I plan on tracking my car next year, and am thinking about a cage or a bar. I would also like a bit of protection when (not if) some bitch on her cell phone runs a red light and buries her Tahoe into me. Does it make a difference? Do they stiffen up the chassis pretty well? Are they worth it?

 

Yeah a roll cage would definetly stiffen the cars chassis up. Depending on what cage you used would determine the strength it provides. You could have a full cage or a half one. But definetely if you had a full cage it would help out. Its also a good thing if you are running under 13's because lots of places wont let you run if you dont have a cage. At least thats how it is in San Diego. So hope I helped a little. Good Luck!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hafftrak &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I plan on tracking my car next year...</TD></TR></TABLE>

What class are you going to be racing in?

Figure out what the requirements are for the class you are going to run in, and build a cage accordingly. You don't want to build a cage and then find out it's not legal for the class you want to race in.

 

Not any class in particular, just open track events and HPDE's. So I am pretty open as far as what I can do to it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nicks_jdmstyle_ef9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Its also a good thing if you are running under 13's because lots of places wont let you run if you dont have a cage. At least thats how it is in San Diego. So hope I helped a little. Good Luck!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think the drag strips around here require a cage on anything faster than a 12... not really a concern for me!

 

[gatherer=]WARNING: Rollcages and Street Cars don't mix.
I've seen too many posts. I've recieved too many PMs.

I want to set somethings straight. Roll cages and street cars don't mix. here's why. in a street cage you will not where a helmet. hell your not suppose to. with this said if you are in a collision you will bounce your head off the bars. you could put the best padding in the world on those bars but in the end you will still bounce your head off the bars and you will still be dazed and confused or dead. after wards garentee you will be bloodly. see the padding on roll cages is to be used in conjuction with a SA approved Snell helmet. this will help protect your head in a racing incident but in the end one crash and the helmet is garbage so if the helmet ends it's life after one crash why would you want to put your head through that without a helmet on.

There are so many things that could go wrong I highly recommend that you don't put a cage in your car. I also highly recommend staying away from 4 or 5 point harnesses even if you have a roll cage and the harness is installed properly. if you just have a roll bar and the harness installed in the even of a roll over you can have the A piller collaspe without any extra support there. there have been incidents at race tracks of this happening in those cases had the driver been wearing a 4 or 5 point harness it would have kept them in place. They were whereing the stock seat belts. had they been kept in place by a 4 or 5 point harness they would have been killed when the a pillers collasped. the 3 point stock harness alloed more movement which resulted in their body being moved out of the way with the collasping A piller.

now I know I'm going to be called a hypocrite for posting this. I own a car with a 4 point harness and a roll bar. exactly the stuff I'm telling you not to do. However in my case that car is not street driven unless going to or from a autoslalom now. I know this wasn't always the case but I knew these risks before installing anything in my car. if your car is street driven and only does occasional lapping days/solo1/solo2 then there is really no need for a cage. if I had a chance to do it all over again the cage wouldn't have gone in.
QUOTE]

Enough said!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rbjeepthing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">[gatherer=]in a street cage you will not where [sic] a helmet.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Beat me to it. That bar is so much harder than your head, it's not even funny.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by drdisco69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Beat me to it. That bar is so much harder than your head, it's not even funny.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I dunno, my head is pretty dense

So what about a bar instead of a cage? Like the Autopower Race/Roll bar:



Use the stock seat belt on the street, and the harness for track days?

 

how are you gonna hit your head on the bar if you have a harness to hold you to the seat, some people aren't tall enough for their head to touch the headliner when they sit in a race seat.

also, clearly a bar is the only thing you could hit your head on..... (sarcastic), whatabout smashing your head through the window, or getting pile drove into the headliner upside down. i bet thoes two would probably hurt as well.

 

Have you ever watched some of those crash tests? You get thrown around in an accident a lot more than you think you would. I saw one where a fully belted in dummy whacked their head on the outside of the door.

