IHRA Helmet Requirement Question

[ShelbyZ-TII]

I realize that I should probably be asking this in the drag racing forum, but I figured this area got more traffic so I'd be better off checking here first.

I'm looking to buy a helmet for drag racing this year and I'm trying to figure out the requirements before I get one.

The best info I could find on the Internet is that I'll need a Snell 90 or newer rated helmet, but it doesn't say if it is the M (motorcycle) or SA (special/sport application). The differences I found between the two is the SA has fire and roll bar impact requirements where the M does not.

Does anyone have the new IHRA rulebook laying around that they could check this for me? The car doesn't have a cage and I'm estimating high-12s to low-13s.

[dave571]

I don't have a rule book in front of me, but I have run my M rated snell 2000 helmet at both nhra and ihra tracks without incident.

They only care about the snell rating.

I would'nt buy one that was only snell 90, as they will be nmot allowed soon.

Buy whatever the most current rating is. In an m helmet it will probably only cost about 100 bucks.

[Tarrbabe]

It has been years since I bought or needed a helmet but I remember the best advice I ever heard.
If you have a $10 head, get a $10 helmet.
What is your head worth?

[ShelbyZ-TII]

It has been years since I bought or needed a helmet but I remember the best advice I ever heard.
If you have a $10 head, get a $10 helmet.
What is your head worth?

I've heard this as well, but I'm definitely planning on spending more than 10 bucks on a helmet. The price range I'm looking at is $100 to $250 with a Snell 2000 or 2005 rating, I'm just trying to decide if the SA is worth the extra $150 over the M rated helmet.

I have one requirement, it has to be full face. My first concern is my head bouncing off of stuff in the event of a crash. My head catching on fire is a distant second.

[23T]

Originally Posted by ShelbyZ-TII

I've heard this as well, but I'm definitely planning on spending more than 10 bucks on a helmet. The price range I'm looking at is $100 to $250 with a Snell 2000 or 2005 rating, I'm just trying to decide if the SA is worth the extra $150 over the M rated helmet.

I have one requirement, it has to be full face. My first concern is my head bouncing off of stuff in the event of a crash. My head catching on fire is a distant second.

Hope it never does but if the ole head does I bet it quickly moves up on the list ROFLMAO

[dave571]

Originally Posted by Tarrbabe

It has been years since I bought or needed a helmet but I remember the best advice I ever heard.
If you have a $10 head, get a $10 helmet.
What is your head worth?

Good advice, for sure.

But keep in mind the helmet ratings are required at the track, but the price tag isn't.

I've seen guys with 800 dollar helmets get turned away from the track, because they were Eurpean, and didn't have a snell rating.

The snell 2000 I wear is a full face.

[cageman]

Thats funny, you drag guys can get by with a M rating and us circle track have to have SA00 with nomex, but we can run rubber fuel line the whole way with a ziptie holding the fuel filter, but you guys acnt have more than a few inches of rubber in the whole car!

[dave571]

I see the same thing with my rally car buddies....LOL

They need sa helmets, fire suits, roll bar etc, yet once the event is underway, you can use any means at your disposal to keep the car going.

Lots of guys will roll the car, and pieces coming off, and still be competing.

Yet somhow the positionof the battery ina drag car means you need to put a switch on the back of it, and you can't use rubber hose rated to do all the same stuff the steel line does, drive shaft loops, etc etc etc

[Tarrbabe]

Do you follow the rules or protect yourself?

[bigiron]

I agree with Tarrbabe... I probly don't get the best or the highest priced stuff out there, but I do exceed the rules in many areas... This stuff is supposed to be for fun (at least for me)... IF something goes wrong no big deal... but if something should go HORRIBLY wrong I want to walk away and be able to tell everyone how long it took to empty my drawers....


I have seen bad stuff happen to 2 people I knew quite well... that kind of stuff never happens to me.... but if you had asked either of them it would never happen to them either.... one on a bike (on the street) the other in a car (at the track)... what really sucks is that it's always something stupid...

[ShelbyZ-TII]

I've decided on a M2005 rated helmet with a fire retardant interior. That was the only feature that I wanted on top of the standard Snell rating.

Thanks for the replies.

[dave571]

Originally Posted by Tarrbabe

Do you follow the rules or protect yourself?

I going to assume this is directed at me.

It would seem obvious that the rules are in place to protect us. The sanctioning bodies have decided to make and enforce the safety rules, because we are too stupid to protect ourselves without them doing so. I'd say on the whole, they are right. We are too stupid, and when the rules are lapsed, most of us will take advantage of it.

I will also say I agree with most of the rules, and follow all of them. As humans we are allowed and entitled to express our opinions of the rules from time to time.

How can this be an either or question?
"Do you follow the rules or protect yourself?"
"Both" is the only possible answer. Following the safety rules provides us with protection.

I am putting a roll bar in my car, even though it won't run consistant 11's around here. I run steel tire valve stems which I don't need, I use a reverse lockout shifter I don't need, my helmet is not the lowest possible rating I could run, so I am exceeding the rules and protecting myself.

[Tarrbabe]

but at the general attitude that ( it won't happen to me so I can save some money ). If you have a realistic view of life, you know the old saying , Shit happens. The idea is to watch your 6. Don't expect the other person or the sanctioning bodies to protect you or us. They are protecting themselves. They put the rules in place to cover themselves if something happens. Yes they help protect us but it is our responsibility to look after ourselves and others around us. Not only as human beings but also to protect ourselves for quality of life.

Sorry, feel like a preacher.
Just thinking out loud.

[riverside]

If you want to run a time trial with your slant six, do you have to wear a helmet? Thanks

[cageman]

Hey shelby, you said your helmet was an M, but it has a nomex liner, that would make it an SA, as M's dont have a nomex liner, just SA. as far as I know, that is all that is different between the two.

[ShelbyZ-TII]

I checked on the SA vs. M ratings, the info I got was from SoloRacer.com Helmet Guide:

What are the key differences between SA and M Rated Helmets:

SA standard requires flammability test while the M standard does not.
SA standard has rollbar impact test while M standard does not.
SA standard allows narrower visual field than M standard (Some SA helmets aren't street legal).

A M rated helmet could have all of these things, they just haven't been put through the SA tests.

[cageman]

Hmm, very interesting, I guess my salesman was a door knob, your info is pretty simple.
Cant go wrong with nomex, thats for sure. Fires scare the beegezus outa me!