I am a first time helmet buyer and I think I have decided on the G Force Hybrid. Can anyone tell me if this is a comfortable helmet and a good chioce for SOLO 2. Thanks!

 

Sounds like me! This is the same choice I made for my first helmet. It is comfortable with a decent size eye port. Puting glasses on is not a problem. Don't know how hot it will be in the summer yet.

Chris

 

Unless you're using it at the track, I don't see any reason to get full face for autocross, but it's up to you. I much prefer an open face for the ability to talk, less heat, and less bulk. Keep in mind, driving in Solo is safer than the highway.

Brian

 

I bought a full face because I wanted to use the same helmet for go karting. :smile:

But I might buy a cheapie open face for autox.

 

I have one for Autocross and one for Karting



A good source for helmets (if you know your size) is Ebay

 

Different helmet brands fit differently. I have had Bieffe (current), Bell and Simpson. The simpson seem to squeeze my cheekks a bit. The Bell was a very nice helmet, just didn't hold up as well as the others. My current helmet is a full face Bieffe. I really like it. The material qaulity is very good and not too heavy.

If you are doing some faster karting, you may want to look at a traditional full face with interated visor. The helmet you choose would require the use of goggles rather than just sunglasses for proper eye protection. For track days and autocross I prefer the one you listed.

Remember, don't skimp on the helmet. Get the best you can possibly afford. Whats you head worth?

 

I have a Bieffe as well. It's a little snug around the ears when I take it off but other then that it's nice. I have the F-1 model..I think that's the one.

 

Thanks for the replys. I will be autocrossing only with this helmet. I had a few people I trust recommend not getting an open face helmet. That is why I was looking at the hybrid. It's cooler and has bigger eye ports but still gives full face protection. Two hundred is about as much as I have to spend on a helmet at this time. So I don't know If I could get much more for the money.

 

The SCCA has issued a warning that for cars equipped with airbags, an open face helmet is recomended. Should the airbag deploy, a full face helmet could interfere with proper operation, and cause injury. If you want to run the Mini in SCCA Solo2, consider an open face, and get yourself a real closed face for karting. I have purchased a Snell 2000 M helmet (SCCA ok for Solo2 ) from a motorcycle shop, 'HJC' brand for $90. For track use, I have an open face Bell Pyrotect that was only @ $160. Best to try them on. I too have found that the measurements and mail order don't mix. I have bought two helmets mail order, and both came in too small.

 

November 16, 2004 - Notification from SCCA National Staff
It has been brought to the attention of SCCA Technical Services that the use of full-face or closed face helmets while driving vehicles with active airbag restraint systems may result in injuries in the event of a crash that deploys the airbag. Because of the location of the steering wheel relative to the driver's position, the airbag axis is on a level with the driver's chin. In a crash with airbag deployment, contact with the chin area of a full-face helmet can be so powerful "that fractures to the jaw cannot be ruled out". (Hubert Gramling, FIA Institute, FT3/AF, 18.5 1999)

Therefore it is highly recommended that full-face helmets not be used in vehicles with functioning airbag systems. Potentially more restrictive language is currently being considered for 2005, which could appear in an early 2005 issue of FasTrack.


I guess it depends on the solo2 course you are running but unless you are totally out of control it doesn't seem likely you'll run into anything that will cause the airbag to deploy. But as always, YMMV.

 

When you least expect it, stuff happens and airbags can deploy.
Better to be safe.

Once you loose control of your car you'll be moving in whatever direction the laws for physics dictate and you'll be going along for the ride.

If no solid objects lie in your path you will be fine but there could be something non-yielding.

Solo 2 courses are designed with maximum safety in mind however the regulation is that solid objects need to be at least 25 feet from the edges of the course.

You might also check if the helmet you get now is M2005 rather than M2000.
This way the helmet can be used for a longer period of time.

 

Is M2005 out yet? I read something about SA2005 won't be out until Oct 05.
I knew about the announcement before I bought my Bieffe but I still purchased a full face helmet.

I think a lot would depend on the courses run. One course I saw two weeks ago had eight turns and was completed by most in the 35 sec range. I don't think you could go fast enough to deploy the airbags if you crashed unless you didn't slow down at all. And at that particular parking lot you couldn't get too many more turns. Others, are much faster and could posed a problem.

edit: I think they were still allowing SA/M 95 helmets in solo 2.

 

Thanks for all the tips. I have never been Karting and will only be using this helmet for autocrossing. I went ahead and ordered the G force Hybrid from Discovery Parts. They give free shipping and a free helmet bag. It showed up the next day. The Helmet is a nice fit and seems to be the best of both (closed and open face). I had a few people tell me some scary stories and everyone was happy to have had a full face, even with the air bags hitting the helmet. I heard the test that the FIA did was all based on F1 cars at super high speeds. They were working on airbags vs. the hans devise. It would mean more to me if the testing had been done in a street car with normal airbag systems.I might be total wrong about the test but I trust the people that said get the extra coverage. One of them being Randy Webb. My helmet has the SA2000 rating because the SA2005 doesn't come out untill October. I didn't want to waitand have to use barrowed helmets for a whole season.

 

Sounds good. The SCCA recommends that helmets be replaced every five years. So by the time that happens it might be SA2010!

 

Looks like the Snell 2005 helmets won't arrive till at least Oct. 1, 2005 so until then M90/SA 1990 helmets are OK and legal for SCCA solo 2.
SA/M 95 helmets are good until 2010.