Where can I find an affordible IHRA-Legal drag racing helmet?

[Darth Fiero]

I have recently moved to the Quad Cities area in Iowa and have discovered that Cordova Dragway is only 30 min away from me. Bad news is they are supposidly really strict about IHRA rules and they mandate that anyone who goes 13.99 or faster must have an approved helmet.

Their definition of approved is Snell or SA90 rating or higher. Bad news is the Snell M90 (M=motorcycle) helmet I have is no good and will not be accepted as a substitute even on a test and tune night. Now, here I am left to ponder why a DOT-approved M90 motorcycle helmet is inferior to an SA90 unit meant for a car; but that is another matter.

I have done some searching on-line and the cheapest new SA90 helmet I can find is $180.00 or more. A search on eBay for used SA90 or better used helmets returns 0 results. Anyone have a used cheap one for sale? I cannot justify $180 purchase for something that I am only going to get the chance to use twice a year especially since no one can give me a difinitive reason why a motorcycle helmet is inferior or doesn't protect as good. JMHO, but I think the companies like "simpson" who make the helmets for IHRA have a little deal going on behind the scenes.

 

[n20junkie]

last time i checked it said snell 90, ther is not different helmet requirements for car vs motorcycle, ans a sa helmet has an armid fiber interior, aka fire proof nomex, nice but not required, the rules i bieve read that any dot 90 helmet is good, it does not mention anything in the rules about motorcycle vs car, and a full face motorcycle helmet is more protective than an open face car, take the rule book with you, and if they still turn you away then they are adding on some bs to the rules mabe to satisify their insurance, or mabe someone was missinformed, but you don't need a SA series helmet by either nhra or ihra, at least for car as fast as 9 seconds.
Grant