Any difference between motorcycle helmet and car helmet? I want to get a helmet but don't know if I should go for motorcycle. There are way more choices and colors to choose from.

thanks

 

If you race a car buy a car helmet. They are designed to survive a car type crash. If you autocross, it makes no difference.

Grumpy

 

Motorcycle helmets are not nomex lined, and they are designed to break in half on the first impact - since motorcycle crashes usually only involve one impact - the rider hitting something when he flies off the bike. If a car rolls, the helmet could repeatedly strike something inside the car, which is why you need a helmet that doesn't break on the first impact. Unless you feel your head is of no value to you and your future endeavours....

Matt

 

If all you plan on doing car-wise is autocross, then a motorcycle helmet is okay. But if you think you will ever want to do open track events, or even roadracing, then get the auto helmet.

Be careful when buying, however. Motorcycle helmets will have a Snell rating that starts with "M" (the latest ones are M00, I think). The auto-racing helmets are SA helmets (Snell rating SA00). I've seen people try to get a motorcycle helmet through tech at an SCCA road race, claiming "I just bought it, the guy said it was okay for racing." It's not the same level of protection, like Grumpy said.

Karen

 

This was copied from the snell website. http://www.smf.org/ BTW, motorcycle helmets are not designed to break on the first impact. A person flying off a bike @ speed doesn't hit once & then stop. They either tumble or slide until they hit something else, then they tumble.

What are the differences between the SA and M standards?
SA Standard was designed for auto racing while M Standard was for motorcycling and other motorsports. There are three major differences between them:
SA standard requires flammability test while the M standard does not;
SA standard allows narrower visual field than M standard (Some SA helmets may not be street legal);
SA standard has rollbar impact test while M standard does not.