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The management
admin/chief tire changer
889 Posts |
 Posted - 09/24/2006 : 13:00:30
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The SNELL foundation is the universally recognized body that does testing and certification of Motorsports helmets. They test impact resistance, crushing tolerance, and fire resistance, among other things. They provide certifications in 2 categories: "M" (motorcycle) and "SA" (special application). The standard is upgraded every 5 years. The M rating is considered to be excellent in every category, but lacks fire resistance. The SA rating is considered the competition standard for car motorsports, and has all the impact characteristics of the M standard, plus, SA has nomex content for fire protection.
Chin Motorsports events are all non-competition. So, SA and M standaard helmets are accepted. Only SA is accepted for actual racing, but that does not occur at Chin events. So, the M is also suitable. The primary difference between the 2 is fire protection.
The life of the certification is 10 years, and the standard is upgraded every 5 years. So, it works like this: if you have a helmet with a SNELL 95 rating, it was manufactured between 1995 and 1999. It's 'certification' is valid from 1995 to 2005. In 2000, the next standard was issued, SNELL 00. These helmets were manufactured from 2000 to 2004, and have a 10 year life, from 2000 to 2009. In 2005, the SNELL 05 standard was released, and will be valid until 2009. A Helmet with an 05 certification has a 10 year life, until 2014.
Drive Safely, The management |
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The SNELL helmet certification Primer:
