1st time autox

[Silversurfer410]

I Will be participating in my first autoX novice school event next month. Can someone post up a link to purchase a decently budgeted helmet. Don't want to dive to deep into an expensive helmet not knowing if I would like autoX. The helmet has to be Snell certified SA2015, SA 2020, M2015, or M2020. For the novice school should I be changing out brake fluid or anything? I'm new so can you please bear with me lol hopefully its fun and I will be posting more on here as I take it more serious.

seems the club-dot was the cheapest I could find but doesn't meet the requirements.

CLUB DOT

The Sparco Club X1 helmet is a feature rich, DOT rated full-face helmet. The Club X1 features an easy to use, flip up shield with multi-position detents, and a removable-washable inner liner. An easy to use lever actuated chin strap buckle makes for easy and secure latching...

www.sparcousa.com

 

[JDee]

I have a RaceQuip open face helmet. I like open face because I've worn them since the 80s and I have a bit of claustrophobia, I feel the visability is better with open face. They are realistically priced and comply with current safety standards. You can get them anywhere, Summit and even Amazon carries them. If I was racing I'd likely use a closed face lid because, well shti happens when racing....but lapping isn't racing.

 

[JP X]

I Will be participating in my first autoX novice school event next month. Can someone post up a link to purchase a decently budgeted helmet. Don't want to dive to deep into an expensive helmet not knowing if I would like autoX. The helmet has to be Snell certified SA2015, SA 2020, M2015, or M2020. For the novice school should I be changing out brake fluid or anything? I'm new so can you please bear with me lol hopefully its fun and I will be posting more on here as I take it more serious.

seems the club-dot was the cheapest I could find but doesn't meet the requirements.

CLUB DOT

The Sparco Club X1 helmet is a feature rich, DOT rated full-face helmet. The Club X1 features an easy to use, flip up shield with multi-position detents, and a removable-washable inner liner. An easy to use lever actuated chin strap buckle makes for easy and secure latching...

www.sparcousa.com

I am curious about the description's statement: "Not for Competition or "track day" use." Seems that the whole purpose of the helmet is for a track day.
One thing I've learned in this sport (and in photography, or music, or...) is that when I buy the entry-level model I always wish I had bought something more at some point down the road. In this case, the price wouldn't put you out too much. But I would suggest a helmet with mounting points for safety accessories like HANS devices. That way you are prepared if the "track pipe" captures your soul.

 

[xr7]

DOT rated means nothing, you need Snell certified SA2015, SA 2020. You don't want to get to the track and find out the helmet you bought does not meet requirements. As Bell used to advertise, If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet.
$200 for an open face SA2020 helmet
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pyr-hw880520

 

[Silversurfer410]

DOT rated means nothing, you need Snell certified SA2015, SA 2020. You don't want to get to the track and find out the helmet you bought does not meet requirements. As Bell used to advertise, If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet.
$200 for an open face SA2020 helmet
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pyr-hw880520

Thanks man! On Spacro website they had Snell certified helmet listed at $8XX. I'm good with $200-300 all day. My first mistake was going straight to Sparcos website lol

 

[Silversurfer410]

I am curious about the description's statement: "Not for Competition or "track day" use." Seems that the whole purpose of the helmet is for a track day.
One thing I've learned in this sport (and in photography, or music, or...) is that when I buy the entry-level model I always wish I had bought something more at some point down the road. In this case, the price wouldn't put you out too much. But I would suggest a helmet with mounting points for safety accessories like HANS devices. That way you are prepared if the "track pipe" captures your soul.

Will look into the HANS devices and make sure the helmet is compatible with it, this way its a onetime buy. Thanks!

 

[JP X]

Will look into the HANS devices and make sure the helmet is compatible with it, this way its a onetime buy. Thanks!

NP. You can buy a very good helmet for <$500. No need to spend $800. When you get up over that you are usually looking at lighter weight materials, features like communication and hydration, stuff like that.

Also, look at TMO sponsored sites. If you click through the sponsored sites here on TMO, TMO gets a little scratch for it. Look at https://competitionmotorsport.com. Also, if you ever buy on Amazon, don't do it without clicking through TMO!

 

[DaveW]

Will look into the HANS devices and make sure the helmet is compatible with it, this way its a onetime buy. Thanks!

Anything with a Snell SA rating will have be HANS post ready.

 

[Bugs]

I prefer an open face helmet for autocross. Compared to an open-track/HPDE event:
1. I find there is more social interaction & the open-face makes it easier and more enjoyable to communicate;
2. It's cooler when you're sitting in a hot car with no airflow while you await your run;
3. I feel that Autocross is safer, so the open-face helmet is a reasonable safety trade-off.

If you're looking at an open face helmet, as others have suggested, you might consider the RaceQuip OF20. It's a decent SA2020 helmet at a $200-$250 price.

For a open-track events, I use a pricier full-face helmet (and other PPE) because I think it's more likely I might need it. Unless you're running a high-zoot tricked-out Auto-X car, open-track events are significantly more expensive than Autocross, so the cost of a premium helmet is only a small part of that HPDE package.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I would just get one helmet for both track and autocross and as noted before there are many helmets out there for less than 500 bucks. Check out DaveW's company ( soloperformance.com ) as he carries helmets along with a ton of other autocross and racing items. There are plenty of closed face helmets with wide eye openings, so in my humble opinion an open face is not really necessary for autocross.

 

[Silversurfer410]

NP. You can buy a very good helmet for <$500. No need to spend $800. When you get up over that you are usually looking at lighter weight materials, features like communication and hydration, stuff like that.

