In the RS I thought the sound attenuation was great and the sound through the comm system was fantastic - very clear. In the Cup with no cats, no muffler, and straight thru center section it was a different story. Def much louder however the comm system is still crystal clear. I have a fair amount of hearing loss and tinitus as well so the earmuffs were a welcome addition. I will be adding earplugs in the near term as a second layer.

 

We recently sold a Stilo to a medical doctor that has hearing loss and wears hearing aids. He was very impressed with the Stilo and said he has never been able to find anything that worked as well for his situation.

 

I have a couple of Stilos, one of which probably kept me alive and hence my need for a second one. Anyway, the helmets with integrated muffs and hydration sure make life easier.

I think the helmet has two drawbacks. One is that the noise cancellation properties are inferior to that of plugs and in some conditions the radio is considerably harder to hear vs plugs. This is not speculation as I have often made a driver change with someone that preceded me with plugs and I am inevitably fumbling around looking for the radio volume ****. The other is that the helmet is a tad bigger and clunkier than some models, but that hasn't troubled me.

It is a good product and in addition to the guys mentioned here, Wine Country carries them.

 

If I am staying with plugs, does it make sense to go with the Stilo even so? does it still tidy up the helmet connections? I can always add hydration to a standard helmet..

 

If you are staying with plugs, the Stilo is certainly still an option, but one of its biggest advantages has been neutralized and you can broaden your list of potentials. Arai has always made a good helmet, the new Stand 21 carbons are nice and I believe Bell has improved their hardware and fittings (my older Bells were just not on par with other top tier choices in that department). These should all be a bit more svelte than the Stilo should that be a consideration.

One suggestion is to talk to a vendor that carries multiple lines and have them ship you three helmets. Try them all on and see which brand/model you like and send the other two back. I did that once and it made my decision easy.

 

...for those who have done the molded ear plugs. Which ones do you recommend?

 

I've used molded plugs before that I got from Samson, and they work great, but I was always misplacing them or forgetting to put them in before putting on my helmet. I find the Stilo earmuffs work fine for sound deadening, and are great in terms of hearing the radio/chatterbox. My car is pretty damn loud, and the amount of noise heard through the Stilo muffs is sufficiently deadened for me. Maybe the decades of rock music has taken it's toll and that's why, but I really prefer the Stilo to the molded plugs.

 

Wondering if the larger/wider size could be a problem during an emergency exit -- with halos, roll-cage, etc.?

 

I bailed out of the window of a Spec Miata this year wearing one. No problem at all.

 

If I'm not mistaken, with the new Snell standards, there will be a large and a small shell size for all helmets (as there is for the FIA standard). This will make sure there is the right amount of padding in the helmet, versus a small helmet with tons of padding and an XL with almost none.

I've said it before and will say it again, I urge people to talk to Stand21 and learn about helmets. There are major differences in helmets and some are really safer than others.

 

This is who I am going to

Any recommendations for molded earplugs ?

 

Stilo is great value for money but Stand 21 is unbeatable: custom fitted with service available at Road Atlanta. They can get the molded ear plugs too. I bought mine 6 months and have no regrets.

 

I think custom fitting is really important; HMS did mine (Stilo) and it made a big difference.

 

The fitting difference from Stilo to Stand21 is a world apart. What Stilo does is much better than Simpson or the others, but Stand21 goes even farther.

Sorry for the creep from the original subject. Stand21 will also put in speakers or anything else you want in your helmet. They are built to order and are truly custom - eyeglass cutouts, speakers, hydration, etc.

 

Halo seats?