For those of you that do/have autocrossed, what kind of helmet do you use, and what kind do you suggest?
i`m looking at a open-faced arai one myself as i feel like it will give me more air thru the helmet but i have never auto-xed...
Whatever you do, make sure it is Snell M2010 or SA2010 rated. I prefer a closed face with no visor, using a Gforce brand now. I do like an open face if I am instructing though, so that I can talk better.
There are loaner helmets at the event(s) that you can use when it's your turn to go out. Go to a couple autoX events to see if it's something you would like to keep doing before spending the $ for a helmet you may never use again.
yea i thought about that too. i should make it out to an event to see how it is. The only thing that is making me think twice is how much wear it will put on my tires. After the skip barber thing, i told myself i would never wear someone elses helmet ever again.... worst experience ever
AutoX is very little wear on your car. You are only racing for about a minute at a time, up to 4 runs per event. You put more wear on your car during a single 30 minute session at a track than you will an entire season of Auto X.
I thought it was going to kill my tires too. We went out to ams this weekend and surprisingly it was hard to tell i lost any tread on the tires and i gave it 100%. You should definitely go out atleast one time, it was a blast!
Here is my thoughts on wear and tear, others may be different, but it will give you a ball park estimate. Tires (street) - I normally go through 1 set of tires in a season (10-12 events), and that is having a co-driver at least 50% of the time. It also depends on how hard you push your car and if you're driving beyond the limit constantly (which actually causes you to go slower). Brakes - I bought Hawk HP Plus pads at the beginning of the last season and it looks like I'll be good till maybe sometime next season. I also bought a new set of Rotora slotted front rotors at least the beginning of last season, possibly before. I am still good on those and may have to replace middle to end of next season. Backs are still originals. Oil & Fluids - You'll be changing your engine oil more often. I probably change it every 3-4 events, but I'm pretty crazy about keeping my engine going good. I've only changed the tranny/diff/steering fluids once, but I upgraded everything to the top of the line Motul. I change the brake fluid more, but it's probably only every 2 seasons. Overall wear & tear - Body wise you'll be hitting cones and 99% of the time it rubs out, even if it is a PITA for some. You may wear out stock bushings faster, but you'll probably upgrade those if you get serious anyway. The extra stress on the body does also wear things a little quicker, but you can do a lot more damage doing a few track days. Overall, the added cost to you for AutoX is nothing compared to any other motorsport you can do with your car and is very minimal, with tires being the main thing and I'm amazed I get about a year out of mine. The cost of each race as a member is only $33, which is crazy cheap for such an amazing rush for a min at a time. The Atlanta group is an amazing bunch and will be happy to help. Feel free to ping me or one of the others with questions, but it's best to just come to an event, feel it out and have a blast.
I have a Gforce full face helmet that I bought 6 years ago, M2000 IIRC. I picked it up for just over $100 a long time ago. It is the older version of this one: http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-eliminator-m2005-helmet.html?productid=1843 Don't be afraid to use a loaner helmet for your first events, as there is no cost. If I want to use an open face for helping out with the Novices, I just use a loaner. The main thing to keep in mind is that the cheap helmets that you can find from Walmart, or at some motor cycle shops might not be rated with the proper M2005, M2010, SA2005 or SA2010 ratings. As for M vs SA, it is related to the fire retardant characteristics of the helmets, and some track events and road racing events require SA, vs M. I went with the M rated helmet, as it is cheaper, and it has been fine for all of the track days that I have done. There is a sticker inside of the helmet that you need to check when you buy a helmet, as that is what will be looked at during the tech inspection of your car and helmet. Example showing an M2000 sticker: http://www.moto-dude.com/gsx1100g_images/pics.h4.jpg Don't worry about car wear. It won't be bad, unless you are a greedy bitch that pushes too hard in the slower sections (This was a hard habit for me to break when I first started). This simply tends to wear the outside edges of your tires a bit excessively. I did this a lot when I first started, but after I received some instruction, and took some ride-a-longs with more experienced drivers and learned to tone down my aggression in the slower sections. Also, all-season tires are actually more helpful to learn on than max performance tires, as the limits are lower, and then make a lot of noise to let you know when you need to dial back. I made the mistake of switching to r-compound tires too quickly, which don't give nearly as much warning before you exceed their limits. Higher tire pressures are recommended also. We ran 45psi on our WRX when we first started with it. Also, +1 on what James said, if you decide to get into it seriously. There was one year that I put 700 runs on my car, and wear wasn't too bad. (often had 4 drivers per event, hitting about ~30 events a year + test and tunes) -Brian
i found this helmet on cygnusperformance (GREAT site) its 124$ shipped (free shipping on all products from this site) is it good for Auto-X and track racing? i see that it is M2005 rated....
I didn't see a link in your post, but assume you are referring to this one: http://cygnusperformance.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=785&substring=helmet It looks good, but my recommendation is to find a local place that sells helmets, and try them on before buying. (or find a place that has a good return policy, should you not like the way it fits) All helmets don't fit differently, and you might find some brands more comfortable than others. A M2005 helmet should be fine for the next ~9 yrs as far as legality for Solo use IIRC (spec changes every 5 years, and the previous two specs before the current one are legal in the rulebook, so when the 2020 ones come out, the 2005 ones will no longer be legal). For most track days, where race suits are not required, an M2005 helmet should suffice.
Ah yes thats the one! and i was getting to that about local stores. Do you guys know of any stores here that sell these type of helmets?