I know HANS are for car racing, so the HANS website only addresses SA2010 and SAH2010 helmets. You can drill an SA2010 helmet and install the HANS anchors yourself. But I cannot find anywhere if you can do it with an M2010 helmet. And the HANS website does not have a link for contacts or questions. My helmet is M2010, only used for car racing. I couldn't find an SA helmet that fits my head correctly (limited number of shops here, to try from). I have a neck brace, but I would like to upgrade to a HANS device... Does anyone knows if I can drill my M2010 helmet and still be safe with a HANS device?

 

You could potentially anchor a HANS to the helmet; however, without knowing the specifics of the helmet structure (SA helmets are marked with the intended HANS locations) odds are good that the anchors would simply rip out in the event of a crash.

More importantly, M helmets are not suitable for automotive applications. Structurally, they are not designed to protect against point loads (i.e. helmet impact on a roll structure), and they have a much thinner shell (hence why SA helmets are so much heavier). Most importantly, though, the liners and pads are not flame-retardant, meaning you're strapping a container of flammable material to your face...

In short, I'd highly recommend buying an SA helmet. Bell helmets are best suited for people with large/long heads, Zamp for people with smaller/rounder heads, and Simpson covers much of the mid-range. Hope that helps with your search!

 

2 things:

a neck brace doesn't do anything for safety. it's for driving comfort.
if you're going to bother to spend money on a hans, i also recommend getting a car helment

 

I'm pretty skeptical of this statement. As far as I'm aware, most helmets that are pre-drilled for HANS anchors are just that -- pre-drilled, but with no extra reinforcement around the holes. The last time I bought some a few years ago, HANS anchors came with instructions for locating and drilling appropriate holes into helmets that didn't already have them, and I imagine this is still the case since many SA helmets still aren't pre-drilled.

Absent more conclusive statements to the contrary, I'd have no qualms about drilling an M-rated for a HANS. Yes, SA helmets are better in specific situations (e.g. when you're inside a car that's on fire, but have you ever seen someone's car catch on fire to a degree where it would have mattered that their helmet was fireproof?), but if the budget doesn't allow for an SA-rated helmet now, you'd still be safer with an M-rated helmet and a HANS than just the M-rated helmet (and arguably safer than in an SA-rated helmet with no HANS).

 

I actually do agree with everything that was written above. I would rather have an SA helmet, but after trying several (including 2 Bell of 2 sizes of the same model), none would feel as good as the M helmet that I bought. People told me: "you'll know it when you find the right helmet", and it felt just like that: never felt safe in the SA helmets, but fell in love with the M helmet when I put it on.

I also do tend to agree with PedalFaster: on a front impact, I would most likely be safer with an M+Hans than with an SA+nothing. The backing plates for the Hans anchors seem quite big.

Also, it is not because a helmet intended for Motorcycle was certified M that it would not pass the SA crash tests (fire test excluded). But that, I have no way to know.
I am still concerned by the shell thickness. This argument does make sense and if the shell rips apart, it is obviously no good.

SO here is where I stand:

SA+Hans = best, but cannot do until I find a good SA helmet for my head
SA alone= good, but still need to find the helmet
M+Hans= not ideal, but probably still better than M alone or SA alone, even if the shell was to rip open at the anchors in a front collision (I think I would be dead for other reasons anyway at that point)
M alone= what I have today.


More opinions and comments are welcome! I still haven't decided......

 

Do it right the first time or don't do it at all.

two places you should never go half-assed... surgery and safety.

 

I would keep trying helmets to try and find an SA helmet. Some tracks and clubs don't allow M helmets anyway so you're likely to come across some other reason to really try for an SA lid.

But in the meantime drill HANS with the backing plates. They are pretty good size plates to distribute the load.

Part of how a HANS works is that the impact and force is distributed in time. The yoke slides down during impact to allow the head some movement, but not too much. It's not meant to be an abrupt shock (think if HANS tethers were fixed to the roll hoop instead of to the sliding yoke). The whole apparatus doesn't put inordinate stress on the anchors in impact... otherwise it'd be causing plate-ripping stress on your head hitting the tethered helmet...

 

I personally would rather run an M+HANS than an SA without.

As for safety and surgery, it's not a binary decision. There is opportunity cost and value. Everyone doesn't run AWD 5-star crash rated vehicles on the street. Everyone doesn't use snow tires in snow. I personally do, but there is a cost associated.

How many people have done full fire suppression in their track cars? Wear full fire suits in the summer? There is a cost and value to safety. YMMV.

I appreciate that the OP is fact finding. All we can do is try and give good data and rationale. Everyone's cost / value quotient is a little different.

 

I run a full, 3 layer, sparco suit in the summer, including socks, shoes, balaclava, SA lid, and HANs.
I do this in Vegas heat.
Because I don't want to be in a situation where I am in the hospital wishing I had the proper gear.

While you could use a M helm with a HNRS, why wouldn't you do it right the first time?
"Sorry, I can't find a suit that fits me properly, so I bought some flame-retardant spray and doused my mechanic coveralls, all is good."

 

Fair enough. I do the same when in the turbo car. But with the bone stock cayman at casual track events I don't bother with the suit (still do SA, gloves and shoes). YMMV.

I wouldn't daily drive something without VSA and a 5-star crash rating, but everyone doesn't have the same weight system. I personally think I'm better served upgrading safety of tow vehicle (traction control and anti-sway) than am at risk bursting into flames in an OEM Porsche, but still do fire cover the important parts... maybe I should have a nomex jock strap made...