Snell/Dot certified racing helmet

[Drifting Dane]

im curious if all these helmets advertised on ebay are indeed snell (m90+) and dot approved...

im looking into doing some SCCA solo II races , and the requirement (that i read) are snell m90+ approved and dot approved. confirm/deny?

anyone with any experience, please help me out... i mean my head isnt exactly something i want to cheap out on, so anywhere you guys reccomend to get a helmet? thanks!

[JekylandHyde]

If it is snell rated, it will be DOT approved.
Most SCCA events I have been too want a Snell 95 or later.
Helmets come out every 5 years.

I would highly suggest getting a 2000 or a 2005 to get your maximum life out of it.

I have a SA2000 (better than a Snell) helmet. It's a plain white G-Force helmet that cost me $150 brand new from a vendor at a race. You can check out www.ogracing.com. They might have them.

The problem with buying online is that you do not get to try it on.

[4DMR2t]

A motorcycle helmet will also do the trick at an SCCA event. I picked up my plain black helmet at a local cycle shop for $65. I got to try em on till I found one that fit best, and it's rated M2000, so it's good for a few years.

Just another option if you're having trouble pickin one up.

[ToyotaTechGeek]

you might get away at some local events who will let you slide with an M helmet. some tech inspectors/safety stewards are real nazis about the difference between M or SA. you'll want to take Jekyl/Hyde's advice and get at least a Snell 2000 helmet. this year the Snell 95 just went out fo spec.

a small bit of advice: measure your head, then go to a motorcycle shop and try different helmets on of different manufacturers. some helmets run funny in sizes. even if the helmet you try on is an M, at least you can decipher the way the different manufacturers sizes run.
also, just cause a helmet has a DOT rating does NOT make it Snell rated although the reverse is true (SNell approval = DOT approval)

[Drifting Dane]

awesome thanks guys!

Oh, and i was looking at the classifications for cars in 'street prepared' and here is a list of an MR2s competition (in the same class for competition):

BMW
M3 (E46)
M Coupe, M Roadster,Z3 (6 cyl)

CHEVROLET
Corvette ('97+)

DODGE
Viper

ELVA
Courier

FERRARI
355
360 Modena
Dino 206 & 246 (all)

FIAT
2000 Spyder Turbo (all)

FORD
Gt

GRIFFETH
(all)

LOTUS
7 & 7A
Elan (RWD)
Elan M100 (FWD, all)
Elise ('05+)
Elite (1216cc)
Elite 2+2 & Eclat
Esprit (4 cyl all)
Esprit (V8)
Europa (all)

MINI
Cooper S JCW (works) package

MAZDA
Rx-7 turbo(93+)

MORGAN
+4 (2138cc all)
V8 all

PORCHE
911 AWD Turbo
911 Club Sport (to 3.2L)
911 GT2 ('02+)
911 GT3
911 Turbo & 930 (to 3.3L)
911 Turbo & Turbo S (3.6L air cooled)
911 non-turbo (3.6L air cooled)
911 non-turbo (to 3.2L)
924 Turbo
944 (16V)
944 Turbo
968
Boxster
Carrera 2
Carrera 4

TVR
4-cyl & 6-cyl (all)

TOYOTA
Mr2 turbo (91+)

....and all Sports cars over 2 liters not otherwise classified

looks like an uphill battle for us MR2 owners

[JekylandHyde]

I run in the SM2 class.
SM2 = Street Modified 2-Seaters.

It is more forgiving for modifications. you can do just about anything
... and your competition is just other street legal 2-seaters.

[4DMR2t]

Yea! At my local events, mostly turbocharged miatas. Not an easy task, but the MR2 is definately a car that can compete. Don't let the competition intimdate you. You'd be surprised what your car is capable of!

Have fun!

[ToyotaTechGeek]

Originally Posted by JekylandHyde

SM2 = Street Modified 2-Seaters.

really? i thought SM2 was the 'other' SM class. seems i remember an E30 M3 with a Z3 engine swap in SM2 here locally.

[JekylandHyde]

SM2 is street modified 2-seaters; however, they also put regular cars in there that have engines of a certain displacement or larger. I do not know off hand what that displacement is.

Since SM includes most regularly modified street cars, it would not exactly be fair to put them up against some huge displacement engine

Also, it is quite possible that someone in your area was in the wrong class.
That happens all the time.

[ToyotaTechGeek]

nah, don't think he was in the wrong class...he is a natioanlly ranked driver. even runs the 1Lap races with a factory-sponsored BMW team.

[JekylandHyde]

http://www.wincom.net/trog/stu/about2.html

[ToyotaTechGeek]

it's all good, dude! i'm just stating. i don't race n that class, so i don't know what is in it or whatever. i race csp for the most part. fsp in my racecar.