Hey, I am thinking of doing some autocross racing next year. I have never raced before, what helmets do you recomend? What do they cost? Who sell them?

For stock autocross racing, do they put limits on what kind of what kind of tires you run?

I figure the stock class is the way to start, any thing else I need to know?

 

Helmet Info: http://www.soloracer.com/helmettech.html

Helmets for sale: http://www.soloracer.com/helmets.html

As for tires, in addition to standard street tires, you can run various R rated race rubber in the stock classes, but I highly recommend starting out on street tires. Do a race season on streets, then switch to race rubber.

 

 

thanks for the info!

what do you guys think about open face vs. full face?

no doubt the full face is safer, but the open face looks easier to get used to.

 

get a full face. in the event of an accident, it will protect your jaw.

if you're afraid glasses won't fit, just make sure the face opening is wide enough to accomodate them. I use a Simpson Voyager and wear glasses comfortably.

 

I feel much more secure and safe in my full-faced Bell M2. I find that open-faced helmets don't feel like I'm wearing much. A full-faced helmet helps me concentrate, believe it or not, by simply feeling more secure on my head. I wear eyeglasses and have found the M2's larger-than-usual eyeport gives me plenty of room to get my glasses on. I also wear a Nomex balaclava underneathe the helmet to keep sweat from making it nasty. It also keeps sweat out of my eyes on hot days. For autocrossing or HPDEs, full-faced is it for me.
-Adam

Edit: spelling errors


[Modified by mityVR6, 9:30 PM 10/26/2002]

 

For autox all you need is open face, and in my opinion, with helmets, less is more. So go to http://www.ridegear.com and get this helmet:
http://www.ridegear.com/cgi-bin/Soft...365+1035818736.
You'll spend about $60 and it meets the requirements. I don't know what people are talking about, needing to feel secure on an autox course. For road racing, that's altogether different. But in 2nd gear in a parking lot, I can assure you that fear is not much of a factor.
Dan

 

Oh yeah and as far as protection, there's probably a greater chance that your helmet will come in handy protecting your head from bird doo than from an autox accident.

 

hey oioioi,

well, since the autox season is at a close here in the Chicagoland area, I suggest you put off buying a helmet. As for what kind, I suggest you actually go to a store and try on different kinds and different manufacters. This is one of those things that are best bought in person rather than mail order/internet. whatever is most comfy is hwat you should buy. A good stor of racing helmets is Northstar Motorsports http://www.northstarmotorsports.com . If you only wanna use it for autox and not for any type of track day, then a motorcycle helmet with a Snell rating is good enough and you can find those at any motorcycle dealership. As for the tires, Chicago Region SCCA http://www.scca-chicago.com/solo and Tri State Sports Car Council http://www.tsscc.org have a seperate Street Tire class, so whatever tires you have will work fine. There is a newbie driving school mid April every year and I suggest you come out to that , but register EARLY as it gets filled up fast. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. You can email me at pilottypesh@yahoo.com