does a cage stiffen the body?
 

will a cage act kinda like a strut bar? Whats type of cage would I need if ran 10's (1/4 mile). Also Im very conserned about the wieght of a cage, any ideas? If anybody has a pic of a cage in a fd please post it. thanks..

if done properly, it will tie together the chassis and make it more rigid. it's like a giant strut bar, that can stiffen the chassis and save your ass at the same time.

Some people consider the factor of safety from a cage as a secondary bonus to stiffening the chassis for improved handling. These are usually the people who havn't been involved in serious incidents though.

If you are going to be running 10's then you will be required to have a cage and it will have to be NHRA legal. So that will dictate a lot of the design. But yes a good cage will definitely stiffen the chassis. A full cage, not just a roll hoop, will probably weigh over 100lbs.
Good luck

Im not really worried about the track given me any problems about my time. The tracks here are "redneck" tracks. I have seen people get away with painting pvc pipe and wraping it in cushing and throwing it in the car and calling it a cage:D .
I most worried about saving my life and weight but was just curius if it stiffened the body.
This is a daily driven street car, so what type of cage would I need. I want something that looks good and wiegh not to much. I want to stay around the 100 lb thing.
Does anybody have any pics of a cage in a 3rd gen?? I would really like to see the cages first. thanks

Sometimes cages can kill you. Make sure that your melon isn't even close to the bar if you get one that goes by that area. Even with padding on it, without a helmet if can bust your skull or worse.

The rest I'll assume you don't already have. Depending on local laws, see about getting a racing seat to lower your body in the car as low as the floor will let you go. With the cage you'll have a suitable place to hook up a 4 or 5 point harness. Schroth harnesses are the only ones that I know of that are D.O.T. legal. Even then, it might depend on the model of belt that you get as the entire lineup of their belts might not be D.O.T. legal.

If you get a cage, sometimes called a rollbar, that just just is a hoop with several mounting points that is all behind the passenger area then you will not have to worry about whacking your grape on the bar up there.

yea i talk to guy that got in a wreck(rearended) and he busted his head becuase of the cage. Im not sure about the racing seats and harnesses. I know there are some goods/bads of harnesses but I really dont like the wayt they look. Is it possible to lower the stock seats?

The cage I have is attached in 8 places. It weighs about 130lbs. Once the scanner is hooked up I will post a pic or two of mine.

after I installed a rollbar in my 85, I can jack up a rear corner of my car to swap a wheel, and do both rears at the same time... there just isn't any flex back there....

Dan

does anyone have the m2 roll bar for fd. i have a sunroof model and wanted to know if anyone had the m2 and could send me some pics.

so how much for a 8 point cage?

For what? NHRA legal 10 second passes or road racing?

Jegs has NHRA legal (I believe, don't have their rule book handy) cages for the 2nd gen, didn't look to see if they have 3rd gen cages.

SCCA/NASA legal 8 points, Kirk or Autopower sell bolt in/weld in kits, or you can get a custom built cage.

Costs run from 300-400 on up.

PaulC

A 8pt. chrome molly cage only weighs 35lbs. and is legal for 9sec. timeslips.

Also, one other point, the roll bar that M2 and Kirk racing sells is NOT NHRA legal. I've already discussed this with both places prior to getting a cage. They use tubing that isn't as thick as required by NHRA.

if its street driven, id suggest a four pt. roll cage. it only goes behind you, saveing your life and weight. going over the bars that go by the doors in an 8pt. (most of em any ways) is quite annoying after a while. a four pt. also makes the chassis quite stiff as well.

ive hurd crommolly cages are light, but diddnt expect an 8pt to weight that little

got any link's to distributors?

I find that extremely hard to believe, since I just installed a 6pt bolt-in that weighed close to 100#'s. Chromoly, in the diameters required for a rollcage, is pretty hefty. I seriously doubt a "cage" made out of aluminum would even weigh that little.

Then you obviously arn't around too many drag racers. A cage weighing 100lbs? Are you filling it with concrete?! Go to a reputable fabricater and you'll see for yourself.

all racing sanctioning groups have different rules with regards to safety equipment. check the rule book of the sanctioning body(NHRA, NASA, SCCA, etc) before starting work on cages and the like. cages can vary dramaticly in weight by substituting a thinner walled chromoly tubing in place of the thicker walled DOM mild steel tubing. this is allowed in some racing groups and not others. SCCA and NASA don't let you use thinner tubing when using chromoly so there would be no weight difference, but the NHRA may allow the use of thinner walled chromoly when used in their required cages. read the rules and check with fellow racers in the series you intend to race in before starting any work.

I doubt they're reputable if they tell you an 8pt cage weighs 35lbs.... I'll go out an weigh the other Autopower cage I've got to be sure, but it can't weigh much less than that.

Did the NHRA make exhaust pipe legal for rollcages? :D

Can you tell me the tube diameter and wall thickness for this cage? This will obviously play a big part. The weight I listed was for approx. 60' of steel tubing, 1.5" dia. x .120" wall @ 1.769lbs/ft = 100.83 lbs, not including mounting plates or welding add rod.
60' in an FC should get you a main roll hoop, a rear "x" to the top of the rear struts, horizontal harness bar, over door bars, side impact door bars, halo, under dash, and two bars to go through the firewall to the front strut towers.

wtf, this thread has gotn way over my head. I just wanted a cage so I can run 10s at the track and save my life :D.
crome moly deal seems light. Anybody have a clue about the cost?
Again I would like to see some pics.

Cost depends on material used, skill of fabricator, etc. There are pics of a legal chrome moly NHRA cage at www.msfabrication.com . Click on "93 RX7. That one also has swing outs on both sides.

100lbs is more like it. The more I think about it, the more impossible it would be for a full cage to weigh 35 lbs. A rear hoop, maybe, but not a full cage.

I'm not 100% familiar with NHRA specs, but it can't be that far off SCCA specs, which I am familiar with. And no cage I've ever installed, or helped install, has been anywhere near 35 lbs. All have been chromoly or DOM tubing.

I paid $110.CDN for the material and borrowed a tube bender from a guy at the racetrack then had my bf's brother weld it in. Not sure how much it would cost to have someone else do it but I don't think it would be as cheap.