First two posts -- the first one being an update on the various clubs, and the second one being an update on the Snell helmet issue. Many of those clubs will no longer accept anything older than a 2000 rating.

 

URLs added for most of the clubs.

 

Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but I don't share this one. I won't wear an open faced helmet. If you're concerned about visibility, get a Bell M4Pro (or something similar) that has a wide eye port. But the full faced helmets give me greater comfort, and (while I won't argue the point) I don't know of any good empirical reasons not to wear one -- and I know of lots of reasons *for* wearing them.

CB

 

Last Labor day weekend, I did a trackday with Lotus Club at PIR. In the last session of the day, I was 2nd car out, following a 240. I have an open face helmet that's about to expire anyhow.

One of the cars they let cross the track let down oil from gate to gate, right across the track. The workers brushed down some oil-dry, and away we went. Coming around to start our first full lap, the 240 went through the strip of litter.

Immediately after him, I flew through the cloud at somewhere near 100mph, and had to make the braking zone. The problem was, my window was down, and I took a face-full of flying litter 2 seconds earlier! It got behind my glasses, I couldn't see once I cleared the cloud, and I had to brake, turn in, wipe litter from my eyes, AND not get in anyone's way through the chicane.

My next helmet will be closed face based just on those 20 seconds of track time.

 

Mike -

I will add an edit for the Audi Club - they will accept anyone who is an Audi Club member and membership doesn't require that you own an Audi. They do however require that you have a roll bar with 2" of clearance to the top of the helmet and 4 points of contact to the frame. They also require a harness with a minimum of 4 points of contact. That does rule out OEM roll hoops and 3 point belts entirely.

 

Is that for Portland, Seattle, or both?

 

Yes, oil dry sucks if you even have the window down, much less if you have the top down.

 

[QUOTE=AlanL,Dec 29 2006, 09:54 PM] They do however require that you have a roll bar with 2" of clearance to the top of the helmet and 4 points of contact to the frame.

 

[QUOTE=cbender,Dec 29 2006, 10:48 PM] I had the Elise completely sideways after I drove through a patch of the stuff this spring at T'hill.

 

Audi Club NW is for the whole NW region including all of WA, OR, and Idaho.

That said, their only event in Portland this year is going to the their Quattrofest at PIR Feb 23-25th.