Helmets for trackdays?

[325cabman]

Probably this has been asked before, but what sort of helmet for trackdays and possibly hill climbs? Open face or Full? what should I expect to pay?
Any suggestions welcome

[billgatese30]

Full face....always.

Flying glass/shrapnel etc hitting you in the mush isn't going to be nice, plus, if you hit your face off the steering wheel in an open face helmet it will make one hell of a mess, at least with a full face it will help take some of the blow.

If your just doing trackdays then a bike helmet will suffice, so budget around £150-£200 for a decent one, but remember, one that is £100 but fits properly will ALWAYS be better than one that costs 3 times as much but is a piss poor fit.

If your planning on competing in an event then have a look at the rules for that class and see what is required as it will more than likely have to be a race lid with an FIA cert, which will mean that you will typically be looking at £250+

[325cabman]

Thanks for the info, full face it is. So I will be looking for a good fit helmet @ £100 plus. It would only be fun trackdays but maybe hill climbs have stricter rules.
I,ll be off to my local Motorbike shop to try on some helmets.

[jessy]

agree with 325cabman......you shuld go to local Motorbike shop to try on some helmets.......

[jessy]

I work on Fords from time to time and I always recommend checking out fordpartsgiant.com to my customers whenever they are looking for cheap, genuine OEM Ford parts. I even buy some parts from them for my own Fords and have never had a bad experience. I know that I've purchased some Escort parts from them before in the past but I cannot tell you off the top of my head whether or not they have replacement steering wheels for your model year. It's definitely worth a shot though

[m8782538]

bike ones tend to be rated a bit higher too, just that bit safer due to the potential need. An accident on a bike is normally a lot worse then the equivalent in a car. Even when rallying i used to use an open face helmet with an intercom and mic, had my fair share of crashes and open face has always been fine for me. Plus point for Bike ones- Full Face and relatively cheap, need to check the regulations are some circuits say you must have a specific rating of helmet.

[kimbo]

bike ones tend to be rated a bit higher too.

I'd use the word 'different' rather than higher. Theres a good article in the current MSA magazine, which is available online through the following link:
http://www.msauk.org/site/cms/contentCa ... tegory=508

Theres no need to spend loadsamoney on a 'proper' motorsport helmet, full face start from around £140 for MSA spec and around £190 for FIA spec (with HANS posts). They wont win you any points in the style competition, but look a workmanlike job to me - might even invest myself, when the time comes.
Biggest single difference bike - car IMHO is the fire resistant lining which is mandatory in (car) motorsport helmets. Used to be BS somethingorother A/FR, but that (I think) now superceeded. Its all in the article.

Kim

[m8782538]

yeah, i had an FIA open face with intercom when i was rallying.

Once my 2dr is back on the road, will see how many trackdays i do before i buy my own, Castle Combe down the road from me rent them out about £15 a day so no worries, besides, trackdays aren't cheap anyway.

[Black_Potato]

If you want to compete in motorsport events of any kind get a helment intended for the purpose not a motor bike one

[milescook]

Cabman, I did a bit of research myself, and I was tempted by some cheap lids where people were telling me you pay a premium for Bells and Arais for no extra protection. I guess if I was hurtling towards a barrier and time froze, and I had the option of buying any helmet I wanted right then I'd get the most expensive thing I could find with the best name! Sounds ficle but I guess most pople would too.

In the end I went with a happy medium that is Snell 2010 certified for competition racing http://www.msar-safety.com/detail.asp?p ... ell_SA2010 from those guys - they were pretty helpful and I went down to try some on to make sure I got a good fit, which was just as well otherwise I would have ordered the wrong size!

Did my first trackday in my normal car (Fiesta 1.6 TDCI ) with it and happy as larry. Balaclava helps as well to soak up most of the sweat from your head, if nothing else!

[milescook]

Oh, and I "found" my Snell and FIA labels under the padding at the back inside! I was a bit worried bell had "forgot" my stickers when it arrive with nothing on the outside, and wanted to ask one day. Everyday is a school day!

The "bible" (blue book) does state tha MSA stickers must be applied and can be affixed for a small charge. Does this happen at all MSA registered events?

[rix313]

Hedtec helmets are Snell certified and pretty well priced.

[hazd31]

my advice would be buy something with arai on it, preferably to the correct regulation if your gonna do hill climbs, they maybe £5-600 but you only get one head.

I rolled a kart at 60-70mph, all i got was scratches on it, deep ones admitidly but thats what tarmac does to you. As impact is concerned it felt like someone just tapped me on the head.

Many a time have a seen cheap helmets wear through the outer shell.

ALWAYS BUY ARAI!!!!

[staley_turbo]

Ive recently bought one of these http://www.v2sport.com/ full face. Very happy for the money and there all msa legal.

[hazd31]

we used to sell those v2's very cheap for a legal helmet.

However with the early ones you could hold the back of the helmet and wobble the chin part, we were selling them for £179 with a tinted visor, but after the first batch stopped as we couldnt sell them honestly.....

[staley_turbo]

How long ago was this? mines realy good and a few guys at the sprints are also using them.

[hazd31]

Basically if your racing these are your options

http://www.gprdirect.com/helmets/race-h ... elmet.html

Or This
http://www.gprdirect.com/helmets/race-h ... 3-pro.html

If your looking to save some money and buy a karting one for track days then this is what you want

http://www.gprdirect.com/helmets/kart-h ... elmet.html

Nothing else will to to be honest,the saying buy cheap buy twice doesent work with this one. Its more the otherway, buy cheap dont buy again (you wont be able to) buy the real deal and youll have the head to buy the correct one again!!

[hazd31]

How long ago was this? mines realy good and a few guys at the sprints are also using them.

at least a couple of years ago now i recon