Helmets

[walkerstreet]

Hi all,

I'd like to do a quarter mile or go to a race track. You need an "approved helmet".

Do you guys have any recommendations on a good helmet or a good brand?

Cheers,

Walker

[ZAP]

Go to a motorbike shop and buy the best you can afford.

They range from $200-$5000 and should all be approves. You should see a Aus Standards Approved sticker, I am sure they have to have them to sell them.

Speak to the guys in the shop. Bell, Ari, Etc are all well known brands.

In a car you are allowed a open face helmet as long as you do not run under 11sec.

Never buy second hand as you cannot see some damage that can make them fail in a impact.

The old saying is a $2 head needs a $2 helmet.

[kaldek]

Any motorbike helmet that meets AS1698 (or is that AS1968?) will be fine. Bike helmets get more expensive the lighter and more funky designs you want. Since you just want it to lay some rubber in a straight line in the car, go for a decent cheapie.

I would recommend "HJC" as a brand - they have good quality helmets for around $250 or so. There is one brand I would steer clear of - KBC (unless they have upped their quality).

Anyway, different helmets are made for different shaped heads. Try on a few different brands (Shoei, HJC, Nolan, Shark, AGV, etc) and remember that they will ALL be tight but the right ones for your head won't feel like there is more pressure in any particular spot. This is good; you don't want a helmet that will spin around your head sideways, or rotate off your head when you pull it forward. Having said that, you don't want one so tight that you look like someone is squeezing your cheeks together.

I'm a rider (obviously) so I take my helmets seriously. Light = expensive and you don't need that in the car unless you're pulling huge sideways G's. You can probably also remove the visor so that you feel less like you're a spaceman. I kinda like being locked in my helmet, it's a very private space and with tinted visors you're the mystery man!

Lastly, note that car-specific helmets have smaller visor areas. I assume this is because your head position is pretty much always the same level, whereas on a bike you need to look a long way up and down. Secondly from a racing perspective the smaller area probably assists with reducing intrusion into the helmet by flying objects in the event of a crash. ZAP_F6's avatar (The Stig) is a classic example of a car racing helmet. Also see any telecast of V8 Supercars or F1 to note the difference between bike & car helmets.

Edited 12/09/07 12:24 PM by kaldek

[XR_Brute]

My advise would be to buy one that comfortable, without basing it on design or price exclusively, when I was shopping for a helmet while I was still riding, I tried alot of brands and sizes till I found one that was comfortable...turn outs it happen to be a cheaper brand, just wasnt as 'pretty' as the expensive brands which didnt fit my melon right

Edited 12/09/07 01:16 PM by XR_Brute

[7MA61]

If your really a cheap arse you can get an AS1698 approved helmet for as little as 70 bucks.

that's all I got for use on the 1/4 mile and for hillclimbs because the amount of times I use it a year it doesn't justify spending anywmore. Just a cannoball style open face helmet, I have glasses so I prefer to run open face.

[Brad.R]

I bought a RXT brand helmet which is quite a good looking helmet but is a dirt bike helmet cos my mates have dirt bikes and I use that when I go riding as well. it cost me 120 bucks cos I only rarely use it. the cheaper ones are usually plastic composition but are still strong and made to the standards and the expensive ones are kevlar/carbon fibre composite ones. I couldnt justify an expensive ones so I bought this one. and even came with a bag.