Hi folks, I bought a zx9r MK indy at the weekend from a member here "rpm". Drove 160 miles home on saturday on the motorway which is why I am posting here.

At speed the pull on my helmet was friggin scary, so what helmets have you found that do not pull your head all over the place at speed (it was fine looking ahead, but if you wanted to glance sideways to check behind at speed, the pull on the neck was scary). PS no windscreen, areo only. cheers Craig

It depends on what money you can afford really...

TimC bought a proper Car racing helmet from the States that was about £160 (or thereabouts) all in...

Steve

Ive found that the angle of the helmet on my head affects the pull and buffeting

If it gets annoying/uncomfortable i adjsut it slightly and it goes away

Mines only a (cheapo) £100 bike helmet but bear in mind that bike helmets are designed to be directly in the airflow and chin down as opposed to car helmet so you may have better luck with a bikers helmet (perhaps yours is already)

Jeremy Clarkson, he's a car helmet.

As a sidecar passenger you need a helmet that will not try and rip your head off at any angle up to 270kph.

The most important thing is that the helmet fits you properly. Most people wear helmets that are just too big. The result is that with your head just slightly turned, the helmet is forced further to one side and becomes very uncomfortable.

I used an Arai. Never a problem.

Id also go for an Arai. Ive got a Arai Condor which i got from Hein Gericke with a 10%discount mentioning i was a member of the BEC OC. I use it in two stroke kart racing and its very comfortable even after several hour endurance races. Try and get to a specialist like Hein Gericke as i found all helmets for one size differ quite alot in fitment.
Adam

Thanks folks, the helmet I used was just to get me home.

So its a trip to the local bike shop to try a few on.
Cheers
Craig

I've got a Shoei, it's about the only bike bone dome that fits my weird shaped head! I tried a Simpson round Rockingham and it was way better, minimal lift at speed, I'd invest a bit more in a proper car racing helmet if I had the chance.

Chris, aren't car helmets designed to be worn inside a car with a roof and windscreen rather than in a car with the wind in your face?..........

Phil

There's plenty of single-seat open racing cars...

It's been said before, but car helmets have some car-specific features - Nomex fire-proof linings, aerodynamics suitable for a driver leaning back, and features to protect the driver's head when it rattles against roll-bars.

A bike helmet is designed for 1 or 2 hard bumps on the road, and sliding on tarmac. There's no great fire-proofing requirement because the wearer usually ends up away from the bike. Finally, a bike rider sits with the head forward, so the aerodynamics are quite different.

Saying all that, I use a Caberg flip-front bike helmet! It works for me, but it is fairly heavy and the flip design makes it very noisy at speed. If you end up with a couple of helmets that you find comfortable, and affordable, pick the one that's lightest - it makes a difference. If like me you wear glasses then you may find a flip-front more convenient (as I do) but non-flip ones give far less wind noise (very bad for the ears).

[Edited on 7/4/08 by David Jenkins]

True but do helmet manufacturers design helmets specifically for cars without windscreens? I suspect not but would like to know for definite.

I disagree about bike helmets being designed for riders leaning forward cos not all motorbikes are sportsbikes.

Phil

[Edited on 7-4-08 by Hellfire]

Ask the F1 drivers!

Here's 1 example - Bell

[Edited on 7/4/08 by David Jenkins]

I have a simpson bandit the same as the Stig and have never had a problem with it lifting.

One down-side of car helmets - they are subject to VAT, unlike bike helmets.

My Sparco one wasnt? No VAT @ Demon when i bought it.

Im thinking of investing in the clear spoilers F1 style to stop any lift tho. (Its already better than the bike one i used to get the car home tho.)

The same as the Stig eh? And until now, his identity has never been revealed... hmmmmm...

Just to summarise, what are people's suggestions for helmet make/model overall?

I've got to buy one soon, and just wondered on which models people have experienced and are happy with?

Cheers

I am also looking at this issue at the moment. I have not even started my build yet, but I will need a helmet sooner or later...
I have searched for the cheapest car specific helmet I can find and the MT SA-2005 seems about right. It costs around 260 GBP here and has all the aero features and is FIA approved. I like it and I like the idea that it is designed for a car, not a bike.
Here is a picture:


MT SA-2005 helmet

Does anybody with a windscreen wear a helmet when driving? Spotted someone on the motorway with windsreen, helmet and no doors. Is it a good thing to buy or not.

If money wasn't an issue i would have gotten myself one of these, boy they look cool.