Question(s) about my FD3S Cage (for NASA/SCCA)
 

Hello fellow members,

I am in the process of preparing one of my Rx7s to get a cage welded in and was curious as to what people recommend or suggest I get done to the cage.

Plan is to start with the NASA TTs then move up later on in life to the ST class.

My cage fabricator has built many cages, but has more expertise with rally cars.

If you could please give me suggestions or pics/diagrams on how I should go about having the fabricator build my cage I would appreciate it:icon_tup:. I will likely use my stock dash, but everything else will be removed and sold. The dash will only have the dash bar/s and the skin itself (along with gauges and ish).

My car is:
1993 Rx7 SSM
BASE NO SUNROOF


Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your input. If you need more information on my end please let me know :D.


-Nick

I would say build it to the most stringent rules set. Likely rally.

TT doesn't require a cage, so you can start there and then add the cage later.

you do want the more stringent cage, but it does need to follow the rules, there are specs and pics in the rules.

I read around 50 pages on the nasa rules, but could you link where you're referring to? I must not have seen the pics...

Thanks :)

Nick,

If you want you can stop by my house sometime and i can show you my cage and the rules and give you a real good idea of what will and won't meet NASA rules. I think putting a cage in the car now is a great idea but as mentioned a full cage is not necessary for TT, only for full racing.

A NASA Compliant Cage will always meet SCCA rules and most other sanctioning bodies. But SCCA "approved" cages occasionally do not meet NASA requirements. There are some important specific things the cage builder needs to know.

Sorry if I'm late, but is this Chad? If so, I've been talking with Damian about his setup and he too wants to give me his ideas.

Either way I'd be more than happy to stop by :).

I understand about not needing a full cage in it now, but id rather put one in now since it's under the knife currently.

Thanks in advance!

-Nick

yeah go look at Mr Lobsters car, its really nicely done.

I think it is a good idea to put in a cage for TT. You'll be driving as fast (or faster) than the W2W racers so safety is important. Most race track incidents are of the single car variety. Also you will find that your car's suspension will be easier to setup and tune with a cage because of the elimination of chassis flex.

From my observations NASA has more specific cage rules. Specifically in terms of the way the main hoop braced within the plain of the hoop. So you want your cage builder to adhere to what they specify. That way you are also SCCA compliant. The NASA cage rules are online https://nasa-assets.s3.amazonaws.com...282/2015.3.pdf Section 15.6

Note that NASA (and SCCA) diameter/wall thickness specs for 4130 and mild steel are the same. So there is no weight advantage to a chro-moly cage.

From what I have seen, a Rally cage seems to be designed to protect in the event of a rollover with less emphasis on side intrusion. A club racing cage need a little less bracing in the roof and more protection in the doors in my opinion.

^thanks for the link :).