How long before you replace a helmet?

My son has a Shoei SM2010 helmet that we bought him new back in 2011. He's worn it a bunch and hasn't had any accidents with it. It's got a few paint chips because he's a kid and just drops it in his seat when he gets off the track, but nothing more than that.

What does the hive do for helmets? Do you replace them regularly or keep one until it's been damaged or until your sanctioning body requires a newer rating? Wasn't an issue before because we'd have to replace them as his head grew, but I realized while looking through some old pictures that he's had his a long time....(or maybe not in helmet years!)

-Rob

If the sticker is still valid, it hasn't been thumped hard, and the interior isn't grotty, I'd keep it in use until it doesn't fit his noggin any more.

I usually would want a new one every 3-4 years before putting my faith in it. Oh, and Snell only for me.

When the power of Dawn liquid can no longer reverse the stank from the inside or when I wake up wearing it and can't remember how I came to be in the helocopter.

If this were the sprockets section I'd say similar except if I dropped it from any significant height onto concrete. Basically no cracks/spiders/shell damage.

Snell always. He wears a motorcycle one instead of an auto one because
a) he doesn't need the fire protection in a kart and
b) he likes the more open eyeport since karts don't have mirrors

Snell is required for all karting events.

It doesn't stink too bad and still fits him just fine. Most of his karting buddies (translation, daddies with deep pockets) get new ones every year. I figured it was just to get a new paint job done on them, but wanted to make sure there wasn't a different reason.

Sounds like he'll be able to keep it until I win the lottery and he can start racing cars as he'll need a auto specific one at that point.

-Rob

Every 5 years or ever bad knock/drop.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably keep it and wait until the rules require an upgrade.

The shell should be fine. It requires stupid stuff to start damaging it, and that's not happening.

I know the arguments about the styrofoam liner inside the outer shell breaking down. I've never seen it that I know of. Not even with old styrofoam cups (I've had them decades old, they worked). You can test it readily enough with your thumb and thumb nail on the edge or such just to see.

The inner liner and the light foam of the inner liner that lay against your hair, I have had those break down. That can get messy, but doesn't really do much to prevent the helmet from being wearable and still doing its job.

Since he's a kid, he'll grow and probably out grow the helmet before anything else. That is likely worth watching, to make sure the helmet is still effectively fitting and protecting his noggen.

How much it's used and the level of care are big decision drivers. I threw down for a carbon Simpson Bandit the last race of 2013. My race car will pull 2 Gs so a light lid makes a difference over a long weekend. Lately it's lost that new helmet smell. And at the track, while I'd like to put it in it's bag whenever it's not on my head and keep it out of the heat, when it's one of those frantic days where you work as fast as you can for 9 hours punctuated by a qualifying session and race, helmet care goes out the wondow.

So if you clean it, keep it in a bag in the truck, and generally be nice to it it'll go a lot longer before it's so gross as to make replacement a better option than renovation.

In reply to foxtrapper:

The shells start to degrade with time, its why most sanctioning bodies require a certain limit on age. For 4 wheeled stuff, I'd probably trust it until it aged out. For 2 wheeled, I stand firm at 4 years.

Good info. I wasn't aware of the heat issue. It's a black helmet AND we live in Texas. So, it's always hot (and, thereby, always full of sweat). Most of the time it sits under a tent or in the shade. However, it's definitely more exposed to the sun that a car helmet.

I would assume, being a motorcycle helmet, that they would put a UV coating on it to reduce the breakdown from sun exposure.

Are there any signs I should keep an eye on? Other than a few small chips from use, it's still in great shape. The foam gets smelly sometimes, but still fits him as snugly as it always has and the cloth hasn't degraded at all.

-Rob

In reply to rob_lewis:

Its probably fine for what he's doing with it.

My shorter interval is more due to the fact I expect it to save my life from far more serious issues than being in a car/kart.

foxtrapper wrote: If I were in your shoes, I'd probably keep it and wait until the rules require an upgrade. The shell should be fine. It requires stupid stuff to start damaging it, and that's not happening. I know the arguments about the foam inside breaking down. I've never seen it that I know of. Not even with old styrofoam cups (I've had them decades old, they worked). You can test it readily enough with your thumb and thumb nail on the edge or such just to see. The liner and the light foam of the liner, I have had those break down. That can get messy, but doesn't really do much to prevent the helmet from being wearable and still doing its job. Since he's a kid, he'll grow and probably out grow the helmet before anything else. That is likely worth watching, to make sure the helmet is still effectively fitting and protecting his noggen.

I have seen an old race helmet with the foam disintegrating. It's a legit concern. It was probably 25 years old at the time.

Styrofoam disintegrating or the foam inner liner disintegrating? I've certainly seen the latter. But styrofoam is just foamed up polystyrene, which isn't a plastic noted for breaking down. I'm not saying it can't happen or that no one has ever seen it happen. Just that the stuff tends to lay there, inert, seemingly forever.

This was a while back, I don't recall exactly. Probably the foam, I remember it being yellowish. You specified foam in your post, actually.

I wouldn't recommend using any helmet that has stuff falling out of it, regardless of whether it's foam or styrofoam :D

It gets confusing, with there being more than one type of foam in a helmet. I'll edit my original post to better clarify.

One thing that I always tell someone new to motorsports and asking about helmets is to use a balaclava. Putting one on and then the helmet means that any sweat is soaked up by the head sox and not the helmet liner! If you look you can find plain cotton ones instead of the nomex style if you don't want to pay the price for them. I have two so that I never have to put on a smelly wet one on days that I have multiple sessions on track.