Recommend Helmet and where from

[Shahar]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a Helmet for track days.
Any recommendations for a place to get one? Ideally in Sydney northern beaches area.
Plus, what to look for when buying one?

Thanks,

Shahar

[Spac]

Th minimum for track days and club motorsport is a motorbike helmet to AS1698.
They cost from about $70.


You will hear a lot of people saying a lot about how a FIA approved motorsport helmet is "better" - how true that is, depends on the rest of your car.
If you have a full cage, proper suit and FHR, then I would definitely agree that a proper FIA approved helmet is the way to go.
But if you are doing track days with a soft top, while wearing a long sleeve T-shirt, then the benefits of a proper FIA helmet are pretty much irrelevant and are highly unlikely to alter the outcome in any crash you might have.

Or to put it another way: If you roll an MX5 with a soft top, is the helmet's job more like in a bike crash or a 'normal' motorsport crash?

It is easy to say emotive crap like "you don't compromise on safety", but this leads to lots of stupid decisions. Getting in a car and driving as fast as you dare is compromising on safety: you'd be less likely to get hurt if you were sitting on the couch.
Everything from there is a compromise - it is up to you to make informed decisions on the compromise that you are happy to make.

Personally, I would go for a full face motorbike helmet to start with. A midrange one around $250 will generally not have any of the dodgy work-arounds to pass the tests, and will be good quality. Look for removable liner that can be washed (this should be a given above $150, but check).
OR look at the cheaper motorsport helmets around $600. Don't kid yourself that they are are likely to improve the outcome in a crash, but the FIA compliance is nice.

If you get more serious in the future, the $250 will be such a tiny drop in the bucket that you won't even notice.

[Magpie]

One consideration is that if you use a FHR you will need one that either has the posts installed or where they can be retrofitted. A bike helmet does not normally have holes for the posts.

If you are serious about safety then you would at a min have a harness and FHR, however if just the casual track user a motorbike helmet will suffice.

[greenMachine]

Got $10 head, get $10 helmet (paraphrasing Matich's Bell helmet ads of yesteryear).

Cheap motorbike helmets will be heavier, cheaper, have bigger eye openings, and no HANS provisions. Race helmets will be lighter, expensive, have fireproof linings and (SAH2010 or later) provision for HNRS/HANS posts.

Basically, its your head (neck), your money, your call. Plenty of threads on here discussing HANS/HNRS if you want to read up on it, but the only 'rule' is that if you have a harness, use HNRS/HANS. The reason for this is discussed in those threads, and is merely a general consensus. Outside of w2w racing, there are no regulations requiring the use of HNRS/HANS.

[Spac]

The Bell ad was a stroke of marketing genius. It sold a lot of higher priced helmets, but has very limited relevance to reality in the era of independent testing.

As someone who rides and races dirt bikes (where helmet quality is far more likely to determine whether a crash has a good or bad outcome), everything that I have been able to find out says that price is NOT a reliable indicator of helmet safety. The only ones that are reported to be noticeably safer than a midrange helmet are the conehead and 6D.

You will notice that experisive helmet ads mostly talk about reduced weight, flashier graphics and more features, but not improved safety. ;)
This applies to both car and bike helmets.

If you can find anything written by the few actual experts about helmet safety, you will find lots of interesting stuff: things like whether the Snell tests make helmets less safe.

Or you can just spend lots of money and convince yourself that that alone will make you safe....

[rascal]

All the helmets have to meet aus standards so a cheaper one isn’t necessarily less safe than an expensive one.

Typically the more you pay, the more comfortable it is, (less weight, nicer internal materials, removable washable liner, etc.)

[greenMachine]

Pro tip: Use a balaclava, wash it after every event and your helmet lining will thank you. Especially if, like me, you have an oily scalp.

[MX593]

Velo make a good range of quality helmets at a competitive price.
Whatever you get, I'd suggest getting a helmet with the HANS posts, fitting a 5 or 6 point harness and using a HANS head restraint.
Crashes do happen at track days and they can happen to you.
Don't ask me how I know!

[CrazyRacer]

Make sure you go and try some different helmets on in the shops and don't just buy one online. Different brands tend suit different shaped heads.

I've just been shopping for a replacement and trying on some big brand helmets that I found horribly uncomfortable.

I've had a few different brands over the years, but I'll probably end up going back to a Bell, mainly because my last one was the most comfortable helmet I've had so far, and the newer Bells I've tried on recently just seem to fit me better than anything else.

[Nuddy]

All the helmets have to meet aus standards so a cheaper one isn’t necessarily less safe than an expensive one.

Typically the more you pay, the more comfortable it is, (less weight, nicer internal materials, removable washable liner, etc.)

It is true that helmets meet the aus standard. However the aus standard is pretty basic. A helmet can meet that standard and still get only one star out of 5 on the SHARP (Safety Helmet Assessment ans Rating Programme) tests.
Price is not a good guide to safety. A cheap helmet may give better protection or it may give lesser protection than an expensive one.
Unfortunately SHARP tests only Motorcycle Helmets.
https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/sharp-testing/