The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Roll cage
Any rough estimates on what an installed Lemons-legal roll cage should cost?
The only builder I found near Birmingham quoted $2,200, which seems high - was expecting about $1500. Looking for other builders in the Georgia/Alabama/Mississippi area, but would like to know if that is the going rate (allowing for regional and vehicle differences).
Any recommended builders in the southeast?
Mine was about what you were quoted up here in Ohio. Seems to be the going rate for a pro built Lemons cage.
I've paid as low as $1500 and as high as $3500. $2200 isn't bad, as long as they deliver something that meets the Lemons criteria within a reasonable time frame. I'd print out the "How to not fail tech" PDF and give it to them, as well as going over every weld/bend with the guide in hand before accepting delivery. It's not that cage builders are bad or incompetent, but they do get used to building cages for whatever series they do most of their cages for, so it may need some tweaking to get it right for Lemons tech.
Thanks for the replies. I did email the builder a copy of the Lemons requirements, both the written cage specs and the PDF file, so they would know what specs I needed them to meet. They said $2200 and would need the car for a week.
Guess I was just thinking a little low.
Anybody have good or bad things to say about the "Roll Cage Components" Lemons cage kits? Or the Rhodes Race Cars cage kits? I realize the "I have a buddy who is a great welder" approach is risky if the friend hasn't done roll cages before, but the $1600 difference would allow for a do-over (or two).
It seems obvious that it would be smarter to mount the seat after the cage, but that raises the issue of making sure the seat will fit after the cage is in...
.....Anybody have good or bad things to say about the "Roll Cage Components" Lemons cage kits? .......
Do a search, lots of "good" and "bad".
I purchased a kit from them and without hesitation I would get another. No kit is 'perfect' and they don't normally come with instructions. Some joints will need trimming or adjustments. You will NEED to have someone that has experience in fitment and welding to make it work. Mine only took about a week longer to ship than estimated, but others had longer times, as that depends on how many orders he has. With that, don't expect to get it the day after you call him.
Bill
I've had two from RCC and my tuner has had several from Rhodes, with good reports on both vendors.
Roll Cage Components will also build a custom cage if you drop it off. They've installed both of mine and they were quick and reasonably priced both times. They took one day and charged about $1500 for the cage in the Electrica, but that was a very simple cage. They took a little longer and charged a lot more for the Mercedes, but that was a full Rally-Sport cage, which is a lot more complicated.
It seems obvious that it would be smarter to mount the seat after the cage, but that raises the issue of making sure the seat will fit after the cage is in...
It may seem obvious, but it is incorrect. The seat should be present during cage layout.
And have your shortest and tallest guys there to check, recheck, check for a third time, and check again for good measure the distances you get if you are using a seat slider.
$2000-$2500 is a common price range. The quality of “cage builders” in this price range is quite variable. I would recommend that anyone who you choose to build a cage for you can provide references of people who road race cars with the series you plan to race in. I would talk to those guys and see if they had any issues, and if you can look at their cage. This assumes you REALLY know what you are looking at and understand the rules for the series. It also assumes you can look at the same model of car as what you plan to build.
We paid $2500 for our Lemons cars cage and had to still make some improvements (this was 7 years ago). We paid $6000 for a cage for our Spec e46 and that looks like a work of art. You don’t have to spend $6K, but what we needed done wasn’t going to be done as well by the guy who cost $2500
RCC is great. I've used 3 cages from them. All require cutting and trimming, but bends are where you want them. If you screw something up he's quick to send a replacement, but allow several weeks for the initial cage. Mine took around 6 weeks or so to receive. Also, being a good welder is not a good cage builder. If you do it yourself find someone who has done one before to get advice, preferably a Lemons team who knows what to expect at tech.
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