This goes out to everyone I just want to let people know that during PRI this year one of my plans is to see if I can set up a group purchase on full faced helmets. I'm going to be honest here If you don't have one you damn well better get one. I have one soar and screwed up face do to not using one myself. The helmet I had was legal based on rules given by NHRA but when the steering sheared loose from the frame and came back and hit my chin it did nothing. These helmets may still be pricey even with a group purchase but I plan on having the best I can afford. If I have to spend 500.00 on a helmet it will be less than the 8000.00 I will spend this year on my teeth and jaw. For those waiting to hear the reason for brake failure I think I am going to have the car back up here in a couple of weeks. At that time I will look at it an see if we can figure it out. That side of the car is tore up pretty bad but I will post picture and what I found at that time. I'm sorry for the delay but between my health and the fact I have put my heart and soul in that car for 8 years I just have not wanted to see it. It will still be hard to look at and strip. I hope we all will learn from my accident. We have for years not teched cars the way they should be and it is time we started. My car has been teched at the PRO Edlebrock series and that took 30 minutes and has been teched at NSCA events both times it was all of 40 minutes. At these events they look at every thing include brake pedal feel. I am just trying to promote all of us taking more concern in the safety of our cars. I have rambled enough for now. One-handed type is time consuming for sure. Once again thanks for your prayers
Bobb, I like the Simpson Bandit. A proven design with good looks. I'd be interest if your group purchase includes this helmet. I currently were a closed face helmet, but I've had it since 1995 so I think it's time for it to retire. I'll keep an eye out for you guys at PRI.
Hey Bobb I will be in for at least one maybe 2 (one for the wife too) Thanks for looking in to it for us. AND Glad to see you back online!!
I totally agree with you Bobb. Safety equipment is cheap insurance compared to what could happen. I'd be interested in a group purchase. Count me in. I too am glad to see your back online. :TU:
Helmets Bobb: Glad to hear you are getting well, we will still pray for your full recovery. Sorry to hear of your misfortune, I give you high praise for being so forthright with your plans for helmets. You may save someones life, even if they don't know it. As for myself, I have advocated full face helmets, and have used one as long as I have been racing cars, and suggest to all that the shield be down when racing as well. I will not need a helmet, both I and my fiance have full face already, but, thank you. Best wishes on a speedy recovery, and take your time on the car, I know, it took me ten years to get back to racing after my wreck. Jim
Glad to see you are up and typing buddy. And about the face, you will really be a good looking man now :laugh: :Brow: :moonu:
Good to hear from you, Bobb Glad to see you are home and up & around. I also appreciate your willingness to share you experience with us so that we can all learn and benefit. Get well soon, K NSCA AM#4
Hey Bob.Im glad to see you up and about.I was wondering if your brakes quit working, or if they locked up sending you off of the track?I read in an earlier post that you went through the traps at around 100 mph instead of the normal 130s, but not sure if it was an accurate post or not.Just wondering why the big mph slowdown at the finish if thats true.I have a 79 regal , and when i hit the brakes hard the first time, the calipers locked up (tires locked up).I replaced the calipers only to find that it did the same thing)hit the brakes hard, and the wheels lock up.Come to find out, the brake hoses were ate up inside , and the brake fluid was only flowing one way to the calipers, and when i let up on the pedal , the fluid wouldnt flow back through the line.It is the first time ive run into this problem, or heard of it, but it may be something for people to check out if you have older brake hoses...Glad to see you are home Bob.T Haeffner
Bobb glad to see your up on the mystery box doing some hunt and pecking on the keyboards. Many regards Pal! Helmet City Go to helmetcity.com Also any helmet bought now through the early part of 2005 will have a snell 2000 rating good for 10 years. Sometime early in 2005 the various companies will be selling the snell 2005 which is good for 15 years. Actually you may find a good group deal on left overs in December being they want to get rid of the snell 2000 (which are still good for NHRA/IHRA rules) the down side is you lose 5 years on the rating deadline. One below that is reasonable and also has a Nomex liner Price:$379.99 The Voyager features bold, sleek styling with a sweeping shield that allows for exceptional all-around vision. New Graphic version available for a limited time only! Air ram ducts in chin provide air circulation Lightweight high gloss aerodynamic shell Exclusive impact absorbing one-piece EPS liner Adjustable tear off posts Voyager N's Nomex interior meets Snell SA standards Made in the USA
Also check the back of National Dragster. But right now with Helmet city they have free three day postage. Oh and some of their sale items are cheaper than Summit, just bought my chute from them saved 60 bucks and no postage & handling! I was into getting one to replace my full face but saw it had a snell 2000 rating so I am still alright. Here is another a little cheaper, no nomex liner Price:$275.99 Shell: Lightweight Composite Fiberglass Liner: Plush comfortable interior comfort liner Rating: Snell SA2000 Color: White or Black Large eyeport Fully ventilated for cooling and fog reduction .125 flat polycarbonate shield Utilizes standard Bell tear offs Shipping Weight: 5.00 pounds
Last one, as mentioned before the Simpson Bandit. Real sharp looking! Price:$350.99 Pictured in Platinum with Blue Blocker Shield Air ram ducts in chin provide air cirulation. Standard .125 clear Lexan shield opens with thumb tab. Adjustable tear off posts. Helmet restraint hardware. Nomex interior, SNELL SA2000 rated. Exclusive impact absorbing one-piece BeadALL liner. Made in the USA Shipping Weight: 5.00 pounds
To help decide and any FAQ read the following: Or go to the Snell rating site, it is extremely informative: http://smf.org/stds.html What is a snell rating? Helmets meeting Snell Standards provide the highest level of protection available. Snell Standards significantly surpass those set by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) and the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission's 16 CFR Part 1203. In order to continuously monitor the quality of helmets being sold to the public, Snell purchases and tests samples of currently certified helmets from the marketplace. These helmets are tested only in Snell labs by Snell technicians. Should a currently certified helmet fail, the helmet manufacturer must take corrective action to Snell's satisfaction. What are the differences between snell SA and snell M standards? SA Standard was designed for auto racing while M Standard was for motorcycling and other motorsports. There are three major differences between them SA standard requires flammability test while the M standard does not; SA standard allows narrower visual field than M standard (Some SA helmets may not be street legal); SA standard has rollbar impact test while M standard does not. The new ratings will be : SA2005 and the K2005 the only difference is the use of Nomex in the SA2005. Mind you these refer to Helmets used in competitive automove sports.
Great to see you around here Bobb!! i'd be interested in a full face as well. Thanks for the excellent info on helmets Rick. I feel i learned a lot about safety on this board since Cecil. Now i have this winter to get things in order. Randy
Tom The reason for the big slow down was I didn't have one on the hood pins latched. The back corner got missed (someone was watching over me) so I launch the car and it cam up so I just screwed around on and off the gas going down the track. The pass before this one right off the trailer was 9.91 @ 135.67 MY car is always a minimum of a tenth off out of the trailer so I had my finger crossed for a 9.79 on the next pass. I had brakes at the line I launch with the foot brake. But it did push threw the lights but it didn't feel mushy or anything. When I got to the tall end there was nothing and I do mean nothing. I tried down shifting but with a race tranny they take that circuit out of them so it was like tossing it into neutral tried line loc and trans brake nothing from any of them. At that point I was looking for the sand trap I could not see it and missed it by 5 or 6 feet from what I've been told. I tried to turn into the open field to the right but the wet from dew grass and over 100MPH just don't turn straight for the trees I went. I remember trees flying over the car as I cut them off at the ground then the big one and a sudden stop. I remember looking down to see the pedals and fire wall three inches from the seat and my legs stuck in there. I had teeth lose in my mouth and a very large hole in my chin that I could feel. The safety crews did a great job of getting me out ASAP. In fact one of the rescuers was late to his own wedding along with his future father in-law. Those guys had me out in about 25 minutes. I remember very little after that as a whole just lots of tid bits. I did give the thumbs up on my way out with the only limb that was not injured. Thats about all I have to say about that. Hope that clears up what happened for you now all we need to know is why?????. So it doesn't happen to anyone else.
What I always thought was a motocycle helmet was just as good. Now I realize it isn't as the helmets for automotive racing is designed for roll bar impacts, which a cycle helmet is not as shown in the rating discriptions.
Bobb Thanks for explaining things to us, I understand, and greatfull that you can do this for us, I realize the difficulty on talking about it so soon. Thanks again!
Bobb, I took that picture you are now using for your avitar. That was the run before the accident. I'm sure that picture holds a warm spot in your heart and you are more than welcome to it. Get well soon buddy............your friend, Ron Mooney
