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Intercom install in Bell Sport Mag?

17K views 31 replies 16 participants last post by  Greasecar 
#1 ·
Has anyone tried or successfully installed an intercom into the Bell Sport Mag Helmet? I ask because I'm looking at this helmet for a Rallyx where SA approval is required but I don't stage rally (yet). My thinking is if I can add an intercom to the helmet later it will be a reasonable investment I can build on later as I build my skills (and bank account). Or is it better to look at a Peltor or Stilo that's for sure going to work but will be significantly more upfront. I can justify a 250-300 investment now but 600-900 for a Stilo/Peltor seems a bit steep at this point.

Thanks,
 
#4 ·
I had an older Bell Mag that I put a Peltor headset in.

I lent it to the Pirate (when he was first starting out) when I bought my Peltor helmet.

No problems.

If you buy a Peltor helmet, make sure you buy one of the newer ones that has SA approval and not the older BSI (which will soon expire) (meaning - read your rules).

press on,
 
#6 · (Edited)
Bell does have a Sport Mag with a Peltor compatible intercom already installed (Mag-1 Rally), but it's not sold in NA. The cost difference, over in EU, was basically the cost of the Peltor add-on intercom. I contacted Bell early this year and they said they were planning to bring them over here, but didn't know when. I actually wanted to follow up with them, to see if they had a date yet. If I get a response I'll post here.

I also looked into shipping one over from EU and it was going to cost about $50 (if I remember right), from rallynuts.com. I didn't end up doing it, because I didn't want to take a chance that it'd be completely uncomfortable on my head, and it being cost-prohibitive to return/exchange it.
 
#7 ·
Bell does have a Sport Mag with a Peltor compatible intercom already installed (Mag-1 Rally), but it's not sold in NA. The cost difference, over in EU, was basically the cost of the Peltor add-on intercom. I contacted Bell early this year and they said they were planning to bring them over here, but didn't know when. I actually wanted to follow up with them, to see if they had a date yet. If I get a response I'll post here.
I received a response, and the word from the higher ups is that they are planning to have the Mag-1 Rally shippable the end of December through January.
 
#9 ·
I used to use a Bell Sport with a Terraphone intercom added on.
I switched a couple years ago to a Peltor. I can say from experience, the peltor may be more money, but it's worth every penny. The amount of hassle and potential problems it avoids, combined with the tremendous improvement in audio quality, is more than enough to justify the extra cost.
 
#10 ·
I considered bringing in some of the Bell Sport helmets to see how they would work out/compare. RRS is another that is cheap (Chinese rebranded product) that say able to accept intercoms but from my looking at pics, I don't think a noise isolating ear cup that comes out of a helmet that came equipped with Peltror would be able to fit into it. I ended up ordering a Sparco WTX-5t helmet and am going to try to transplant my old Peltor headset out of my helmet into it. Biggest concern for me is finding a helmet that will be able to fit the ear pieces.
I wonder if Bell changed their mind about bringing in the rally helmets to US. I talked about getting some of the Bell and Sabelt helmets that come with intercoms so that I wouldn't be just another rally shop with Stilo helmets, Hankook tires, and G Force belts. Decided against doing much retail though instead. Just special order here and there. Am willing to help out friends though with figuring out solutions to the issue if needed and will post a thread on how my swap into the Sparco goes.
 
#14 ·
I wonder if Bell changed their mind about bringing in the rally helmets to US.
I know this is an old thread, and was necro'd for other reasons. However, I picked up a Bell Mag Rally from Pegasus in September. They're definitely available in the US. I did Perryville with it, and it's quite nice. I certainly think it's a good value, as it comes with the intercom and the HANS posts pre-installed for 495. It's not the lightest thing, but I didn't find myself uncomfortable at the end. The intercom works really well, and having the earcups properly part of the helmet I suspect is nice. The only other helmet with an intercom I've worn the earcups were very uncomfortable.

Note: I did not find anywhere that carries the Mag Rally in store/in stock, it's all ordered. The Mag 4 is equivalent fitment, so you can go to a store and fit that before ordering. Highly recommended as their fitment did not at all match the fitment from my old helmet (HJC).

The black armor rally helmet looks like a better deal if it actually has an intercom installed, but I can't tell from the specs they give if it has one, or it just has "placement" for one.
 
#11 ·
Well, the Sparco one fit like totally garbage. The XL WTX-5T did NOT fit my 60.5 cm head. My old Sparco Rally Plus was L and fit tight so kind of annoyed. It did appear that the Peltor intercom could be transferred over. May try the Stilo full face that doesn't have the electronics, or maybe one of the Bell rally ones.
 
#12 ·
bringing this one back

I have the expiring BSI rated Peltor helmet. Is there another new shell I can buy that I can put my current ear cups into? Peltor or other brand, I've worn the Bell Mag before and liked that helmet a lot. The boom mic is just held on by screws, so I know that can be attached to pretty much anything, but the ear cups are what concern me.

Thanks
-Sarah
 
#16 ·
Here's what Black Armor said about retrofitting the Peltor intercom:
Yes then they will fit, the Open Face and Rally helmets both have large removable earcup placements, so you can use either the Peltor cups (if they velcro out) or put the speakers in the Black Armor earcups, they are set up for it. I am confirming with the factory regarding the Dec 15 production completion date, and see what the timeframe is. If y'all would like to set up a Group Buy with your other rally drivers, especially with the new RA rules regarding helmets, I'd be willing to offer a $50 off discount per helmet + free helmet bag if we can put together order batches of 6 helmets per batch (so minimum 6, 12, 18, etc. in multiples of 6) to help reduce freight on my end, as it is extremely expensive for Express freight. You can post this publicly online if you'd like. Happy to pass along any savings to the rally community that I can.

