krshultz

As many of you may remember from this thread on high end SA helmets, I have been in the market for a nice, lightweight helmet. This past July, I went through basically everything the Safe-Quip guy had at Road Atlanta, and nothing fit my head. We then had a local helmet fitting party held by CV Products, and the Sparco I coveted didn't even remotely fit.

Growing frustrated approaching the ARRC, and knowing mine wouldn't pass tech a second time, I was all set to just buy another Bell Sport 2 and be done with it. Then I drove across from Road Atlanta to SST Motorsports, who carries Impact Racing helmets. The first one I pulled off the shelf arbitrarily fit me perfectly.

Anyone looking for a nice helmet would do well to consider the Impact Racing Charger. I bought mine with the "Plus 10" option, which makes an already generous eyeport even wider. It's got all the high end kit I was looking for - stainless visor fittings that won't crap out in a year. Mild aero. Removable padding. And it's *really* light, and the silver paint job looks great.

And the best part - you only have to pay $425 to get one! I was all set to lay down $800 on a Sparco or a Stand 21. To me this was a bargain.

Highly recommended for anyone in the market. Be sure to test fit stuff in a store though - as I've found first hand, even within a manufacturer's range, the interior shape can vary pretty drastically.

chjkingme

I stared at my helmet for a while earlier before putting it away. Autocross is over here as of yesterday, and I feel vaguely like I just went through a break-up and didn't get to say everything I wanted to before it was over. Kinda weird. I mean, there's still indoor karting through the winter, but I looked at my stock springs as well with the intention of putting them on in the next few days. Yeah, it was weird. Maybe this should be in the winter vacation thread.

But all of that is not why I decided to post here.

Karl...well...I just wanted to say that I really admire the irony this thread has imparted on your signature.

Edit: changed while I was typing! ohh, the timing..

chad

pics??

krshultz

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">pics??</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sure, what the hell, I took today off I tried to weigh it, but it's so light that it doesn't register on my bathroom scale

From the front, visor down. See the posts on either side of the visor? Those are for tearoffs, layers of plastic film the open cockpit guys use. When they get spattered with bugs, you...tear them off.


From the side, visor down. This is also a good shot to check out the metal mechanism that supports the visor. My Bell had one made of plastic. After about a year, if you tried to flip up the visor, it would fall right back half way down due to wear. Not so with stainless. You can also see the aero bill on the bottom for downforce in an open cockpit car.



From the front again, visor flipped up. Inner lining is super soft black nomex cloth, very comfortable. At either side you can see the "cheek pads," which are removable, and available in different thicknesses for a custom fit:



The inside. Showing again the removable cheek pads, and now a good shot of the padded kevlar chin strap with a little pull tab for easy, quick removal:



Really nice piece for low $400s.

MattD@Stoptech

no vents?

krshultz

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by El Pollo Diablo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no vents?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, and I'll say that's the one curiosity I had about it.

I drove three stints on the Road Atlanta test day, I can't say I missed them. Take a look at the side shot. The chin bar area is pretty far away from your mouth - much more so than my Bell anyway. I had no problems getting plenty of air into it.

Obviously I haven't tried it on a super hot day but I'm not anticipating any problems. I never felt like the ones on my Bell did much anyway.

ryan12321

I just bought a new helmet this year as well. The bell GTX. Its a fairly new design. Aero built in with front and rear spoilers, SA2005, for $425. It fits great and is only 3.6oz compared to the 3.5 of the sparco and arai top of the line helmets.

0philstireservice

Good choice Karl

I've been using Impact Racing gloves, shoes, and belts for 2 years now and I love them ..

Next Helmet will be Impact Racing also ..........Bill Simpson makes great stuff !!


Modified by Maxx44 at 4:35 PM 11/14/2005


Modified by Maxx44 at 4:36 PM 11/14/2005

Honda318dx

Impact

Simpson's new company, many NASCAR guys are supporting him after he got the shaft for DE's Death..

Crack Monkey

Is this Bill Simpson's new company?

krshultz

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Coach Crack Monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is this Bill Simpson's new company?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes it is. I'm pretty impressed with the build quality. Come time for new belts, their harnesses look pretty nice too.

slammed_93_hatch

Impact makes some really nice stuff, im looking at the same helmet also.

