Helmet Vents Keeping You Chill?

[Slowbro]

I was supposed to have an ZAMP RZ-62 helmet arriving this week in time for an event at Thunderhill on Sunday...Murphy's Law ensued...


But luckily the place I bought my helmet is offering an RZ-60 that they just got in stock. The main difference is venting and lower holes for an option duct into the vents for the jaw. Now it's pay 30ish dollars for a rental or take the RZ-60 which is about $50 cheaper.



In the grand scheme of motorsports.. it's chump change.



But now I wonder: how much of a difference does helmet venting make in your experience?


Do you ever want to cover up the vents?

[M0nk3y]

Inside a car venting makes little to no difference, IMO.

[BigTuna]

I've never noticed vents working to actually flow air into the helmet. My opinion is that they are more useful to vent out your breath in order to not fog the visor.

Flipping the visor open is how I get any sort of airflow inside the helmet.

[Slowbro]

Sounds almost like upgraded helmets talking about airflow is really a gimmick then.. unless you do Karting or open roof driving.

What helmets do you use and for what kind of driving?

[norcalpb]

Originally Posted by Slowbro

Sounds almost like upgraded helmets talking about airflow is really a gimmick then.. unless you do Karting or open roof driving.

What helmets do you use and for what kind of driving?

I would say yes front facing airflow bits can be “gimmicky” imo in an enclosed cabin, especially on the Zamps. What you want to pay for is the material it’s made out of aka how light it is.

If you are going to look at zamps I would at least get one that is made with the “Kevlar mix” as these are a bit lighter than their standard helmets. Their carbon helmets are a step further.

I personally prefer open face helmets.

[Slowbro]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

“Kevlar mix”

Glad I took the lower model with less vents. I've got the RZ-60 at a minor discount today. And it is an aramid (generic for Kevlar) blend shell. It's not a Stilo but I'm autocrossing for now - who cares. It's plenty light enough. The large I have is 1524g (3.36 lbs).


I wish they published their masses..

Rz-60 mass is 1524 grams

[Slowbro]

Went to my first ever autocross with PCA Sacramento at Thunderhill with the RZ-60 helmet. I definitely didn't notice the venting and was cool enough in 100 degree heat.


More importantly, it was super fun. I even kept up with some stock Caymans and was only 2 seconds behind a twin with headers and ethanol (thank you Gran Turismo and Logitech). This is an awesome car for this kind of thing and I can't wait to try it on a track!