roll cage design idea

[XXX4life]

ok so i'm having a cage put in my 240 hatch next month, i can do anything i want and i want something functional but also cool and unique, the main reason for the cage is for the added stiffness, i'm not worried about flipping the car upside down, anyway after seeing the cage my friend has built is his miata i had an idea to do a cage like this is my hatch, what do you guys think? it will be an 8pt cage but insted of having bars drop down in front of the dash it will have a bar that welds to the a pillars across the top of the windsheild, i know this won't be as strong if the car does end up upside down as a normal 6pt cage but i think this will add stiffness since it will be 2 more points that weld to the car and it will tie the a pillars together, does anything have anymore thoughts on way i should or shouldn't do this? and if not give me some more suggestions, remember that i have complete freedom the only thing is it has to be easy to get in and out of incase my wife has to drive the car :)
it will also have a harness bar
http://entrustclothing.com/pics/cage1.jpg

[Var]

why not just finish it as a full cage up front even with the welds to the pillars then build 3 horizontal door bars on heavy duty hinges so you can swing it open to climb in.

[XXX4life]

why not just finish it as a full cage up front even with the welds to the pillars then build 3 horizontal door bars on heavy duty hinges so you can swing it open to climb in.
that;s a little more complecated than i want :)

[RBS14]

You can weld to the A pillars also, but you won't get the front to back stiffness a cage offers if you don't weld it into the floor. I did a traditional cage, then welded in plates between the cage and the pillars and whatever piece of chassis was close to a bar. That's the best way imo.

[XXX4life]

You can weld to the A pillars also, but you won't get the front to back stiffness a cage offers if you don't weld it into the floor. I did a traditional cage, then welded in plates between the cage and the pillars and whatever piece of chassis was close to a bar. That's the best way imo.
any pics of your cage?

[thx247]

A much more rigid design would follow the more traditional cage lines, keeping the overhead bars as far to the sides of the car roof line as possible. Since you are not building a cage for any class racing (as far as I can see) why not just connect the cage to the strut towers in the rear and run it through the firewall to the strut towers there. If you wanted to go further you could then weld the cage to the A and C pillars.

If you're dead nuts set on designing your own cage I would do some mockups with wood or speak to a cage designer.

You'll also want a bar for the harnesses.

[andrave]

and probably a diagonal support for the hoop

[XXX4life]

and probably a diagonal support for the hoop
yes it will have that plus a harness bar i just didn't draw it

[AKADriver]

The door bars and weird roof thing you have drawn there will do nothing but add weight.

The "X" brace in the rear tubes is mostly redundant if you have a main hoop diagonal. Lose that, too.

[mad sentra]

the best way is too have the front bars that go with the dash AND add an extra bar to link them together at the front of the roof... welding to the a pillars does not give much more rigidity... those things are weak... just use a typical 6 pt and add on the extra bars and the door side bars, too. its cheaper and easier and proven to work

[XXX4life]

well since the cage is being built for free anyway i want i'm just gonna go all out and do it right and build a full cage

[mad sentra]

free cage?????? hooooooooook me up please!!!

but yeah, if its free do it right! get a full solid one so you know you and your woman are safe! what else will they do for you? seamweld???

[XXX4life]

well i'm building the guys website is trade for a cage, so the website i'm building him is worth about $3k so i'm getting a bad ass cage :)

[sr240mike]

And a custom 6 point cage is only about $1000 to make. You're losing out. Have him make two more and I'll buy one.

[Andrew Bohan]

seriously, hook it up!

[Var]

well i'm building the guys website is trade for a cage, so the website i'm building him is worth about $3k so i'm getting a bad ass cage :)


if you're building a 3k website you should get a 3k cage. Show him the diagram for a Nascar cage and tell him you want the same thing.

[mad sentra]

lol, hells yeah, i'm in.... where do i sign the papers on this group deal?

[TRUENOCOUPE]

Jesus!

Thats the worst IDEA EVAR!

Here is something that I draw for you. Do it right and do it once. Don't do monkey bars that won't even work for shit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/truencoupe/Cage/rollcage-Back.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/truencoupe/Cage/rollcage-Front.jpg

[TRUENOCOUPE]

well i'm building the guys website is trade for a cage, so the website i'm building him is worth about $3k so i'm getting a bad ass cage :)

And thats your IDEA?

Goodlord, for a 3K I would make a shitload better cage than that.

[Var]

And thats your IDEA?

Goodlord, for a 3K I would make a shitload better cage than that.


seriously...mine would have a red vines dispenser for 3K

[XXX4life]

Jesus!

Thats the worst IDEA EVAR!

Here is something that I draw for you. Do it right and do it once. Don't do monkey bars that won't even work for shit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/truencoupe/Cage/rollcage-Back.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/truencoupe/Cage/rollcage-Front.jpg
thanks for the drawing mine is gonna look alot like that bu with a few more bars, i've decided to just build a full cage the right way

[TRUENOCOUPE]

thanks for the drawing mine is gonna look alot like that bu with a few more bars, i've decided to just build a full cage the right way

Umm few more bars?

Can you tell me what those 'few' more bars are.

I wouldn't go more than an 8 point cage. It is heavy ass hell even if you have chrom.

The one I draw is an 8 point. Remember, point are where the bars are welded to the chassis. Not how many bars you have.

