or I'll just keep driving really slowly. ;-)

kurt M

Agree. I don't think that price and safety go 100% hand in hand. Type and fit and the car you use it in do. What is safer $400 helmet and $600 full fire supression system or $1000 helmet?

(snark free question am looking for real answers, not ax grinding) Are some helmets in a testing group (Snell, FIA and the like)safer than others? Weight plays in of course but what other aspects make the $1000 Snell safer than the $400 Snell?

Flying Finn

Then there really is only one choice although I haven't seen many around here in US, even with pros.
(doesn't have to be 21 carat gold plated as the example below but Schuberth is the best money can buy)

As far as OP's question, check out the closeouts, especially motorcycle shops have latest Snell rated helmets often for sale where you can have a $500-700 helmet for $300.
At minimum, IMO the helmet needs to be kevlar and/or some other composite construction, no matter how cheap your head is, forget the "plastic" helmets.

Circuit Motorsports

The lifting you experience on your helmet has a lot more to do with how the air is getting into the cockpit on the SRF. It spills over the front of the cockpit and hits you in the chest. That air then gets up under your helmet and adds to the buffeting. You can do more to stabilize the helmet with a little spoiler the size of a deck of cards right in front of your steering wheel. I've run the Bell T-6 and the Bell M2Pro in the SRF. There was no difference in stability. The little sp

From what I've been told through various helmet mfrs.

It's easier to meet the impact standards with thicker shells so in many cases you see the cheaper helmets being a bit heavier. This is also the reason the FIA helmets are heavier. They have a more serious impact standard (a la Massa like hits) that requires the thickness in certain areas be double what it has been in the past. The other way to make it safer for impacts is to use better materials and that mainly exists in the shell.

This thread reminded me to look more into the impact material differences. For the most part I think they are pretty much the same, helmet to helmet. The bigger differences lie in how thick that material is. Purely off of observation I think the Arai helmets have a little less material above your head than Bell. The same person often gets a bit more clearance above their head with an Arai compared to the Bell.

I think the answer is "we'll only know if the mfrs would release the data". Will that happen? I doubt it.

As for real world? What group of racers have the hardest hits, week in and week out. IMO Nascar. I've seen all the big names on those drivers heads. And as said earlier, the exact helmets they wore until this year are now on closeout for sub-500 in a few places.

fhp911

If 2 helmets if SA2010 rating are they as 'good', safetywise?

(I don't mean weight, eye ports or anything else, just their inherent safety-ness.)

Carrera51

Yes. All SA rated helmets have passed the same battery of tests to receive the SA2010 certification.

http://www.smf.org/stds

http://www.smf.org/standards/sa/SA20...er_5-18-09.pdf

GlenL

But that's the trick: while they all pass some exceed it more than others.

Thanks to all the good information and PMs I've received. Everyone on the track needs one of these whatever vehicle you're in or track you're on.

fatbillybob

I thought about this too. I perceive the cheaper helmets as bigger. I wondered about material shell thickness and interior padding. It makes sense that you could pass the tests with cheaper materials thicker. That was the reason for my post on this some weeks back. Here is my observation. I got a 2005 stand 21 which was a $1200 helmet years ago in 2005/6. I bought a sa2010 for my kid to use on 1 auto-x for $299 airflow pro pyrotech. The cheap helmet is way better designed and fit and finish is totally better than my Stand21 when it was new. I'm so impressed with the pyrotech that I'm considering the top port airflow pyrotech carbon helmet for about 700 bucks. I looked at the simpson devilray carbon top port air and it is pretty good but only come small medium large!!!! WFT Their cheap helmets come in hat sizes. This is the same problem with Bell infusor top port airflow unit too. The cheapo pyrotech comes in hat sizes and has a cutout designed into the shell and a heat laminated visor with bend in it so that you can lift the visor up. Simpson has holes drilled in the visor and a clip screwed into it to lift the visor. What a cheap tacky add on to break in the future. OMG the simpson and the bell have seals around the visor that are actually glued tight not like my S21 which slips off. What is up with Bell? They have airflow nozzle openings that are non-standard sizes. They say they are going back to the generic size in the future. Well what about now? I have to buy and adapter. What is up with that? If SA2010 means all helmets pass then can we throw out the old adage buy a $5 helmet for a $5 head? I want the best and have bought the best Stand21 for big bucks and wow what a rip off that was. The Pyrotech has quality you can feel in their cheapest helmet. Now that was a surprise. The only reason I have not bought it yet is the tug-o-war in my pea brain that says a more expensive helmet is a better helmet. But let me tell you my S21 is a real POS.

Turn3 Autosport

Buy the helmet meets the standards of your sanctioning body (usually SA20XX) THAT FITS YOUR HEAD the best. I highly doubt that there is a difference in resulting injury from brand X to brand Y in impact protection. Someone posted above how differnet brands fit different heads, same is true in the MC world where you have a Shoei head or an Arai head. A poor fitting helmet is poor insurance no matter how much you paid for it.

Fire protection may be another story, but most folks at a DE don't protect themselves from fire anyway...

wildcat077

I was really surprised as well with the Pyrotect Pro Airflow helmet and after trying on more expensive ones i realized that the Pyrotect was the most comfortable fit ... for me
Between the dozen or so snowmobile and dirt bike helmets my son and i own at home the Pyrotect is the most comfortable after my MX helmet !

Cheers !
Phil

kurt M

This has been what I have thought as well. I do wonder how well the dif brands / models past the cert bar. I don't see much of any info availble on this. A basic SA2005 and a hans device beats a $1000 helmet alone.

Ritter v4.0

$1k helmet + HANS.

ZAPmobile

Make sure what ever you get is SA2010 not M rated. Many PCA regions and other organization do not allow M rated helmets at their track events.

tripleblack

Arai FTW.

rlm328

From some of the posts I have been reading it would seem that this thread began around DE requirements. Most DE cars have a 3 point seat belt and as such a standard hans is useless. And with that we can also get into the debate about full face vs open face helmets with air bags.

I am a firm believer in having the best safety equipment you can afford. This is an expensive undertaking and you should realize it up front. If you cannot afford good equipment then maybe you should rethink this as a hobby.