Open Faced helmets

[dbyrd45]

From a newbie, What is the deal on open face helmets in HPDE? Can you use them? And what is the general feeling on open face? David

[kbrew8991]

needs to have the proper Snell rating, beyond that it can be a hot pink bicycle style helmet and it doesn't matter, just needs to have the proper approvals.

 

I run an open face, but will buy closed for my next one.. tired of having stuff flying at my eyes

[Trevor57]

me too, only because i bought it for cheap years ago.

[Alonso]

open face helmets are cool, they look like speed racer.

[bryanrome]

I have both an open and closed faced Snell SA05. I hate wearing the closed one: breathing is harder, hotter, the lens fogs up... But it should be safer.

[Frank Corkran]

The first time I went to the track after buying a closed face helmet (bought at my wife's request) was killer hot. I was thinking about going back to my open face (my first helmet) because of the heat. Then a deer went through the windshield of Bill Miller's '95 Cobra R at about 100 mph, right into the face of his instructor. He had chosen his open face helmet that day because of the heat and because Bill's car had a full cage, so he felt safe. Last I heard that instructor continued to have problems after facial reconstructive surgery(s). After seeing the aftermath that day (my wife saw it too), including the deer turds under the instructor's helmet liner, I haven't worn an open face helmet since.

 

While I've never had anything come through the windshield of a car I was in (haven't hit anything yet either), I've certainly dodged plenty of deer at Summit - from both seats. Seen a few cars lose wheels on track as well. Not saying an open face helmet is a huge increase in risk when you're starting out, but if you're going to spend the money on a Snell helmet for regular track use then you might as well pay a few more dollars for one with a chin bar (and an SA rating while you're at it). If you're going to do this regularly then you will spend a LOT of money doing it over the 5-10 years you will likely use that helmet, so the cost difference between open and closed shouldn't even be a part of your selection criteria. I think the cost difference is still about the same $50 or so that it was 15 years ago for entry level Snell helmets.

 

A properly rated open face helmet is perfectly acceptable, but just because you're in a closed car don't assume there's no increase in protection from using a closed face helmet. As far as the comfort issue, I never notice the helmet once I roll off the grid onto the track.

[jason]

I have twice been hit by flying rubber right next to my eye while wearing a full face helmet with the shield up because I "was hot". Now I lower the shield and just barely crack it to allow some air in.

 

See, I can learn. Eventually.

[bryanrome]

As a rule I only wear the open face in autox, and with eye protection.

[vpnwiz]

I bought the Bell full face/ open hybrid over the off season and have worn it for two weekends this year. It's got a full face front but no eye shield and a much larger eye port. I wear sunglasses with interchangeable lenses that are ANSI rated in case of impact.

 

So far I love it.

 

Patrick

[beerkat]

I bought the Bell full face/ open hybrid over the off season and have worn it for two weekends this year. It's got a full face front but no eye shield and a much larger eye port...

So far I love it. Patrick

 

I think that I have the same helmet. I change from a open face to this helmet for two reasons. I wear glasses for one and two I have a R3 device and closed face helmets are recommended.

[Ev]

I have heard warnings about wearing closed face helmets in air bag equipped cars. It seems jaws get broken if there is an air bag deployment with closed face helmets. It's a hard choice to make. It seems either way there are risks.

 

Deer strikes as mentioned above are less likely than air bag deployments, so I guess it's up to personal choice. I have no airbag in my track car, so I choose closed face.

[ninetyfourintegra]

I thought most orgs recommend disabling the airbags.

 

I know this has been debated elsewhere but basically, I agree, there are trade offs on the decisions that we must all consider when entering the track as to our own personal safety.

[Ev]

I thought most orgs recommend disabling the airbags.

 

I know this has been debated elsewhere but basically, I agree, there are trade offs on the decisions that we must all consider when entering the track as to our own personal safety.

True for racing, but not something I would do in an HPDE situation esp. with 3 point belts.

 

IMHO, not a good idea in HPDE.

[Mr Pepsi]

As a rule I only wear the open face in autox, and with eye protection.

 

Ditto. Better sound and better breathing.

[eMINI]

My vote goes to a closed-face SA-rated helmet with a large eye port and nice shield (eg. Simpson Super Voyager). While an open face helmet is certainly cooler and lighter, I prefer the additional protection of a true closed-face helmet. As others have stated, you don't know if/when you'll need it. Besides you'll get accustomed to it quickly.

