John, go. GO. It's fun. It's educational (for driving). It is VERY low risk. It's socially distanced AND no one will care if you wear a mask (I wear a nomex balaclava under mine, since I'm used to it and it catches the sweat instead of the helmet liner). It is a good place to meet fellow car people that actually know their stuff.

You might see that I complain sometimes about autocross - mostly that's minutia, and the fact that it's a smaller hit on the go-fast crack pipe than a track day. Disregard. Like everything, it isn't everything to everyone, and doing it casually doesn't mean you have to dedicate your life to it like SCCA or NASA would like you to. There's nothing quite like coming in .5 secs off someone in the same class who spent 10x more money than you

 

Helmet arrived today. Boy that sucker is tight!

So I've been reading up on fitment, and everything I've read so far tells me I should wear it periodically in order to break it in, and it certainly needs a break-in. Really squeezing my cheeks. It's not painful exactly, but it sure isn't comfortable. Fortunately, an AutoX circuit is less than 2 minutes.

But man, I really look like an idiot, LOL. Loved this movie.

 

Haha Spaceballs! I don't recognize that brand of helmet, but you might be able to change/alter the padding a touch for a better fit. Every manufacturer is a little different, but sometimes they just don't fit right. I remember getting a helmet once that really squeezed my cheeks and I felt like my eyes were going crossed. I returned it for the next larger size and was really glad I did. For whatever reason, that particular helmet ran quite a bit smaller than my others.

 

An SA-rated helmet should be slightly uncomfortable on your cheeks. If it's painful, it's too small. You don't want there to be compliance space before your noggin compresses into the foam.

As a comparison, my PASGT helmet in the USAF was tight enough to leave pad marks on my skin, even with the newer style pads/suspension. I'd rather have a mild headache than a fatal one...

 

Slightly uncomfortable...yes. My first well fitting helmet was pressure on my cheeks, but not painful. It was to the point that during break in/wearing it to help it form, I had to be careful while opening my mouth inside as to not bite the inside of my cheeks while wearing the helmet (happened only twice).

 

Exactly! It's difficult to smile wearing the helmet, but I've been putting it on for like 10 minutes a day to maybe break it in, and it's genuinely getting better.

 

You *do* want to be able to talk in it; if you ever do a track event, as a newb you'd have an instructor in the passenger seat, and you'd have a mic system (basically 1 earphone and a boom mic) that tucks inside the helmet so you can communicate.

 

OK. I'm registered to attend the September 19th event. My old boss may be joining me for the day as a spectator. He's retired and looking for things to do, LOL. But I'll be going either way, whether I've got a tag-a-log or not.

So I'm all in on a new helmet, and paid for registration. Guess I'm going to do Auto-X again.

 

I've been putting it on for a few minutes every day or so, to see if it would "break in". Sure enough, it's become much more comfortable! Still very snug, but no longer unbearable, and I can actually talk now, LOL. Anyway, very happy about that. The helmet is a keeper.

Also, and this might sound silly, but I spent the time to figure out how to connect the straps through the clasp without looking in a mirror, so that I can put the helmet on and fasten the strap without bumbling around like an idiot.

 

Straps on mine, even though with a bit of backer cloth, always get caught in my beard. Which is why I wear the balaclava (also its nomex).

 

This took a bit for me too on my first helmet, but it's like riding a bike once you get it. (I remember when I was the guy looking in my mirror every time I was done riding...its like learning how to tie a Tie)

 

That is actually a really good idea. I have been doing track days for about 20 years now and I still get butterflies when I strap on the helmet and I am thinking about being out on track. I have seen a number of people actually pull up to the grid completely having forgotten to do the strap on their helmet- probably due to their nerves.

 

I throw on my helmet and glasses(visor up) together outside of the car. Then gloves go on inside once I turn on the lap timer and GoPro.

 

Email from the event organizer, and there was a recommendation for cars running street tires to pump them 5 lbs over. Why would you do that?

 

The common wisdom is to pump your tires up 5-10 psi to reduce sidewall roll on street tires. This is true for 50-series + M&S rated tires. For 45-series and below I'm not sure it gets you much other than limited contact patch in the center of the tire.

With the RX8, running 245/40/18 aggressive (but not summer-only) tires I dropped the fronts to 28 to get good bite and kept the rears at 35. That made the car a little oversteer-happy which suits my driving style - not uncontrollable, but let it dance like a Miata.

For the heavier G with staggered tire sizes, I'd think keep front and rear the same and 32-35. Do you have an instant-read thermometer? Either a candy digital (don't tell your wife) or infrared will work. Check inside, center, and outside of tread IMMEDIATELY after coming off course (best with a helper). You want temps even across the tire, maybe a little hotter on the insides. If the center is noticeably hotter, remove air. If cooler, add air.

I don't recall what size your Vossens are - if they are 18 or 19 or larger - I'm not sure I'd add stiffness to already stiff sidewalls - you'll just slide easier.