What is your experience in the handling of the car before and after the installation of a roll cage? Please state if you installed a 4pt, 6pt, etc.

Is it worth the extra weight added to the car...which can be upwards of 90+ lbs. Is the difference in chasis flex that noticeable? And is the compromise between weight & safety worth the install?

My car is a weekend warrior for now, but is slowly transforming into a dedicated racecar since it no longer has its interior behind the seats, a/c, or heat :-( But like most, I want safe & fast. Not just fast.

 

If you're going to be street driving it I would suggest only getting a rollbar. If you get into an accident your head can impact the cage which will probably kill you, even with foam padding it won't absorb enough energy.

 

Will there be a noticeable difference in chasis stiffness with just a rollbar?

 

Yes.

 

What difference would you see with bolt in vs. weld in?

 

With a 4pt, probably not much. I've only been in a bolt-in 4pt in the FD. With coilovers, it was about as rigid as you would want a street based car. There is no need for anything more than a 4pt unless the car is for competition (i.e. drag or road course).

 

I know a guy who hit a pole in his FD at 80-100 or so. The foam padding saved his life, along with a full cage. As far as putting a cage in your car, most racing associations like scca will not let you on the track with no cage in a competitive setting.

 

Are the weight gains from a cage/rollbar worth it at the track? In other words will your heavier car produce quicker times from being able to hook better at the drag strip or from being able to react quicker at a road course?

 

Its more for safety than performance. If your looking for performance upgrades this is an expensive mod for little improvement in speed. You would be better off getting coilovers and tires or something out.

Running a roll bar/cage of some sort also offers a place to mount your racing harnesses.

 

Just like Cgotto6 said, you have to understand that the roll cage or roll bar isn't a performance part. it is there to do one thing: save your butt in the case of an accident. safety should be priority number one and performance positives and negatives should be collateral damage of adding the cage or bar. not to scare you, but that extra second or two off your lap time or split seconds off your drag time isnt worth risking your life. obviously the cage weighs more, but you would have the added assurance of knowing you are in the safest set up in the unfortunate event of the s**t hitting the fan.

i have the autopower 4pt race roll bar and for anyone looking for a roll bar, i would look elsewhere. RaceShop makes a good one as does Kirk Racing, from what i have heard. mine is however race legal and well built as far as quality goes. i just dont like the mounting points, but I feel confident in its quality in case i actually needed it. the weight isnt that bad, as i have various weight saving pieces here and there and my car weighs 'only' 2704lbs with the roll bar. as for torsional strength, it definitely feels better with the roll bar. mind you i also have a track tuned suspension set up that helped too.

this is some repeated information, but i hope that helped. stay safe and have fun out there.

 

To a degree...

A roll bar is there to add safety in the even of a roll over. A roll cage adds a little more roll over protection and also stiffens the chassis. Depending on how it is constructed (i.e. use of Nascar style door bars and such) it adds further protection for impact from side impacts for example. The level of on track safety will vary according to construction.

The value of a roll cage or roll bar for on street safety is debatable but I think most will agree that there is a real risk to running a roll bar or roll cage on the street

 

i completely agree with you, gracer7-rx7. i just feel that i would deal with being as safe as possible on the track first and have concerns of actual suspension and body roll performance or weight gains come as a afterthought. of course build quality would be an important factor, as would finding a reputable cage builder to build a custom cage. as we all know, safety is nothing to skimp on.

on the street, a roll cage or bar even with the FIA pads on is still a hard piece, and can definitely be fatal on the streets without a helmet. i am sure we have all heard horror stories. unfortunately, there is no real way to get around street safety with a cage unless you always wear a helmet. the harnesses can only hold you in so much too. You could do a seat with helmet wings, but this would be absurd on the streets as the blind spots they create are incredible.

once you are driving a car with a welded in multi point roll cage the car loses a significant amount of streetability. then again, it would be pretty funny to see someone at the grocery store trying to crawl out of their car. its a lot of work getting in and out of cars with cages, especially with the RX-7 being so little.

great points though. definitely something to consider in the decision.

 

Zum - I think we both share the same opinion. I just meant to comment or elaborate upon on the way you phrased that one comment so that it couldn't be misinterpreted to mean something else by someone who didn't understand these things.

 

ahhh. gotcha. i think we're all on the same page. forgive my over explanation.