Would a motorcycle helmet be ok for solo 1 and 2 , and most other forms of car racing?
They are way easier to get cheap.

 

totally acceptable. unless you have a rollcage, but a rollbar that is well behind the drivers seat is fine. read my helmet faq for more info.

 

a moto helmet (M rated) will not provide fire protection......

They are generally allowed for Solo II and HPDE's (check with your sanctioning club) but thats it. A up to date SA (currently SA2000) helmet is preferred in all cases.

 

an open face SA helmet doesnt provide ANY fire protection.

 

good point

 

nor do jeans and a tshirt most ppl wear while wearing SA helmets in non road racing events.

 

Neither will the T-shirt and shorts you wear when autoxing.

Point is...an M rated helmet will be just fine for autox.

 

Well at least with an SA helmet, it'll be easier to identify the charred remains. Bwahaha. I know, it's not funny, but I cant help myself...

 

oh another thing worth noting in case you didnt bother reading my FAQ, is that not all motorcycle helmets are SNELL rated, some are just DOT certified, not the same thing.

 

When I bought my first helmet, my theory was to get a helmet that I could use for pretty much any auto-related event I might attend. After all its the most important piece of safety equipment, why go for something cheap. I bought an SA rated Bell Sport II. It may be slightly overkill for autocross, but it works just fine for that, and it'll also work great for HPDE's, and wheel-to-wheel if I were to venture in that direction.

I used to sell the cheap HJC AC-10 open face M-rated helmets on SoloRacer.com but I stopped because I'd never wear one of them myself and didn't feel comfortable selling them to others. I sell the open face Bell Mag 4, but I still personally wouldnt wear one. Even the thought of an airbag deploying at an autocross or HPDE (in the event of an accident) makes me want to be wearing a full face helmet. Think how close you are sitting to the steering wheel.

IMHO, full face SA rated is the only way to go, but thats just me.


[Modified by Brett@SoloRacer.com, 10:13 AM 2/10/2003]

 

LOL!

I just pulled this from YOUR FAQ:

 

bah, youre taking me out of context. the above statement is about SA vs M tests, the prior statement is open vs full face. I believe a full face + visor is more important than simply an SA rated helmet (open face or without using a visor).

 

Yeah but no one asked about an open-face before you brought it up. What Ryan said was accurate, and confirmed by your FAQ. The fact that an open-face helmet has no facial fire protection is apparently inconsequential to at least the Snell Memorial Foundation because they are willing to certify open face hemlets and attach an SA-Rating to them.


And for the record I agree with you on the open vs. full face thing. I will never wear an open face helmet for anything.

 

i cant comment on why snell certifies open face helmets as SA. they do address that the obvious frontal impact location isnt tested... but the rest of the shell and liner still needs to be fire resistant to the same specs. i mention the open face SA helmet because ppl seem to think theyre being safer by spending the same amount of money on an open face bell than a high quality closed faced arai.

 

As proven by Dale Earnhardt . . .
I understand your rationale behind what you were saying and I agree but you need to clarify a little by saying that an open-face can STILL be SA-Rated - whether it is stupid or not. Certainly warning them of the dangers of an open-face is worth doing BUT in the end it is their choice and if they want to play pin the nose on the steering wheel then that is their choice AS LONG as they know all the facts - an open-face helmet being SA-Rated is one of those facts.

 

errr, yeah, thus goes back to my first statement.