Jaker

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ryan12321 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I is only 3.6oz compared to the 3.5 of the sparco and arai top of the line helmets.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You sure you didn't mean to say "pounds"?

bluegsr

Most of the Impact stuff I've seen looks very nice, but I know a couple of SM guys no longer using the Impact belts because the material of the belts was so stiff as to make it nearly impossible to get them tight and keep them tight through a sprint race.

YMMV, of course.....just a heads-up at something you might want to look at before purchase (if possible).

Jarrod

krshultz

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bluegsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Most of the Impact stuff I've seen looks very nice, but I know a couple of SM guys no longer using the Impact belts because the material of the belts was so stiff as to make it nearly impossible to get them tight and keep them tight through a sprint race.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's interesting. The chin strap (the nomex portion, not the padded portion) on my new helmet is also on the stiff side. Perfectly workable, and I'm sure it will loosen up a bit in time. But I don't know that I'd want belts that stiff.

In any event, if anyone is looking for what I was looking for...
- mild aero, just in case...
- big eyeport
- hardware that won't wear out
- very light weight
- good looks
- removable (partially, in this case) padding
- Good and/or adjustable fit
- Excellent build quality

...it should please you to know that you can get all of these things for well under 500 bucks at any Impact Racing dealer. (On edit) And: in case these things are important to you, it's made in the USA.

--Karl, who still pines for that Sparco with the hearing protection...dang thing just wouldn't go on my head right...

nsxtasy

Thanks for posting such great information. Good timing, too, for those of us still using SA95 and who will have to replace our helmets within the next year.

Markus

Thanks for the info, looks like a good helmet.

This is kind of a goofy helmet purchase criteria, but I've always wanted to line up some of the different brands and see if there is any difference in size (primarily height).

Main reason is with driving the Miata - I'm 5'10" and probably 1"-1.5" under my rollbar with helmet on. I wouldn't mind being a little more under - if there was even 1/4" in helmet height difference and it didn't effect it's impact rating that would sway my purchase.

- Mark

TeamSlowdotOrg

I need to get a new helmet soon. I didn't realize they were that light for that cheap. I think I might stick with the Bell brand because fitment has been so good in the past, but it's nice to know it's possible to get under 4 pounds for under 5 bills. I can't wait to drill ISAAC holes in a helmet with removable padding!

kb58

As others have said, it's very important to try on the helmet first. Anyone know of an Impact Racing distributer in SoCal, preferably San Diego?

Impact's website get's a rating of "Eh" from me, not much product info, no list of distributers, and they don't answer the phone. Hope they'll get that straightened out...

jisu009

just out of curiosity, did you try on an Aria?

trhoppe

Hey, same one I got although mine is the SA2000 one and has vents up top.

I love mine, same thing as Karl said. All the features of the $$$ helmets, at a better price.

We also have the Impact harnesses in the T2 car and they feel great. Not overly stiff at all and not all loose and flappy either. Only thing I don't like about the harnesses is the overuse of the lightning bolt. One per harness would be just fine thanks, I don't need 3 of them.

-Tom

Xian

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by trhoppe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Only thing I don't like about the harnesses is the overuse of the lightning bolt. One per harness would be just fine thanks, I don't need 3 of them.

-Tom</TD></TR></TABLE>
Only 3 for the harness? The helmet has 5

Seriously though, it's a really nice helmet... has me thinking about looking at their product line since I'm in the market for a new helmet currently.

Christian, who just realized that the front of Karl's helmet has rampzs, err... I mean, "aero"

SJR

that helmet does have some nice features: I especially like the metal posts to attach the face shield. I howver don't like the looks of it - vain, I know, but I am a ricer at heart.
I have been very happy with my sub-$500 Bandit, and quite honestly I do love the looks of it. It has been very comfortable, and the use of the balaclava has prevented any kind of funkiness.

bad-monkey

little racers in training? adorable pics! i've always wanted to steer my hypothetical daughter towards karting/racing. probably a lot more fun than me yelling at her to practice piano or tennis all the time.

good lookin out i'm looking for a new full closed face helmet.

quick question on visors: what colors are you guys using? is it worth it to have more than a couple on hand? (clear? tinted? amber??). this is socal racing so, it'd be mostly sunny skies, with morning fog burning off by midday. high of 110 degrees, and a nighttime low of 72...

SJR

I really like my metallic blue tinted screen. I cuts down the glare without darkening things too much. I don't need sun glasses with the screen down, and I can use it in most weathers, unless it is really dark and/or rainy out there.
Most (all?) helmets come with the clear screen. I purchased the additional blue screen, so I can change at the track if needed.

hth