[XXX4life]

i wanna add a horizontal X from the harness bar to the rear shock towers and i wanna add either an x or a cross brace across the roof bars

[AKADriver]

i wanna add a horizontal X from the harness bar to the rear shock towers and i wanna add either an x or a cross brace across the roof bars

Dumb. Redundant. Don't DO IT! The bars around the roof are called a HALO for a reason - they're supposed to go around your head, not on top of it. Putting a big metal X above your head is a skull fracture waiting to happen. Hell, having any sort of bars forward of the B-pillar in a street car is a skull fracture waiting to happen. That X is also a lot of added weight in exactly the wrong place. I don't know where you got the idea, but bracing the crap out of the roof won't do much for the car's overall structure.

What Truenocoupe has drawn is good, but I'm not sure why you'd build such an extensive cage and then almost leave out the door bars. Either complete the "X" or go to a NASCAR style.

[TRUENOCOUPE]

Monkey Bars and Car Show always gets these people.

I won't even drive my car anymore on the street. I've already seen pics of people banging their arms and heads on the bars.

Padding will prevent to headache when entering or exiting the cockpit, but in a decent wreck, an unhelmeted head will crack like and egg against a rollbar, padded or not.

Just because you can't make your head reach that far doesn't mean it can't actually reach that far under the forces of a collision.

Goodluck, I don't like seeing enthusiast go the hardway.

[goodjuan]

http://www.e30m3performance.com/tech_articles/cage_symposium/cage_symposium.htm

this page has some nice pictures-might give you some ideas

[TRUENOCOUPE]

http://www.e30m3performance.com/tech_articles/cage_symposium/cage_symposium.htm

this page has some nice pictures-might give you some ideas

Is it protection, stiffness or stupidness.

http://www.e30m3performance.com/tech_articles/cage_symposium/R_Ricker/RR_cage_1.jpg

http://www.e30m3performance.com/tech_articles/cage_symposium/R_Ricker/RR_cage_2.jpg

[blu808]

Run some bars from the front shock towers back to the cage

[goodjuan]

Is it protection, stiffness or stupidness. ...

well, according to the site, it's SCCA IT rules.

[TRUENOCOUPE]

well, according to the site, it's SCCA IT rules.

Simple 6 point it good enough.

Those side rear window bars is no such thing is needed for SCCA rules.

[driftstyre]

Inspiration

[WhiteGLX]

what exactly is that cage in? And does anyone know any shops with a 5-6hour drive of Baltimore, MD that could do a custom 6-8pnt cage?

[IvanAtSPRacing]

http://phatka-t.com/cage%20front%20driver.JPG
Cage work in process

http://phatka-t.com/trunk%20no%20cell.JPG
Rear of cage w/ fuel cell mount

http://phatka-t.com/trunk%20with%20cell.JPG
Fuel cell in place

http://www.phatka-t.com/kickerbars.JPG
Main hoop and kicker bars

http://www.phatka-t.com/windowgussets.JPG
Front hoop with window gussets circled

http://www.phatka-t.com/ltsidethrudash.JPG http://www.phatka-t.com/rtsidethrudash.JPG
Thru the dash

http://www.phatka-t.com/passdoorbar.JPG
Door bars and window net

http://www.phatka-t.com/chuterelease.JPG
Parachute release circled

http://www.phatka-t.com/chute.JPG
Parachute

http://www.phatka-t.com/cagefront.JPG
Interior back in

http://www.phatka-t.com/netup.JPG
Net up

http://www.phatka-t.com/netdown.JPG
Net down.

I just replaced that factory steering wheel with a leather racing one with quick disconnect for easy entry / exit.
The Bogart P1 Billet Drag Stars I ordered two months ago just shipped out Friday. Slicks and skinnies at the shop waiting to be mounted.

I should have more pix this week.

[WhiteGLX]

i like the design and its really clean, but the design i need has to eb mode custom to go right up against the design of teh car (no gaps), im too all of a guy and my legsa are too long :(. Im going the road race directiong and your car is drag so it works, and great job with it also.

Put up a few pics of teh powerplant in this beat to show me why you need a parachute :).

[IvanAtSPRacing]

It will be extreamly tough to get a cage in the car that hugs every contour of the inside. You just wont have any room to weld side of the cage on the side that is against the car. Also if you are planning to put the interior back in, you will need a little extra room to get the pannels in place. There are a couple tricks you can use to get the cage to be as tight as possible. First would be to drill holes thru the floor where the cage will be mounted. This will allow you drop the cage down thru the floor to weld the top. When your done welding the top, lift the cage up and slide the 6x6 plates under the cage and weld them to the floor covering up the hole and then weld the cage to the plates. The plates have to be there anyway. The other trick is to cut the roof off the car and build the cage. Then when your done, you weld the roof back in place. This is the way to get an extreamly tight fitting cage and still have all the tubes fully welded.

[WhiteGLX]

im not looking to keep any interior besides the dash once i get the cage, i wanna get the sunroof removed, i was going to just cut out the gutter and rivet in a piece of carbon fiber or a thin piece of steel, but if i cut the roof off then i wont have to plug the hole, i can just get a large piece to replace most of the roof. You know of anyshops that do cutom rollcages in the PA, MD, NJ, VA, WV, SC, NY areas?

[Var]

I saw this drag car at D1 and the first thing that came to mind was this thread. LOL!!!! Click for full size images


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/westboroughpimp/th_DragCarRollCage3.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/westboroughpimp/DragCarRollCage3.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/westboroughpimp/th_DragCarRollCage2.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/westboroughpimp/DragCarRollCage2.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/westboroughpimp/th_DragCarRollCage1.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/westboroughpimp/DragCarRollCage1.jpg)

[thx247]

Seems excessive, maybe they were trying to make min weight somewhere?