roll cages?

[Jad]

I am getting a full cage welded into my car. Anything special or helpful anyone has found that I should be sure to do?

Also, anyone who wants a rollbar, let me know. Martin and Bill, I hope you are happy, you have made me convert a perfectly nice street Porsche into this track car KP is stepping it up yet another notch for 07

[kary]

Jad,
When I had my roll cage put in I have specific requirements such as these:

1. Space for the seat to move back handling the clearance for seat and belts to extend from the bar.
2. Belt bar height is proper for you and and head and neck devices.
3. I have my knee bar bent at the edges to move it up away from my knees as much as possible in clonjunction with not cutting into the dash for the a-pillar bars.
4. Determine your clearance for the door bars with stock doors ot NASCAR type bars extending out for the fiberglass door...
5. Head hieght - make the halo bars adequately high to cope ith helmet and seat clearance for tall people in the event you sell the car or have tall drivers driving the car, say in an enduro race.
6. If you put the bars as close to the rook or A and B pillars it will require the bars to have gussets (sp?). Also make sure to weld the A and B pillar bars to the car as it make the car very stiff.
7. Make sure you allocate and prepare for window net install with your cage.
8. Buy good SFI rated roll bar padding instead of that pool noodles that people use!
9. All of what I have talked baout requires a custom cage not a generic cage.
10. Do not use any cages that use bolts - welds only for everything!

Hope this helps!

[kurquhart]

Two potential side effects:
1. Windows can easily be broken during the installation, as the body is severely tweaked. Either pull your glass or have the installer warrant them. I had to replace my windshield for much more than it would have cost to simply pull it first.
2. Again, due to the movement of the body, it is very likely that your doors will not close properly afterward. If this is a concern, you need to budget for adjusting these. Even after two attempts, the driver's side still doesn't close w/o a lot of force.

[kary]

Two potential side effects:
1. Windows can easily be broken during the installation, as the body is severely tweaked. Either pull your glass or have the installer warrant them. I had to replace my windshield for much more than it would have cost to simply pull it first.
2. Again, due to the movement of the body, it is very likely that your doors will not close properly afterward. If this is a concern, you need to budget for adjusting these. Even after two attempts, the driver's side still doesn't close w/o a lot of force.

I discussed these issue with the guy who did mine and he said if you know what you are doing this is not an issue. He had no issue with the window nor the door,

[bibbetson]

So how many seconds are you KP track rats going to spot me next year? This is getting ridiculous. I might have to pull out the special suuuper secret weapon for next year.

[kary]

So how many seconds are you KP track rats going to spot me next year? This is getting ridiculous. I might have to pull out the special suuuper secret weapon for next year.

It is going to be worth 1 to 2 seconds if you set your suspensions up correctly Better get that super secret weapon out!!!

[Chris Benbow]

Hi Jad,
1) If you can put the side bars out into the doors (NASCAR style) do it. It makes ingress/egress a lot easier.
2) Make sure that all welds, especially the ones at the B pillar and the roof are 360 degree welds. Some sanctioning bodies require this, and some pretty reputable cage builders don't routinely do this.
3) Check the rules with ALL sanctioning bodies that you might end up running with at some point in the future. The rules will differ. (eg. may or may not allow welding to the A and B pillars)
4) Some may differ here but, consider the weight of all the bars you choose to put in. This cage will be heavy. (eg. a "Petty Bar" is a wonderful diagonal brace but is heavy and limits your ability to carry a passenger).
Glad to see you are putting in some additional safety measures. At the speeds you drive.....
Once you've driven on a big track with a cage you wonder why you ever did it without one. Much more peace of mind.

[Jad]

So how many seconds are you KP track rats going to spot me next year? This is getting ridiculous. I might have to pull out the special suuuper secret weapon for next year.

What, Tami driving without the block hidden under the gas pedal

[Tim Comeau]

Jad,
I'd make sure that the cage builder has a set of the rules in hand from the sanctioning body you're going to race with. Use the smaller diameter/thicker walled tubing. 1.5 inch. It gives a little more room and is easier to see around. Get an extra diagonal roof bar. I have a knee bar installed under the dash. Make sure the horizontal bar of the main hoop is back far enough to allow for adequate seat travel, especially if you have a lot of rake in the seat. It should go without saying that the cage builder will use DOM steel tubing and not the older ERW tubing. Chromoly (sp?) cages require special treatment to "normalize" them and this might have brought on the body tweaking difficulties that Kris had, as mentioned above. Rules sets specify certain numbers of bends allowed for each member of the cage. Make sure the back stays for the main hoop are at an acceptable angle and make sure the installer attaches all 6 feet of the cage to the sills/longitudinals.

[harnishclan]

If you are interested, my car (87 944) is currently in the process of having a full cage welded in. I have the NASCAR style door bars and gutted doors on the drivers side and a single with reinforcement on the passenger side. Cage is currently fully fabricated and tacked in as of now. The real welding starts this PM. I ordered the cage from Kirk racing in Alabama (www.kirkracing.com).