Roll Bar/Cage Question In The AX Forum

[jyl]

OK, this might be "cross-posting" and feel free to tell me it is a no-no . . . but I am trying to research bolt-in roll bars/cages and I am not sure if I should ask in this forum (since it regards my 911) or in the AX/racing forum (since the usage would be DE and later TT). So, I posted my question in the AX forum and will simply post here a link to my question:

Different Bolt-In Roll Bars/Cages

Flame at will, but please consider answering my questions too!

[Lothar]

I had a bolt in cage in my car. The bolt-in nature is only valuable if you plan to switch cars and some welding is still required for the door bars. This was all fine as my car was 99% track car.

I highly recommend a roll bar or cage for driving on the track. Furthermore, never install a 5 pt harness in a car that does not have a roll bar or cage. In the event of a roll-over, your head becomes the highest point in the car below the descending roof. Forget harness bars!

Time Trial events will require a roll bar or cage. A local club requires a 4 point roll bar as minimum roll-over protection. Having at least a roll bar is great for no other reason than being able to install 5pt harnesses.

My cage might be available soon but I suspect it might not be worth shipping it to the West Coast.

Regarding suppliers, Safety Devices is excellent but more expensive. I cannot say anything about Auto-Power, as I have no experience with their products. I purchased my cage from Kirk racing Products. The price was great and I was quite pleased with the quality.

P.S. If you decide to go with a cage, you will have to make modifications to your door panels. Otherwise, stuff doesn't fit right and you won't be able to close your doors.

[GeorgeM]

I got my rollbar from OG racing. The price was reasonable (a couple years ago at least) and I am satisfied with the quality.

The bar fits very snugly against the roof and intrudes as little as possible on the sides. The bar bolts to the rear wheel well tops directly and to the sills just below the seat belt reels via nut plates that are welded to the car. This allows the rear seat footwell area to be unobstructed and also allows as much seat travel as possible, although it does restrict rear seat travel a bit. The sills are a much stronger mounting surface that the floorboards also.

This bar is definitely not an easily removable item. Once it's in, you're done until you want to sell the car if the buyer doesn't want it. Don't think about putting any passengers back there either. I even removed my rear seats and built an RS style shelf for weight savings and utility.

The bar has held up well, contributes to chassis strength and stiffness, and provides a bit of piece of mind on the track. It looks pretty good too, if the side panels and carpet are done right (I made custom side panels so I wouldn't have to cut the originals).

[Dutchie]

I have the safety devices cage but it need plates welded. In Europe you need a fia approved cage if you want to race your car. The safety devices has that and costs 500 Euro/Dollar here for just the rollbar. You can upgrade it to a full cage later if you want.

[jyl]

Thanks everyone. After thinking about it, a lot of reading here and on Rennlist, talking to some shops, and looking at pics of track wrecks, I've decided I've got to put a rollcage in my car if I'm going to spend much time on the track. I like my life, you know . . . so all your responses are very helpful.

[Lothar]

John,

It's great to see that you are placing some priority on safety. As I have discovered in the past week, cars are replaceable but their drivers are not.

I too plan to spend considerable time at the track. After insuring that I have the best safety equipment I can afford, I plan to take a slow and steady approach to improving my driving.

A humble approach to high performance driving will keep you from getting into trouble in the first place. If that fails, hopefully your equipment will save you.

[jyl]

By the way, some great harness articles at www.corner-carvers.com:

http://www.corner-carvers.com/wiki/index.php?Notes%20on%20Race%20Car%20Harnesses

http://www.corner-carvers.com/wiki/index.php?In-car%20Safety%20Issues

These seem like very expert people who know a lot about what protects and what doesn't in severe racing crashes.

[Slider79SC]

John,

Take a look at the DAS bolt in roll bars and cages. They are an excellent fit and they are true bolt in, no welding required. I installed one in our SC and it fit perfectly the first time and bolts to existing reinforced factory mounting points.

http://www.das-sport.com/

[RSupdate]

That's the same with me...I picked up a DAS bolt-in roll bar and it fit great, 1st try.

[masraum]

Man, I need a job making more money, Damn the IT market. I'm now making almost half what I was, and less than half of what I would probably be making considering how often I was getting raises before the bottom fell out. I'm just thankful that I found another job after being laid off.