Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. Open face suits some closed cars, not every event or cockpit
Visibility and communication can be excellent, particularly in rallying. The event rules, debris exposure, eye protection, approval label and head fit still decide whether it belongs in your car.
An earlier version of this page said all six helmets on it were FIA 8859-2015. They are not. Four of the seven we now list are on the current 8859-2024 standard and two carry 8859-2015 with Snell SA2020 alongside it. Both are accepted for Motorsport UK national events and neither has a published expiry, but read the label rather than an article.
Less facial coverage and different eye protection can be the wrong trade in an open car, a dusty environment, or an event that specifies full-face equipment. In an open-top or single-seater car it is not an option at all.
Confirm open face is permitted for your car and your event
Open face lives in closed cars. Rally cars, saloons, hillclimb and sprint entries in closed bodywork, historic touring cars and endurance saloons are where it belongs, because the car itself is doing the job of keeping stones and debris away from your face. In an open-top car, a single seater or a kart, the chin and mouth are exposed and full face is the only sensible answer.
That is the physics. The regulations are a separate question, and they are the one that decides. Read the championship regulations and the event supplementary regulations together, because a championship can permit open face while a particular event does not, and track day organisers set their own conditions on top of both.
Where it genuinely wins is rallying and long stints. A co-driver reading notes, an instructor in the passenger seat, a two-hour stint in July: those are the cases where the airflow and the unobstructed hearing are worth something real rather than just feeling nicer in the shop.
The standard on each of these, read off the helmet
Two current standards across seven helmets. Both are accepted by Motorsport UK and neither carries a published expiry date.
| Helmet | Approval | Intercom | Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparco Flux RJ | FIA 8859-2024 | No | XS to XXL |
| Bell Mag | FIA 8859-2024 | No | S to XXXL |
| Bell Mag-1 | FIA 8859-2024 | No | S to XL |
| Stilo Sport Jet | FIA 8859-2015 and Snell SA2020 | No, ports fitted | XS to XL |
| OMP J-Rally | FIA 8859-2024 | Built in | S to XL |
| Stilo Sport Plus | FIA 8859-2015 and Snell SA2020 | Built in | XS to XL |
| Sparco Flux RJ-i | FIA 8859-2024 | Built in | XS to XXL |
Nobody should read that table as the two Stilos being out of date. FIA 8859-2015 is still on the Motorsport UK national list for 2026 with no expiry against it, and the Snell SA2020 label alongside is useful if you also run somewhere that asks for Snell. Our guide to the current helmet standard has the full accepted list and the one entry that does expire.
The reason it is worth printing at all is that people buy a helmet expecting a standard the model does not carry, usually because they read it in an article. This one included, until we checked every label.
Four open-face helmets with no electronics in them
For circuit, hillclimb, sprint and historic use, or for a rally car where the intercom lives in the car rather than the helmet.
The Sparco Flux RJ is the value pick and the one most people leave with. Fibreglass shell, removable washable lining, FHR posts included, and the widest size run here at XS to XXL, which matters more than it sounds when a helmet is the one bit of kit you cannot fudge.
The Bell Mag is the one to try if the Sparco does not suit your head, and it runs to XXXL, so it is the answer for larger sizes that most brands simply do not make. It comes with an adjustable peak and a tinted sunscreen, which is the classic rally arrangement, and you can order it with or without FHR posts. The Bell Mag-1 is the same idea a step up, with a better liner and a black anti-dazzle peak.
The Stilo Sport Jet is the one worth paying more for if there is any chance of adding communication later. It is the entry point into the Stilo range and it comes with the side ports already there, so a Stilo intercom can go in afterwards without you buying a second helmet.
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Three with the microphone and speakers already in
For rally, endurance and anything where a driver and co-driver have to hear each other over an engine.
Buying a helmet with the electronics fitted at the factory is usually cheaper than buying a plain helmet and having it done, and it is always tidier. The wiring is routed inside the shell, the speakers sit in proper recesses rather than being wedged against your ears, and nothing has been glued to an approved component after the fact.
The OMP J-Rally is the affordable way in, with a noise-cancelling microphone and a composite shell on the current 8859-2024 standard. The Stilo Sport Plus is the Sport Jet with Stilo electronics fitted, and it is the obvious choice if the car already runs a Stilo intercom, because the connector and the amplifier are designed around each other. The Sparco Flux RJ-i is the Flux RJ with a factory intercom, so it inherits the wide size run.
Choose by the intercom that is going in the car, not by the helmet. That is the wrong way round from how most people shop and it is the mistake that costs money.
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Pick the system before the plug
Rally intercoms differ by connector, by whether the amplifier expects dynamic or electret microphones, and by how the co-driver side is wired. A helmet with a lead that does not match the box in the car is a helmet you cannot use until you have bought an adaptor, assuming one exists. So decide on the intercom, then the helmet, then the cable route through the cockpit.
On FHR, check three things. That the helmet has approved anchorages or takes them, that the posts are actually included in the version you are ordering, because the Bell Mag is sold both ways, and that the tether has clearance to the seat and the shoulder-belt route in your car. A device that works in one seat can foul in another.
Do not add posts to a helmet that was not built to take them, and do not drill anything. That ends the approval.
Circumference is only the first measurement
Open-face helmets are, if anything, less forgiving on fit than full face, because there is no chin bar helping to locate them. Try several shell and liner shapes and look for even contact all the way round rather than a helmet that grips at the sides and floats at the crown.
Fasten the chin strap and try to roll the helmet forward off your head. Then leave it on. Ten minutes will find a pressure point that thirty seconds will not, and a pressure point at the top of a rally stage is a genuinely miserable thing. Check it with your glasses, with the balaclava you actually wear, and with the microphone in position if there is one, because a boom that sits wrong is worse than no intercom at all.
All seven are in the showroom. Bring the FHR device and the intercom lead and we can check the whole assembly rather than just the helmet.
Open-face helmet questions
Are open-face FIA helmets permitted in every closed car?▾
No. Check the discipline, championship and event regulations. They are not permitted in open-top cars, single seaters or karts at all.
Do all current open-face helmets use FIA 8859-2015?▾
No, and this is the correction to an earlier version of this page. Four of the seven we list are FIA 8859-2024. The two Stilos are FIA 8859-2015 with Snell SA2020. Read the label on the exact model.
Is FIA 8859-2015 too old to buy now?▾
No. It is on the Motorsport UK accepted list for 2026 with no published expiry. A championship can be stricter, so check yours before spending.
Can I add an intercom later?▾
Only with equipment and an installation the helmet manufacturer permits. The Stilo Sport Jet comes with the ports already fitted for exactly this. Otherwise a factory-fitted version is cleaner and usually cheaper.
Do I still need eye protection?▾
Check the rules and the cockpit. Where there is no full-size windscreen, a suitable visor or goggles may be required, and it is worth having whether or not it is required.
Which one fits the largest heads?▾
The Bell Mag, which runs to XXXL at 65 to 66cm. The Sparco Flux RJ and RJ-i go to XXL at 62cm. Most of the rest stop at XL.
Are FHR posts included?▾
On most of them, yes. The Bell Mag is sold both with and without, so check which version you are adding to the basket.
Then come and try the shapes
Bring your glasses, your balaclava and the FHR device if you already run one. We would rather check the complete assembly in the showroom than recommend a model off a price list and have it come back.
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