race911

Don't get me wrong, not like we're talking about FIA 8860 standard helmets just to do a DE because you roll out in one of the newer/more expensive cars.

Chaos

Pick up a couple baclavas and alternate between sessions !

AGO

Thanks everybody for your feedback. My question wanted to focus on open face in terms of comfort, lighter weight and communication with instructor vs closed (safer) but heavier, hotter and more noise insulation.
I have std seats and belts (no Hans ) on a std gt3.
Regarding $$$ the question is if makes sense to go for the really low weight carbon option for my use.
After reading your stories closed face seems to make more sense. Hope is ok with the airbag...

Circuit Motorsports

The airbag study mentioned has been oft debated and the final outcome in my experience was that it had nothing to do with a traditional DE setting in a production based car. The study was looking at a driver in a single seat formula car in a reclined seating position at speeds north of 100mph. SCCA made a reccomendation on incomplete info (essentially the amount of info in this thread) and then quickly made a 180 after they realized that the paper did not pertain to what we are doing.

As for open vs. closed. Closed no doubt. It's your eyes/face. Yeah rally drivers have open faced and I think they are dumb for it. However they also have a need for communication and decided that the level of communication they needed if the comm system failed was to the point where it is 'safer' for them to keep the helmet open faced.

Outside of autocross I'd never even consider an open face and even for auto-x I usde a full face helmet.

TheOtherEric

You might think that closed helmets cause communication problems, but I find it's the other way around. Open face helmets get too much wind on the mic, and my Chatterbox mic has a wind screen but it just doesn't work well enough for open faced helmets. Drives me crazy when a student has an open helmet.

I've never used an open faced helmet and I have zero desire to own one. I simply feel much more protected with a closed face helmet.