Also, look at TMO sponsored sites. If you click through the sponsored sites here on TMO, TMO gets a little scratch for it. Look at https://competitionmotorsport.com. Also, if you ever buy on Amazon, don't do it without clicking through TMO!

Thanks man! Will do that

 

[Silversurfer410]

I prefer an open face helmet for autocross. Compared to an open-track/HPDE event:
1. I find there is more social interaction & the open-face makes it easier and more enjoyable to communicate;
2. It's cooler when you're sitting in a hot car with no airflow while you await your run;
3. I feel that Autocross is safer, so the open-face helmet is a reasonable safety trade-off.

If you're looking at an open face helmet, as others have suggested, you might consider the RaceQuip OF20. It's a decent SA2020 helmet at a $200-$250 price.

For a open-track events, I use a pricier full-face helmet (and other PPE) because I think it's more likely I might need it. Unless you're running a high-zoot tricked-out Auto-X car, open-track events are significantly more expensive than Autocross, so the cost of a premium helmet is only a small part of that HPDE package.

That definitely makes sense since autoX is a low speed type of track day so an open face does sound more suitable. One day I will try to get invested with HPDE but that's another story lol

 

[Dave_W]

Seems like the helmet has been covered well enough already. If you get a full-face, try to get a spare visor in amber tint - visors are usually cheap and amber can make the cones "pop" more.

For car prep, clean out all the loose junk in the cabin and trunk, including floor mats. If you haven't changed brake fluid in a while, you might as well do it, but autocross isn't that hard on brakes. Same thing for oil - make sure it's topped up but don't bother changing it unless you're close on your normal schedule. Get a full tank of gas - you won't have to worry about running out, and some people have issues with the Mustang's "saddle tanks" not working well under 1/2 full.

Do a quick Google on what "early apex" and "late apex" lines are if you don't already know. Don't get into the physics, just be able to picture them. Here's a good video on driving some basic autocross elements.

Things I tell my students --

• Get yourself in a comfortable driving position with full range of input motion. Move the seat forward/back so your feet can touch the firewall behind the gas & brake pedals. Then adjust the back tilt so your arms are slightly bent with hands at 9 & 3 on the wheel with shoulders touching the seatback. This makes sure you can push the brake pedal "to the floor" if you ever need to, and can turn the wheel a good amount without shuffling your hands. Ideally, do this now and spend some time driving around, so by the a/x school you're used to this position.
• Look ahead. No, further ahead. Don't look where you are, look where you want to be next. When you're entering a corner, you should should be looking at the exit to know how much to turn the wheel. By mid-corner, you should be looking at the next element to know how much you can track-out on exit and when to get on the gas. Entering a slalom, look at the last cone.
• The gas pedal is not a switch. Pretend there's an egg between your foot and the gas pedal. Don't try to be the last of the late-brakers. Don't jerk the wheel. Smooth is fast.
• If the steering wheel is straight, you should be full on the gas or full on the brakes (at the limit of the tires). As you turn the wheel, you can not be full gas/brake. Tires only have a certain amount of grip, and you're constantly asking them to use it to either turn the car, or accelerate/decelerate the car, or some combination. This is the basics of "the friction circle."

SCCA just dropped a new video on how to do a course walk by the legendary Bob Tunnell. Local events usually don't have course maps, but drawing one yourself can help you memorize the course.

 

[Silversurfer410]

Seems like the helmet has been covered well enough already. If you get a full-face, try to get a spare visor in amber tint - visors are usually cheap and amber can make the cones "pop" more.

For car prep, clean out all the loose junk in the cabin and trunk, including floor mats. If you haven't changed brake fluid in a while, you might as well do it, but autocross isn't that hard on brakes. Same thing for oil - make sure it's topped up but don't bother changing it unless you're close on your normal schedule. Get a full tank of gas - you won't have to worry about running out, and some people have issues with the Mustang's "saddle tanks" not working well under 1/2 full.

Do a quick Google on what "early apex" and "late apex" lines are if you don't already know. Don't get into the physics, just be able to picture them. Here's a good video on driving some basic autocross elements.

Things I tell my students --

• Get yourself in a comfortable driving position with full range of input motion. Move the seat forward/back so your feet can touch the firewall behind the gas & brake pedals. Then adjust the back tilt so your arms are slightly bent with hands at 9 & 3 on the wheel with shoulders touching the seatback. This makes sure you can push the brake pedal "to the floor" if you ever need to, and can turn the wheel a good amount without shuffling your hands. Ideally, do this now and spend some time driving around, so by the a/x school you're used to this position.
• Look ahead. No, further ahead. Don't look where you are, look where you want to be next. When you're entering a corner, you should should be looking at the exit to know how much to turn the wheel. By mid-corner, you should be looking at the next element to know how much you can track-out on exit and when to get on the gas. Entering a slalom, look at the last cone.
• The gas pedal is not a switch. Pretend there's an egg between your foot and the gas pedal. Don't try to be the last of the late-brakers. Don't jerk the wheel. Smooth is fast.
• If the steering wheel is straight, you should be full on the gas or full on the brakes (at the limit of the tires). As you turn the wheel, you can not be full gas/brake. Tires only have a certain amount of grip, and you're constantly asking them to use it to either turn the car, or accelerate/decelerate the car, or some combination. This is the basics of "the friction circle."

SCCA just dropped a new video on how to do a course walk by the legendary Bob Tunnell. Local events usually don't have course maps, but drawing one yourself can help you memorize the course.

Appreciate the guidance man! That's a huge help