The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Dumb roll cage question
So I have what I will consider a dumb question.
The caddy of team pimpalicious is a 4 door. When we think about the roll cage, does the bulkhead go between the doors or in the back?
Also, do bars have to go across the doors so you step over them?
The main hoop, what I think you are calling a bulkhead, should be as close to the driver as possible. It's what is going to keep the roof, ground, or car, off his head should you roll.
Door bars go across the door openings to keep cars from entering the driving compartment and hitting the driver in the event of a t-bone. They should idealy be about bumper height.
in a related question, is there a legal means (meaning SCCA, NASA or FIA legal) whereby a cage can be installed in a 4-door sedan that would allow access to the rear seats so car can still be used as a 4-seater on the road? IE: B-pillar hoop plus a C-pillar hoop (maybe door bars and X brace on both) THEN the rear legs to trunk/rear shock towers?
in a related question, is there a legal means (meaning SCCA, NASA or FIA legal) whereby a cage can be installed in a 4-door sedan that would allow access to the rear seats so car can still be used as a 4-seater on the road? IE: B-pillar hoop plus a C-pillar hoop (maybe door bars and X brace on both) THEN the rear legs to trunk/rear shock towers?
If you have space to put a full one piece secondary C-pillar hoop that would be positioned above the rear passengers head and tie that into the main drivers hoop and run your rear supports off of the rear hoop down to the struts you should be O.K.
There are examples of this in off road 4 wheelers Here is one of a Jeep Cherokee
http://www.rockhard4x4parts.com/xj-2door.html
The rear supports are inverted in these pictures, but you can clearly see two main hoops. If you do this properly it would look pretty cool and Uber safe.
I have not seen any specs from SCCA that include rear passenger information though.
<insert standard warning about caged vehicles for street use regarding unprotected heads, seatbelts (as opposed to harnesses) and steel tubing>
<insert standard warning about caged vehicles for street use regarding unprotected heads, seatbelts (as opposed to harnesses) and steel tubing>
+1 I forgot that part.
in a related question, is there a legal means (meaning SCCA, NASA or FIA legal) whereby a cage can be installed in a 4-door sedan that would allow access to the rear seats so car can still be used as a 4-seater on the road? IE: B-pillar hoop plus a C-pillar hoop (maybe door bars and X brace on both) THEN the rear legs to trunk/rear shock towers?
The rear stays are there to make sure the front hoop does not fold backwards in the event of a rollover. To provide maximum protection, they must be there and attached to the main hoop. The longer the distance to the front hoop, the more likely they will fail. This is also one of the reasons that there can be no bends in the rear stays. By adding a second hoop, you are lengthening the distance to the front hoop and adding a bend to the rear stays.
Have I seen something like this pass Lemons tech - yes. Would I drive it at Lemons - maybe. Would I take it at speed at turn 10 at Summit Point - not a chance in hell.
So, I guess my dumb question continues. Do I need to put in door bars or basically a hoop that then follows the roof line, then to basically the a pillar?
Do I need to put in door bars or basically a hoop that then follows the roof line, then to basically the a pillar?
I don't follow your either/or question.
Yes, you have to put in door bars. These are either an X or two (or three) parallel door bars. These are sometimes bent to stick into the door cavity to give a little more room between your neighbor's bumper and your left leg.
Yes, you need some sort of bar that goes around the roof line and down the A pillars. This can either be a U-shaped bar at the roof (a "halo") plus bars that go down the A pillars, or a bar that goes across the top of the door and down the A pillar, plus a bar that connects this bar to the mirror image bar on the passenger side (above the windshield).
I would strongly suggest that you do not build your own cage if you are askign these pretty basic questions. If you have good welding skills, buy a pre-bent LeMons-legal cage kit and install it yourself. Showing up with a screwed up cage at tech could wreck your day. Crashing with a screwed up cage could wreck a longer period of time.
I've got to be with Dan on this one. Take your car to a shop that cages for SCCA and/or NASA races and/or buy an SCCA legal cage that you can weld in.
You only need door bars for the driver. And like other's said, have it professionally done. I've seen cars get put on the trailer because of badly made cages, with nastier welds. Bye-bye entry fee. