Changes in Helmet rules

[MrFroge]

Has anyone looked into how to disable the airbag system on the Cougar? With the possibility of needing an open face helmet to run a car equipped with airbags in SOLO2, it seems reasonable to find a way to disable the airbag.. Just wondered if anyone has an experience along this line.. I'm not eager to spend more money on Helmets.
:banghead:
EDIT: add 11/16/2004 Bulletin (http://www.scca.org/_Filelibrary/File/AirbagAdvisory.pdf) FYI..

[GuidoThePenguin]

Using an open face helmet is only a recommendation, not a requirement. That is unless your local GCR has a ruling otherwise.......

[MrFroge]

No one goes on the track in my region without a helmet on ...

[sonza68]

My understanding is that full face helmets will not be banned in Solo2. Insurance companies had no testing of airbags with drivers wearing full face helmets, so there was that announcement that they could not rule out the risk of additional injury.

If you are concerned, I believe pulling the fuse on the airbag module would disable them. However, I do not know if they are on a dedicated fuse or if that fuse is shared by other systems.

[GuidoThePenguin]

Originally posted by: MrFroge
No one goes on the track in my region without a helmet on ...


after further review, I edited my post. I think I got two statements mixed together..... :flushed:

[joemamaTypeR]

They should ban open face helmets. People look too goofy in them.

[sonza68]

Sounds good to me.

[MrFroge]

Okay, I did a search and found that Fett says that NOT having the seat belt buckled will disable the airbag.. now that is okay by me as I don't use the standard belt system on the track..Though I'd really like some confirmation of this before the damn thing blows up in my face..:crazy:

Does anyone know which fuse and where it might be located that disabled the system??

I added the bulletin to my first post...:flushed:

[GuidoThePenguin]

So me using my 4 pt harness and not the seatbelt means the airbags wont deploy? Cool.

[EricF]

whoohoo for 4-5 point harnesses!

[MrFroge]

Fett and I have PM'ed each other on this and.......Fett "I was at work today and asked this question......to my amazement it is true. In our cars, the airbag will not deploy normally when the seat belt is not plugged in. Strangely enough, the passengers bag is not supposed to deploy if there is nobody sitting in the passengers seat. However, I am pretty sure I have seen newer cars involved in a wreck, with no passenger...and both airbags deployed. But I might be mistaken."

So I'll consider this to be information handed down from the mountain in stone. :crazy:

[GuidoThePenguin]

Oh, also a note that may not have been brought up in many places. This year begins the Snell 05 marking for helmets.

This means any helmet you have that is Snell 90 is in its last year of eligibility. After this year, it wont be legal for autocrossing. You'll have to go to a 95 or up.

[MrFroge]

Originally posted by: GuidoThePenguin
Oh, also a note that may not have been brought up in many places. This year begins the snell 05 marking for helmets.

This means any helmet you have that is snell 90 is in its last year of eligibility. After this year, it wont be legal for autocrossing. You'll have to go to a 95 or up.

According to SFB region:

"Snell 90 Helmets or Newer required in 2003.

"Note that this is not a new rule, as Solo2 rules have always required helmets of the latest snell Standard, <u>or one of the two previous standards</u>. Since a snell 2000 Standard was issued, snell 85 and earlier helmets are no longer legal.

"Note that Snell recommends helmets be discontinued from use after 5 years due to wear and chemical aging of components."

Edit :shrug: Are we all confused now??

[GuidoThePenguin]

Originally posted by: MrFroge

According to SFB region:

"Snell 90 Helmets or Newer required in 2003.

"Note that this is not a new rule, as Solo2 rules have always required helmets of the latest snell Standard, <u>or one of the two previous standards</u>. Since a snell 2000 Standard was issued, snell 85 and earlier helmets are no longer legal.

"Note that Snell recommends helmets be discontinued from use after 5 years due to wear and chemical aging of components."

Edit :shrug: Are we all confused now??

Yeah, that was the rule in 03......


They're now coming out with the 05 standard for helmets (they do every 5 years) and as of 2006, any helmet that is Snell90 (1990 standard) will no longer be eligible. The current will be the 05, and the 00 and 95 will be the two previous ones. As the rule is written.

This is the same process that went down when the Snell00 helmets came out. The 85s were cycled out.