auto x question

I get that you want to keep the face nice, but I just don't see the risk. Hell, the NASCAR boys only went to full face for the sake of the HANS device. I cannot stand the lack of visibility. I really don't like turning my head in the car with all that weight on my neck.

jrw1621 wrote: Here are the training videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRhTUf9iaG4

Last line of the clip: "All we're doing is turning money into noise". They mean it in a negative way in regards to tire squeal (pardon me, "squall") but it's still gonna be my new Facebook status.

In reply to wbjones:

Full face helmets and airbags are not a good combination.

Weird... I'm getting a full face, she's getting an open face.

I got my full face just because i like to feel like The Stig, and because i've been half-assed shopping for a bike for the last oh... 2 years.

Yeah I would think that in a street car with air bags that a open face would actually be a safer option.

byron12 wrote: Yeah I would think that in a street car with air bags that a open face would actually be a safer option.

I would agree with that as well. When the drag strip starting mandating closed face, there was a big to-do about it.

Sports car club of NH (SCCNH) runs that May 14 event at NHMS. I haven't been to an SCCNH event since their 2007 a-x driver's school. Assuming that they're still the same bunch of fun folks, that should be one of the best places to start. In the past, they've been delightfully low-key. They really want you to have fun so you'll get hooked and come back again and again.

I showed up at my first a-x, an SCCNH event, with a Saturn wagon, street tires, bike racks on the roof, and no helmet. Nobody laughed at me. Someone immediately offered to loan me a helmet. Someone else offered me their mini compressor so I could pump the tires up to 40 psi. And through the course of the day, one of the senior club members asked me "Are you having fun?" after each run.

That should be a great place to start, especially since NHMS is practically in your back yard.

If you are willing to come to Vermont, we have a driver's school scheduled for next weekend. Driver's school on saturday, regular autocross on Sunday.grm events post Good bunch of folks and guaranteed to have fun. Avoid trying to give your spouse instruction. Inter couple dynamics don't always mix well with autocross instruction.

I'm fairly certain the closed face helmet thing with airbags was proven to be bunk. So if you want one, go for it. However, for autocross, I think open face lends itself well to allow the wearer to speak. Speeds are not as crazy as other events, so I don't think closed face is truly necessary.

Moparman wrote: In reply to wbjones: Full face helmets and airbags are not a good combination.

you are correct... my bad, didn't go back and check on the car you're using

In reply to byron12:

Y'know..I hadn't even thought about that (nothing I own has bags, it just skipped my mind). Y'all have a good point.

For three full seasons I borrowed loaner helmets. Now I have a motorcycle.

er a nice hjc helmet.. just gotta have or days off line up so we can go have her try them on and find the right fight. its a sneel dot approved rig..139.95. so we are on our way gettin rollin.

make sure it has a M or SA rating, preferably 2005 or newer if buying new.

ya its a snell approved i assume that is the same as sa..?

barnca wrote: ya its a snell approved i assume that is the same as sa..?

sort of. Snell rates helmets and has certain standards every five years. M is motorcycle rated, SA is special application which basically means motorsports. K is kart. Most autocross clubs will allow M and SA rated helmets, some clubs only allow SA. Most want the 2 or 3 most recent dates. SA 2010 is out but I dont' think m2010 is. M/SA 2005 should be fine just about anywhere. 2000 or older might not dependant on the club. It must have the sticker. Sticker is usually found on the inside of the helmet under some of the padding. http://www.smf.org/stds

Way it was explained to me was that A spec helmets are made to take a direct impact, M spec are designed to slide. With the low speeds at an autoX, it shouldn't make much difference. IIRC, most clubs allow M spec for cone chasin'.

Arguments against full-face helmets in airbagged cars may be a bit over-emphasized. Seems like the concern is the "possibility" that a bag deployment "could" catch a helmet's chin area at a bad angle and "could" cause damage to the neck and upper spinal column.

Where are the documented investigations into this? Or, is everyone reacting to sanctioning bodies applying a CYA pre-emptive strategy? IDK.......

For the record, I don't like using stock belts for AX as they still allow too much body-flopping for my preference. Give me a torso belt under a OEM three-point or a properly installed harness instead; I just don't want to be distracted by having to consciously brace myself in the seat.

A harness with out a roll bar could be a bad thing in case of a rollover.

At one time you could buy a Snell helmet without the fire retardant lining. It would then be rated M. Even if the rest of the helmet was the same as the SA. Discovered that at a hill climb.

Hello everyone I am the SO that everyone is referring to in this thread...thanks for all of the great ideas...cannot wait to see what my bitchin' blue can do!!!

iceracer wrote: A harness with out a roll bar could be a bad thing in case of a rollover.

Another "could" scenario. I'm not poo-pooing that possibilities exist, but at what point does one consider the odds of catastrophe against "total" safety? E36M3 happens regardless of the precautions.

As far as rollovers and harnesses, that would be a concern in older vehicles for sure. Moreso if the driver is driving way over his/her talent level. But, still, a remote possibility in autocross. Newer cars (especially coupes and sedans) are purposely designed with internal rollover protection.

Until sanctioning bodies mandate specific restrictions on the cars in which harnesses, specific helmets and roll bars can be used, make your own choice and get on with it or go home.

YMMV

friedgreencorrado wrote: Way it was explained to me was that A spec helmets are made to take a direct impact, M spec are designed to slide. With the low speeds at an autoX, it shouldn't make much difference. IIRC, most clubs allow M spec for cone chasin'.

I have heard that M's are not made with fire retardant stuff like SAs are, but they are otherwise the same. Anyone with definitive knowledge?

I always thought that SA's were designed to take multiple impacts (roll cage in a roll over) and that M's only had to take one.

I dd a koup EX. Be prepared for a power steering issue in any sort of fast steering input (slalom transitions would provably be the worst.) heres a thread here on grm where someone else tries their SX at a pca event and describes the issue. A mInute in an empty lot will reveal it to you. There is some sort of dampener valve in a ps line shown in the parts diagram on the kiatechinfo website but I havent tried to remove it yet. Havent gone to an event in mine yet so no personal experience on just how bad it is at one but definitely a pain whrn trying to pull out into traffic from a parking space. Good luck!

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

byron12 wrote: Yeah I would think that in a street car with air bags that a open face would actually be a safer option.

I would agree with that as well. When the drag strip starting mandating closed face, there was a big to-do about it.

The airbag impact he chin portion of the helmet which can drive one's jaw bone back. With an open face helmet the force of the airbag is dispersed over a wider area.

"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) "

Maybe it is not true, but why worry.

PINKIE2274 wrote: Hello everyone I am the SO that everyone is referring to in this thread...thanks for all of the great ideas...cannot wait to see what my bitchin' blue can do!!!

Well, hello! Seriously, if you really want to wring the thing out..this will be great. Beats the hell out of having to constantly worry about the cops..honestly, a lot of the time-when I "get it out of my system" on a course, I just don't feel the need to go nuts on the street anymore.

Walk the course as much as you can beforehand, and try to get a map of it in your head. When you start running, just start kinda slow, and "sneak up" on it with each additional run. The reason I stink at autoX so much is because I don't do enough of that (especiallly the walking). Otherwise, just relax and enjoy yourself! Doesn't matter if you set the world on fire, the only important thing is to have fun with it.