Thank you!

James Wilson
Owner
Texas Rallysport LLC

I rather not be the guinea pig on doing this, but I'm sure someone should:)
 
#15 · (Edited)
The black armors are SCARY. Namely as the parent company that makes them in China, who used to sell them as Rodia brand, has had a number of their motorcycle helmets recalled for issues with not performing to specification during on road crashes. Why does an automotive helmet ALSO carry a "DOT" rating? DOT only approves motorcycle helmets. I'd also be a bit concerned about any warranty claims. Look up BSR, as that is the current nomenclature for their offerings.

As to it's "intercom", AFAIK it only has a cheap bluetooth setup. I've asked a few different folks for help getting interior shots, but nothing has shown up yet.
 
#17 ·
X Mon™;520921 said:
The black armors are SCARY. Namely as the parent company that makes them in China, who used to sell them as Rodia brand, has had a number of their motorcycle helmets recalled for issues with not performing to specification during on road crashes. Why does an automotive helmet ALSO carry a "DOT" rating? DOT only approves motorcycle helmets. I'd also be a bit concerned about any warranty claims. Look up BSR, as that is the current nomenclature for their offerings.

As to it's "intercom", AFAIK it only has a cheap bluetooth setup. I've asked a few different folks for help getting interior shots, but nothing has shown up yet.
I asked about this FWIW:
Re: Quality

BSR has been manufacturing helmets for two decades, building them for Bell, Zamp, Pyrotect, Racequip, certain Simpson models, and major name brands of motorcycle and motocross helmets as well. I have personally been wearing their products since 2005 and really like them. Fit, finish, and quality is top-notch, and their Carbon Fiber lays are excellent. I even had a crash last weekend at Circuit of the Americas in my Pirelli World Challenge touring car, and am mostly alive, and my spelling has hardly been affected, while wearing the Full Face Carbon Fiber with HANS ;) Both FIA and Snell pass these helmets and continue to do their standard surprise testing with no problems with certification. Hope this helps!

James Wilson
Owner
 
#23 ·
Live within my means, save up money, don't do National events, don't spend money on useless things.

There is a reason I only do 2-3 events a year. Maybe if I sold my car I could do a few more, but the joy I get daily from the car offsets the stress of trying to cram more events in.
 
#25 ·
I think the Mag1 looks like a great out of the box option for the new rallyist and the ear cups look soft in photos. But for those of us with retired, fully equipped Peltor helmets the Mag Sport is a good retrofit option. I had considered getting a new Peltor/3M or Stilo. I was leaning toward Stilo but after adding up the helmet and adapter or new intercom and looking at my early season car prep budget I figured I'd recycle what I have, make a small investment to start the season and at least have a good spare helmet out of it. Though very similar to the G-Force and Pyrotect open face models, the Bell does have better build quality and finish,and is available in orange. I ordered mine from Hyatt Racing for $249 shipped and it included a nice helmet bag , but it was drop shipped from Bell so I'm sure there are similar deals out there.

It took a little bit of trimming and convincing but I was able to retrofit all the gear from my Peltor helmet into the Bell in about an hour. It could have been quicker but I was determined to install the full ear cups rather then just the speakers because, in my opinion, that's what sets a proper intercom helmet apart from one with a headset shoved in. I had to modify the cheek pads and it took some trial and error but I was able to get everything in place. Honestly, fitting the Hans posts was the hardest part and it's supposed to be prepped for that. The holes are drilled but getting the flange nuts in place between the shell and foam took some doing, would be nice if they had the flange nuts molded in from the factory.

If I was to do it again I would probably go up one size as this helmet was pretty snug even with a fresh haircut so I have to take my glasses off to get it on with the ear cups, still it is a similar fit to my Peltor and will probably improve a bit over time or with a balaclava.

Anyway, I saw the post so I thought I'd share my experience.



 
#28 · (Edited)
The orange is how it came, matches my car pretty well too and is more interesting than your standard white or black.

I had to bevel the edge of the foam insert a bit to position the ear cup, which I suppose could also be done by trimming the cup itself. Then I had to cut the cheek pad and remove some foam. The cheek pad is held in place with Velcro and by trimming it out of the way I was able to use the Peltor velcro to hold the ear cups in (but had to swap the fuzzy pad with the plastic pad using contact adhesive).

I bought the Medium size helmet based on measuring my head and comparing it with their size chart. My measurement was at the top end of the Medium size and I would have been better off going up a size, not sure if the shell would be any bigger or just the foam insert, but there would have been more room to play with. It feels pretty good upon test fitting and sounds just like the Peltor through the intercom, the real test will be wearing it all day in summer heat though.

I'd be interested to see photos of the inside of a proper Mag1 with the ear cup removed and see how it compares. The cups look softer and more comfortable from the little you can see them in product shots.

The full cheek pad below is from a different helmet but is real similar to the Bell, I used it for reference.


 
#29 ·
Just wanted to confirm that I just also got the Bell Sport Mag like Justin did, and did a full swap of my old Peltor equipment. An hour later and I have a very comfortable helmet with the great comms of the Peltor. Almost looks like it is factory once you get it in there. HIGHLY recommend doing this!

Will be looking for some Peltor guts for my wife now, ordering another Bell Sport Mag for her this week. I wanted to test out that it would be comfortable for both of us, and the Peltors would work before buying two helmets.
 
#31 ·
I sized myself and I was at the bottom of the large scale without my balaclava, so I got a Large and it fits just right. Snug, but comfortable.

I'm not too worried about the small strap. Maybe will drill out the rivet that has the original strap and re-rivet it on the new helmet, but like I said, not a big deal to me. I did spend an hour or two bedazzling my helmet to match the new livery on my car though. :)

 
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