rgus30

82 rx7, I was just woundering what people have in there cars....how much did ya pay for it and were did ya get it.
I think I am going to put one in my V-8 rx7
thanks for help

moremazda

iTrader: (4)

ioportracing.com

They sell Auto Power bolt it bars and cages. I know alot of people on this forum don't like the "idea" of a bolt in cage, and most of those people don't even have a cage.
The point is they are affordable, they have a reputation for quality and for fit, and if you want you can weld the cage in.

Ryan

BadAssRX-7

well im not a big fan of a cage...other than a cage in a race car. its a major PiTA to get in and out...ask david88vert he has 1. as 4 safty the cage is much better than a bar..... i guess if you want a little safty go for the bar. we in the s.e. rx7 club almost lost a member with a fc but the bar saved his ***.

Rx7carl

Cages in a street car will kill you in an accident. A rollbar however is an excellent saftey item if its properly mounted.

Rx7carl

Go with Kirk rollbar or Autopower, both companies have good reps.

Defprun

It is not like your car has enough power to justify having a roll bar in it.

JasonC79

RX7Carl,

So, how would a cage kill you in a street car? What data do you have to support this?

I work at Transportation Research Center (www.trcpg.com) and we have performed numerous tests. We REQUIRE cars that go over 100mph on our track to have cages installed.

Jason

rgus30

I am going full edelbrock RPM package W/ a shot of 150-200 NOS. SO I am thinkin it might need one in my book...just to be on the safeside.
so lets = this out 420hp W/an extra 150 or 200 NOS I think its 570 to 620 HP humm...... maybe bar atleast ya think hehehehe

851stgen12a

It really dosent matter how much power your car has if you somehow put it on the roof. I think all cars especially Trucks and SUV's should have roll bars.

As far as a cage killing you, Cages are designed for race cars were the driver is strapped in better and is wearing a helmet. I have seen reports of numerois deaths from the drivers head hitting the roll bar in an accident. Even with padding this could crack your skull.

As I can afford it I will have a roll bar in my rex, but Strongly disagree with putting a cage in your car.

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)

I will be putting a 6 point cage in my car, with the side bars desinged to be removable and replaceble with slide pins.

That way on the street It's just a 4 point, and I don't to worry about getting screwed up with it, and 6 point on the track with the helmet on.

Almost if not more important than a cage, is a good restraint system. It will also prevent you from hitting your roll cage in an accident and getting more screwed up.

I lost a good friend a while back in his Turbo FB. I posted it here

Everybody has told me (including the paramedic that went to him first) that he would have survived if he was properly strapped in via a 4 or 5 point harness.

Evil Aviator

I don't like bolt-in cages, so I had mine installed by a local SCCA race shop which specializes in RX-7's. The cost was about $1,700 for the 6-point Improved Touring cage with NASCAR-type side bars (unpainted), fire extinguisher and mount, window net and removable rod, 5-point SFI harness, custom aluminum fuel cell cover, electrical system kill switch, and some prep work. I think the cage alone is about $1,000 or so. You can save money by doing the stripping prep work yourself.

I agree. A Datsun B210 rolled over on my corner during an autocross. The car had maybe 100hp, and was only going about 30-40mph. Fortunately, it was race-prepped and had a roll cage.

The safety harness is the key. When not wearing a helmet, my head clears all of the bars in my rollcage. Just as long as my SFI harness and FIA seat hold, I will be OK in a street collision. Ironically, my head can contact the top side bar when wearing a helmet. I'm thinking about angling the seat toward centerline to correct this problem.

I been in actual roll-overs for my aviation training, and fully appreciate the advantage of 4, 5, and 6-point harnesses. A 3-point harness would absolutely fail under the conditions which I endured.

This would have been handy in my car, but unfortunately it is not legal for SCCA racing. Every organization is different, so it is best to check with the racing rules before installing a cage.

Rx7carl

Your question has already been answered by others. Also guys in an accident you could easily break bones if they slam into cage bars. Anything that any part of your body could contact should be padded. And if you must have a cage in your streetcar use a DOT approved 4 or 5 pt restraint please.

Defprun

Sorry...too me...pistons and the Rotary Experiment 7 dont go together too well...you know considering its a ROTARY EXPERIMENT SEVEN. So I am biased.

JasonC79

It's not the cage that would kill you... it 's the improper use of the cage- in other words, the cage is more dangerous UNLESS you have the other necessary equipment (harness and helmet).

Gotcha.

No harness, no helmet, head against cage = bye bye. Gotcha.

Agree...

