Time for me to get a new helmet, too. Anyone else?
Photograph by Chris Tropea
It happens every five years: an updated auto racing helmet rating from the Snell Foundation. What’s new for its SA2025 standard taking effect on October 1? Less energy transferred to the wearer’s head.
“Requirements for impact velocities and acceleration limits have been selected to assure compatibility with FIA 8859-2024 release,” the Snell Foundation says in a release. “That is, compared to the corresponding values in FIA 8859, impact velocities and peak acceleration for SA2025 are either the same or more severe.”
Let’s do the numbers.
Depending on the size of the helmet, the outgoing Snell SA2020 standard limited the peak g delivered to the wearer to 300g (most helmet sizes) or 280g (the two largest sizes tested).
The new SA2025 standard lowers that limit to 275g across the board no matter the size.
Time to buy a new helmet?
“Don’t throw away your 2020 helmets,” Hong Zhang, director of education at Snell Foundation, Inc., said during a recent web conference. But if you’re shopping for a new one, she added, now would be a good time to take advantage of the new standard.
While SA2025-rated helmets can go on sale on October 1, manufacturers can continue to make SA2020 helmets through the very end of 2026. The Snell Foundation will cease shipping SA2020 labels on October 30, 2026.
Will you need to buy a new helmet to meet your rules and regulations? Zhang stressed that Snell only certifies the helmets, as each sanctioning body sets its own rules.
The 2025 SCCA autocross rules, for example, require a helmet meeting one of these standards: Snell Memorial Foundation standards EA 2016, SA2020, SA2015, SA2010, SAH2010, M2020D, M2020R, M2015, M2010, K2020, K2015, K2010; SFI standards 31.1/2020, 31.1/2015, 31.1/2010, 41.1/2020, 41.1/2015, 41.1/2010; FIA standards 8859-2020, 8860-2018, 8860-2018-ABP, 8859-2015, 8860-2010.
What’s the difference between the Snell Foundation SA, M and K ratings? SA-rated helmets–with the SA standing for Special Applications–are intended for auto racing, meaning additional standards regarding fire resistance, roll bar impact and head-and-neck attachment points. The M standard covers motorcycle helmets, while K-rated helmets are intended for karting. The number of the rating then refers to the year the rating was released.
Time for me to get a new helmet, too. Anyone else?
Yeah, time to retire my SA2010 Simpson Bandit. Planning to try and grab up a cheap closeout 2020.
I definitely need to upgrade from my SA2015, especially after getting a bunch of donut in the vents 🤣
Definitely time for a new helmet for me to update my 2015.
NickD said:Yeah, time to retire my SA2010 Simpson Bandit. Planning to try and grab up a cheap closeout 2020.
I had a Bandit BITD. Loved the looks. I currently wear a Roux. We’ll see what I get as, yeah, time for a few of us at GRM to go helmet shopping.
next post; how to transfer all of the tech stickers indicating the events I did from my old helmet to the new one...
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I also want a Bandit, but just so I can look like Jochen Mass:
In reply to Colin Wood :
Okay, that’s way rad. Might have to do another Bandit.
I have received two concussions over the years autocrossing my Mustang. The first in 2014. After that I installed a harness and roll bar padding at the top of the driver side window.
This summer I received a milder one (video below). At my age that is dangerous (blood thinners and all). The car now sports a Kirkey Series 81 road track seat which has bolsters up at the helmet.
I will also be getting a new Snell 2025 helmet for next year. A welcome upgrade.
In reply to KentF :
Did you hit the window opening both times?
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