I'm doing an open track day with the local BMW club at Watkins Glen in May, and I'll need a helmet. I'd prefer to buy rather than borrow if I can get a good one inexpensively enough. Spare me the "$2 helmet for a $2 brain" - I know what my brain is worth and feel that any Snell certified helmet will do the job just fine. Recommendations for a good, inexpensive helmet along with reasons why the helmet is being recommended would be appreciated.
Scott
This is what I bought, I bought a GF650 M2000 for autocrossing
you might be required to have a SA2000 model, basic difference is the SA2000 has a Nomex Lining.
Racer Wholesale
Better be sure which Snell rating is OK. Some groups will require you to run a Snell SA-rated helmet which will be harder to find and more expensive than the more common Snell M rating.
Harder to find?
dunno racerWholesale has both, the SA is $40 more than the M
Just ask or find out what you need for the track event. for autocrossing M's are ok.
Make sure you check with Racer Wholesale BEFORE placing your order. I ordered two SA00 helmets in January and only one ever arrived they were on backorder for so long.
I ended up cancelling the order for the second helmet and re-ordering it through Jegs for like $40 more - but they were in stock.
Racer Wholesale IS a good company to deal with IMO - just make sure they HAVE what you need in stock.
BTW, SA are rated for fire protection and repeated impacts not single impacts as in M(otorcycle) helmets.
If you're going to buy a helmet, think long term. They are expensive.
Yes, M helmets are OK for autocross, and some open track days, depending on host organization. SA helmets offer additional protections, as noted, and can have a smaller eye opening than a motorcycle helmet. If you think you'll need an SA helmet in the next 5-10 years, get one.
I'd also make the pitch for full-face, even in a closed car. If you roll, you'll want to protect your jawbone, too. More money at first, but you might be glad later. I've also heard "real" racers, who've been in fiery wrecks, make the same pitch based on fire protection, but that's only valid if you leave the face shield on.
Finally, fit. Different brands fit differently, and everybody's head is different. I haven't found a Bell to this day that fits my head properly, even though they make a fine helmet.
I bought a new-old-stock AGV M helmet off of E-bay for like 65 bucks shipped. Came with warranty and everything. I tried on some AGV helmets at a local shop.
I'll chime in with the full face argument too -- if you decide to play on karts sometime, which I highly recommend, you will have to use a FF with shield. I, for one, don't want to share face and hair sweatfunk with anybody else, especially people that I don't know.
Yes get a full face, I have somehow had some [censored] come in the car and hit my visor hard, that is with sticky slicks that love to throw [censored], but it gives you more protection, crashes included. And definitely get an sa helmet, I know we have turned people away for track days with m's
This is what I just bought a few weeks ago.
Bell Sport 3 Why be cheap? Buy the best you can afford and make sure it fits right. A helment is not something where I'm concerned about saving a few dollars here or there.
Thanks for all the good info so far. I'll probably go for an inexpensive M-rated full-face helmet. My biggest concern at this point is whether I'll actually have head room in the car to wear a helmet. I'm 6'2" and long in the torso, and even with the seat all the way down it's a pretty close fit from my skull to the headliner. Damned sunroof...
I'll locate a shop locally and try a few things on and see if there's any major difference in how high they sit on my head before I make a firm decision on anything.
Scott
I bought the least-expensive Bell motorcycle helmet they had at the local Honda/Suzuki motorcycle shop. They had to order it, and it got there in about three days. It cost about $120 tax included.
Gook luck.
Peace
Jed
definatly go with a fullface. i got a
Simpson Super Voyager last year and it is really nice. got it in silver to match the car hehehe.
well just make sure you check with the track and see what they require....
Hey guys, I was just given this nice (to me atleast) Nolan N100E Classic motorcycle helmet, and I am going to a track in a month or so. I am not sure of the rating on it, but here is their website
Nolan I couldn't find a Snell rating, just wondering if you auto-x guys could somehow see something I didnt. Thanks, Chris
1. Bell, Simpson, Sparco (not saying other companies aren't good, just that for auto this would be what I'd choose from)
2. Try before you buy, buy what fits porperly
3. Full face
4. Not being a jerk herre, I read your original post. I'm just reinforcing what you already know.Don't skimp; it's your brain, literaly, your buying protection for.
My .02
The snell rating will be inside the helmet under the liner. As said before, check with the club to see if they will allow an M rated helmet. Also, for those who need a helmet sometime soon, if you can wait for it, the new rating of 2005 will be out sometime soon and will be acceptable for a lot longer than the 2000 rated helmets.
Thanks,
Rick
Any Snell helmet.
The average life span on a helmet used daily (biker) is 2 -3 years. The exterior sustains micro fractures and the interior suffers from compaction. Temperature has an effect. Fuel and solvents have an effect. Basicly don't expect a helmet to last forever or even 10 years. Think replacing a helmet is expensive , try replacing a set of P1's
True on daily use, but the fact is most of us are using our helmets less than 20 times a year. I could see a good quality helmet lasting the full 10 years it would be viable for if well cared for. Heck the cheap SA2000 helmets start around $250.