Manntis

I've been in rollovers due to riding with idiots during my teen years (winter ice= bad... late night driving without due care and attention= bad... speeding in a Toyota pickup= bad.... all 3 at once= keeerunch)

The ReX has beefy B-pillars and in a low-speed rollover would probably fair quite well, but my glass moonroof scares the bejesus out of me in those conditions. A roll hoop behind the seats, braced by members going back to the rear strut mounts, would be a good idea.

DriveFast7

iTrader: (1)

10 point weld in cage here. NASCAR drivers bars. Got the high density good and expensive SFI padding everywhere I can make contact with it (including steering column.)

The cage, plus front and rear strut tower braces and a gauge panel (but no gauges) was $1500 installed. I spent a few weekends chipping out, wire wheeling, turpentining the sound deadening on the floor to prep.

A bolt in roll bar is better than nothing and you can install it yourself. Autopower seems to be the one of choice, haven't seen the Kirk in person, but his custom weld in cages are quality.

I can't believe some of the 500hp cars I see at the track drivers schools with no cage or common sense!

-bp-

851stgen12a

I personally wouldent put my trust into the SFI rated Foam. At the extreme points of a roll over the driver can experience forces of up to 50 g's for a fraction of a second. If you head comes into contact with the cage during that split second, the foam really isnt going to matter at all. I just wouldent trust it.

If I had a 500 horse car it would absolutly have at least a roll bar.

Manntis

The purpose of foam is to slow down the impact of head/bar, even for a fraction of a second - and that fraction can and does make a difference.

For example, Volvo discovered that in side-impacts it took 1/10th of a second for a doorskin to deform and allow the bumper of the oncoming vehicle to strike the 'side impact protection' bars vitrually unimpeeded...

corrogated cardboard, due to a quirk of it's design, takes 2/10ths of a second.

So they began placing sheets of waxed corrogated cardboard inside the doorskins of Volvos, and cab penetration dropped dramatically in side-impact testing.

Then GM took over and started parts-bin engineering what had been one of the safest marques on the planet, but that's another story...

Point is, the foam could mean the difference between a headache and blunt-force trauma induced compound skull fractures.

For street, however, one of the biggest safety devices is BUCKLE UP.

I've been in rollovers, side impacts, and head-on collisions - only one vehicle had an airbag (which broke the driver's arms, the most common injury to average sized males in airbag equipped cars). Those who didn't buckle up were flung about and crushed, whereas I have one - count 'em, ONE, small scar about 1cm long from flying glass.

DriveFast7

iTrader: (1)

Exactly Manntis. The padding slows down your body before the padding compresses completely and you bump the roll bar. Hit the high density padding with a baseball bat and watch and feel it slow down the bat. Hit the cheap stuff and feel the bat hit the bar.

The SFI high density foam has become the STANDARD in current professional auto racing. TRANSAM and SPEED World Challenge now REQUIRE it. I talked to the NASA tech inspector of San Francisco region and he strongly reccomends the high density padding after seeing years of accidents with the cheap stuff.

Are you refuting the SFI? The old $3.99 a stick cheap stuff is now obsolete. Gotta fork out $19.99 for the high density stuff now.

-bp-

Felix Wankel

Does anyone know where to find some pictures of an Autopower bar installed in a first gen? I want to see exactly where it connects, since I plan on getting one.

My mad skillz at image searching have turned up diddly.

851stgen12a

OK You guys are right. Mostly I worded that wrongly. I absolutly agree that the Foam padding is excelent!!

I just saying you cant really put a bunch of hope in it to save you, your still taking a risk.

Personally the only way I would drive a car with a full cage, is if it had 5 point harnesses and they were worn at all times. There is no substitute to buckeling up!!!

1st7heaven

Hey rgus30,

If I read this correctly, you also have a v8? You may also want to consider the strengthening(sp?) the cage will give you. That v8 will probably put a ton of stress on the little uni-body that was designed for a little 2rotor??? Check out my site and you will see the cages I have installed.

http://www.rotaryautosports.com/chassis.htm

This is the one in my car....not painted yet!!! In addition to what you can see, I also have the nascar style door bars, a bar under the dash, off of that, a couple bars go through the fire wall to the front strut towers. You can see more of it on this site.

http://members.cardomain.com/7heaven

Look through those pics.

Hey, also check out my pole on the second web site....kind of interesting???

my .02

coldy13

Same here. I could easily build a roll bar, and weld it in if I just knew the best mounting points, and pipe diameter/thickness to get. I plan on taking my car to the track from time to time, so I really want a roll bar and harness. I would also make a camera mount on it, that way I can share some cool videos with the rest of the forum

joeracer

For anyone interested, I have an Autopower bolt-in cage for sale. I changed classes and now have a custom weld-in cage.

-chuck-

851stgen12a

Wow extactually 1 year since this post was laid to rest.