 

For years, I ran with sunglasses instead of a shield, but I got tired of getting stuff in my eyes at speed. So I switched to an iridium shield which I quickly learned to love. Now I don't need the sunglasses, and I'm better protected.

[Scott G.]

I have heard warnings about wearing closed face helmets in air bag equipped cars. It seems jaws get broken if there is an air bag deployment with closed face helmets. It's a hard choice to make. It seems either way there are risks.

 

Deer strikes as mentioned above are less likely than air bag deployments, so I guess it's up to personal choice. I have no airbag in my track car, so I choose closed face.

 

This sounds like the helmet was too big. A properly fitted helmet shouldn't allow enough movement for airbag impact to be localized on the jaw. A properly fitted helmet usually feels too tight. And if it feels too tight without any obvious painful spot, it might be perfect.

[FandangoDrew]

Several years ago I put a corvette hard into the wall at RA in a time trial class with another group. It was my first time running in a full face. The marks the wall left on the chin of the new helmet made for a great story, a broken chin and dental reconstruction would have made for a very bad story. BTW the airbags did go off and did not bother me a bit in the full face.

[kgobey]

Do you guys know if it is legal to change your steering wheel to a non-airbag wheel for a street car?

[vitoal18t]

Here is an excellent helmet for HPDE.

 

http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-force-1-m2005-helmet.html?productid=998

 

 

I've used it all last year while doing HPDE, I even wear glasses (correction lenses) and never had a problem with wearing a helmet!

 

If you do HPDE or racing regularly, crashes will happen at some point! If you want to wear an open faced helmet, you are asking for a broken nose or a broken jaw!

[TurboShortBus]

Disconnecting the airbags should be relatively simple if you can locate the wiring harness. You could also disconnect the front sensors, if so equipped. I have only dealt with Mustang airbags, and they are pretty easy to defeat. I'm not sure how easy other cars are, though.

 

From what I understand, airbags are designed to stop a 180-lb person who is not wearing their seat belt (or maybe that's the older style airbag, not this "new generation" stuff), so if you're wearing your helmet and 3-point belt, you should be fine. Besides, if you still need to use the steering wheel to maintain control after an initial impact, and you have this huge, hot pillow in your face, then steering might be a bit difficult.

 

Making the argument for an open face helmet based on the 1 in a billion chance of getting hit in the face with a deer is like the argument that you shouldn't wear your seat belt in case your car goes into a lake and you can't get it unhooked. The chances are much better that a full face helmet will help you more than it will hurt you.

 

Worried about ventilation? I just picked up one of those helmet fan and hose setups from Cool Shirt for $98. Get a helmet with a forced-air connection and you're all set. I'm hard-mounting and hard-wiring my fan assembly, but if it's for your street car, you can make a temporary bracket for mounting it and put a male cigarette lighter plug on the wiring for quick connect/disconnect.

 

Mark

[TurboShortBus]

Don't forget that, with an open face helmet, in a fairly serious incident you could wind up with your arms flailing around a bit, and you could conceivably punch yourself right in the mouth. I remember that David Green lost a tooth in a NASCAR wreck at Bristol (or maybe Martinsville?) about 10+ years ago. I seriously doubt that his mouth was able to reach the steering wheel, so the only other thing I could figure was a self-inflicted fist shot.

 

Mark

[Swede_Speed]

I vote for closed face, just open the shield a crack to prevent fogging.

Like I say about my Beretta...

Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

[Scott G.]

For newbies reading this thread, note that several of the helmets suggested are M rated, not SA rated. A lot of outfits hosting track events require SA2000 or SA2005 helmets. And pretty soon SA2000 will fall out of the approved list because of it's age. So if you want a helmet that is good to go for all events for the forseable future, I'd get an SA2005.

[TurboShortBus]

M/SA1995 helmets typically become flowerpots in 2010 (see note below about the CCR, since this may not necessarily be the case).

 

M/SA2000 helmets typically will do the same in 2015, so you'll get about 6 years out of one if you buy it now.

 

M/SA2005 helmets should be good until 2020.

 

I have found that my Bell helmets start falling apart (lining, trim padding, etc.) and smell like crap in 5 years or less, so I replace them. If that's the case with many people, then there's not much of a point in buying a helmet with a huge lifespan (date-wise) if you can save a few bucks on a closeout M/SA2000 helmet if you're only going to buy another one before it expires.

 

But, I agree...buy SA2xxx only, "just in case" you run with a group that requires them. Interestingly enough, the current NASA CCR allows M/SA1990 helmets (CCR 2008.13 edition, section 11.3, pages 42-43).

 

Mark