Rick
But Rick, don't snell helmets have a sorta expiry date, as in you can't use them after so many years?
I know that's the case with the 1/4 track I go to. You need to have an approved helmet that can't be so many years old...
Rule 10
Rule 2 at bottom
Does it depend on the event or does scca govern it everywhere?
I'm wanting to autoX soon, so I'm a little eager 
Originally posted by Cris'pus:
But Rick, don't snell helmets have a sorta expiry date, as in you can't use them after so many years?
I know that's the case with the 1/4 track I go to. You need to have an approved helmet that can't be so many years old...
Rule 10
Rule 2 at bottom
Does it depend on the event or does scca govern it everywhere?
I'm wanting to autoX soon, so I'm a little eager
that is what rick is talking about. the rule says " NHRA Approved Snell 95 or newer helmet." If you get a M2000 (snell 2000 rated) it will only be good for about 6 more years (when the snell M2010 rating comes out) they only go back two ratings and the ratings come out every 5 years. so when the M2005 standards come out you will have to have a snell M2000 or better rated helmet. so if you can wait for the M2005 rating and helmets to come out you would be able to use those until about 2015.
It depends on the event some AutoX places still let you use Snell M90 helmets.
Thanks Moxnix, you're just the guy who'd know about the autoxing too!
Dug up...
I wanna get a helmet.
Wally world has full face motorcycle helmets for less than $80. These should be OK, right? That's probably cheapest place to get them, right? Thanks.
I'll never understand this but all things considering why do people want to be cheap when buying a helmet?
Make sure it is SNELL rated not just DOT.
DOT would be fine for riding a motorcycle but when doing AutoX they require SNELL M95 or greater.
If you ever want to get into Track you would need a SNELL SA2000 or greater helmet.
Either SA or M rated helmets are fine for AutoX and M ones tend to be cheaper.
I think the wal mart ones are only DOT. At the only auto-x I've been to, they didn't check helmets, other than to just see that you had one on. Do most clubs tend to check?
Also, are open face helmets allowed as long as they are rated m95 or better? Is m2000 allowed? Sorry for all the questions. I just want to find the cheapest helmet I can, since it will most likely only be used once a month or less.
Most places I run check your helmet. I don't know how the clubs in your area are but I would go with a M rated helmet anyway.
M95 or better means M95 or M2000 or starting this fall M2005.
Open or closed face is a personal preference and both work fine.
If you want the cheapest I would figure out your size and order something like this online.
http://www.helmetshop.com/items.asp?CartID=98-EVEREST-30649GRWLZ818&cc=TK110&tpc=
Originally posted by moxnix:
Open or closed face is a personal preference and both work fine.
This statement is correct, however, there is a memo from SCCA that recommends against full-face helmets in cars with air bags. If the airbag were to deploy (HIGHLY unlikely in auto-X but a possibility nonetheless) it could cause serious injury to the jaw, as it would impact the inside of the helmet, rather than the airbag.
I was originally going to go full face, but I decided to go open face after reading this.
Here's where I went for a helmet: Soloracer.com I stumbled into a killer deal. They had a batch of Pyrotect helmets on clearance, simply because they had the wrong color liner in them. 
The memo was based on a study of putting airbags into F1 cars.
The forces at play in an F1 car are completly different than in a standard car. The seating position is also was different.
It is more CYA by the SCCA than anything to worry about.
I still have my full face helmet and am not worried about it.
Yes, that warning was a lot of hullabaloo. And there is close to no chance of hitting your head when autocrossing, if you don't have a rollbar/cage. In my cage-less car raced at low speeds I feel that a HJC M2000 helmet is plenty of protection. My car has a lot of factory safety features like airbags and crumple zones, and the helmet is not really a big part of the crash protection picture. So I feel that $60 was a fine amount to spend. When I start doing HPDEs at Watkins Glen in a caged car, I'll be running a 6-point harness and a $400 helmet because the safety system will be very different than the stock version. It's dangerous to try to mix and match safety components, by the way: the total system is what need to be considered. I run 4-pt harnesses that are designed to act just like a 3-point in a crash, and let the airbags do their job. This lets me stay seated tighter while racing, and keep the factory safety system intact.
Now, is a $600 helmet better than a $60? Yes. But will you ever encounter a situation where the difference could save your life, in a street car on an autocross track? I don't think so. Going full-face is a good idea if you can go off the tarmac into woods/brush/dirt, or roll the car, but only because it may save you cuts and bruises, not head trauma.
Originally posted by moxnix:
If you want the cheapest I would figure out your size and order something like this online.
http://www.helmetshop.com/items.asp?CartID=98-EVEREST-30649GRWLZ818&cc=TK110&tpc=
Thanks. I'll probably order from there or ebay.
Got a new KBC TK-110S for $52 shipped on ebay.