Helmet ratings - is Gold Star still a thing?

[ChemicalChaos]

Afternoon all,

I've been trying to advise a friend who wanted a cheap-ish bike helmet for occasional karting and car trackdays (due to not needing a £300+ FIA car race lid).
Back when I last bought such a helmet for myself, it seemed it was easy to get an ACU gold star lid for about £80 but having had a look earlier, I can't find a single budget helmet that is gold star rated.

Is Gold Star still a thing, or has it been superseded by a new rating type please?

Thanks in advance!

[trickywoo]

It’s not perfect but is a good resource for your search criteria.

https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/

[Krikkit]

DOT Gold is still a valid standard, but ECE 22.05 is easier to find now - anything that meets that standard should be more than up to any trackday crash.

If you can find one in budget with MIPS that's an even better standard, and would probably be preferable in case of a bad karting crash.

[SAS Tom]

The acu gold sticker never really meant anything other than you could race in it. There was no test as far as I’m aware.

Look for ECE22.05 or the more recent ECE22.06.

[Ed.]

https://gsmperformance.co.uk/product/sparco-club-x...

If its never going to be used on a bike why not get a track day karting helmet?

[carinaman]

ChemicalChaos said:

Is Gold Star still a thing, or has it been superseded by a new rating type please?

SAS Tom said:

The acu gold sticker never really meant anything other than you could race in it. There was no test as far as I’m aware.

Look for ECE22.05 or the more recent ECE22.06.

My understanding concurs with SAS Tom's first and second sentences.

I think Spanish brand MT helmets have ACU Gold rated helmets but they don't put the sticker on them and supposedly you can contact them for a sticker and they'll send you one.

The J&S shop was doing ACU Gold star rated MT Helmets Thunder 3 for £70. They're available online for that price.

The demerits for me was SHARP 4 stars rather 5 stars and having to buy an pinlock insert rather than coming supplied in the box inc. the price.

How a helmet fits someones head, even if the helmet is to be used for karting or track days in a car is most important.

The new ECE 22-06 standard helmets have to comply from Jan. 2024 is a more stringent test tan ECE 22-05 and includes random test points so manufacturers may find it more difficult to design a helmet to pass a test that has fixed impact points.

Edited by carinaman on Wednesday 30th November 11:36

[KTMsm]

Problem solved:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185458554288