Steve91

I'm ready to buy a cage and want some feedback on your satisfaction, or lack there of with your cage.

Below are my current options. Fit and finish more important than price.

Feedback on the cage you have would be appreciated.

ITACivic

Are you going road racing? You might wanna check you rule book. Spend the money and get the right cage for your saftey. I hope to never test my satisfaction of my cage.

carl_aka_carlos

yeah....what sort of racing are we talking about here?

Steve91

The cage must be SCCA/NASA approved. It only needs to be legal (i.e. allowed in the rules) for e-prepared AutoX. The main reason I want it, however, is for attending HPDE's and open track days. Autocross doesn't worry me, its the open track days that make me nervous.

Cal

Kirk Weld In

civicrr

...but what happens if you want to race the WCHC & your cage isn't legal? Make it a 'roadrace' legal cage!

smokin rubber

sounds like all you need right now is a "roll bar"

Steve91

Yes. I want it "road race" legal is all aspects, within reason.

Kamin

what west coast honda challenge? hehehe

and kirk weld in.
not that expensive and peace of mind when you do wind up racing.

Angry Joe

Is this car a daily driver? I've heard bad things about cages in helmet-less collisions

Steve91

No, it's a trailer queen.

Crack Monkey

Custom welded if you have the money. Otherwise, Kirk and Autopower get the job done. Kirk might fit a bit better in a gutted car, but you'd have to call and ask.

Tyson

basically these are your options. if you cant get a custom cage because of cost, then go for a bolt in. i think you knew this tho, im not sure what you are expecting a poll to inform you.

i prefer autopower. judging by ITR232's pics of his Kirk cage, it seems to have both the rear arms anchor to near the rear of the hatch to close to the center of the main hoop. there is also a bar that anchors somewhere near the passenger footwell plate that goes up to the center of the main hoop to counter the rear bars. do a search for his good pics. personally, i dont like this but maybe and quite probably, they know what theyre doing for this radical design to be better than the conventional design that has the two rear bars go straight back from the main hoop bends and anchor to the wheel wells. i just dont see the passenger bar as necessary if you didnt have to connect the rear bars so close to the center of the main hoop. plus, if you get rear ended, since the anchor plates are closer to the rear, you lose that crumple zone and will transmit more energy directly to the rest of the car and cage. anyway, thats just my thoughts. some ppl dont like the quality of autopowers small welds, but i think its suitable and quality shows in the consistency of the bead. but i dont have any welding experience, so i guess im not a good judge.

the thing i do suggest if you get the autopower cage is get the nascar door bar option. but then again, youre not trailering the car, so i guess thats not an option. i just dont like how the door beam stay really low, and doesnt seem as effective if it were a couple inches higher. perhaps you should just weld in your own bar a little higher and a bit diagonal, it wont get in too much of the way when getting in and out of the car daily. trust me, i know.


[Modified by Tyson, 11:01 PM 10/17/2002]

Steve91

I'm looking for feedback on quality and fit. I've only had custom cages in the past in my other cars. If the Kirk or Autopower are of good quality, then tell me that. If they're not, then post that too.




[Modified by Steve91, 10:46 PM 10/17/2002]

Crack Monkey

They are both good quality. The only problem is they are usually designed for cars with full interiors (Showroom Stock used to require bolt-in cages). So, in a gutted car, you can get the cage closer to the unibody if you go custom. Not really a problem, but nice for head clearance reasons in some chassis.

As for the Kirk bar's rear supports, I have seen them done both ways (to trunk and to rear wheel humps). It's a matter of preference. The petty bar (from main hoop to passenger footwell) is there for extra safety and rigidity - it's not an option on the Autopower, but could be easily added by any competent welder.

The other issue is weight. This may not apply to the CRX, but the Miata and RX-7 (FB) require two different tubing thicknesses in SS trim and IT trim. Getting them down to IT weight allows the use of thinner tubing. The Autopower (and probably Kirk too) use the thicker tubing, so will weigh a bit more than a custom cage.

Mr Furball

When did this come out. Thought it was ECHC

martini

werd.

I'm suprised no one ever suggests Art Morrison cages.