 

i replied to this 1st last night, but apparently the site failed to post it. or i was drunk. either way, it was very similar to the "roll bars without helmets don't mix" posts.

if you are concerned about some kind of rollover protection for hpde's in a street driven car, a 4pt bar that is completely behind your seat is a good place to start.

i'd recommend getting one made by a professional builder and have it built to spec for that part of a full cage, in case you decide to make the car a dedicated track car in the future and add too it. it will also make selling the bar, or the whole car, easier if it should come to that.

 

I agree with all the rollbar comments. I've hit my head on one once, and it was not funny.

HOWEVER

With the proper padding, in combo with a good seat and belts, it WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE.

It's all good and well... but have you ever seen a CRX v.s. Volvo accident? That "risky" roll bar -will- be the only thing between you and the front grille of a SUV, volvo or truck that would normally mean certain death.
You think a roll bar is hard? Try a bull bar instead.

 

That's one of the things that really got me thinking about it, I saw that report about cars getting t-boned by SUVs. You could watch the dummies' heads go right through the grill of the other vehicle. Scary stuff.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbo Dan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">whatabout smashing your head through the window</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would rather go through a window, dissipating energy slowly, than hitting a steel bar that won't move at all, and watching the cracks in my skull and spine dissipate the energy... Glass is soft next to steel.

I don't disagree that a cage provides extra protection against an impact, but your head is still going to hit the SUV without a window net. And a 3 point belt is not enough restraint to keep your head away from the bars of the cage, you need at least a 5 point. Even then, most people's heads are still in reach of the bar, especially under crash conditions. Roll bar without helmet = bad.

 

Are there any harness bars available on the marked?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hafftrak &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's one of the things that really got me thinking about it, I saw that report about cars getting t-boned by SUVs. You could watch the dummies' heads go right through the grill of the other vehicle. Scary stuff.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I Got T-Boned by a Jeep Cherokee. Having first hand experience, I might have been better off to have a roll cage, or some sort of reinforcement. Look closely where the metal on my car bends in at the backseat, and where the passenger side door creases in. My friend got her leg pinned in between the metal and the seat, and I smacked my head on the passenger side door.

Looking at my old hatch Maybe I should just drive around with full cage and helmet

 

Cage+padding will save your life. End of story.

No padding = bad... I agree. But I'll take my chances with a hunk of metal besides my head over a completely deformed passenger compartment any day.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rbjeepthing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I want to set somethings straight. Roll cages and street cars don't mix. ... in the end you will still bounce your head off the bars and you will still be dazed and confused or dead.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Got any data to back this up?

I know i've read plenty of posts aobut it being dangerous with little data/facts supporting it, just theories.

 

Just get a a Roll bar, and a 5 point harness atleast 3" and you'll be good..

Don't wear a harness with out a roll bar..

Make sure the roll bar has a harness bar.

install your harness properly, with all the correct hardware..

Don't put in a Cage, if its a street car..

and every one should be happy...

if you want to make the track officials really happy, get a Hans..

 

I have one of these autopower bolt on roll bars for sale if anyone is interested...

 

Pm'd ya JaredMonkey...for future reference dont post "forsale" or "want to buy" items in this part of the forum...It's not allowed...you have to wait for your trial period to be over...then you can use honda-tech marketplace...

 

So what does anyone think would be a safe way to protect yourself in case of a t-bone accident in a crx? esp an 88-89 that doesnt have those bars in the doors?

 

Roll bar with side impact beams good seats, good seatbelts good seats and good seats.

 

Defensive driving will SAVE your life: Turn down your music, don't look at your friends while you drive, look both ways at intersections, always give other cars the right of way, be patient, don't speed on congestive streets and through intersections, don't drive through blinds spots. Be responsible and safe.

I plan on running an autopower 4 point with harness bar; it is impossible to bang your head off of that roll bar. How likely is it for someone to roll a crx? I might buy a uweld kit and have someone build some impact bars.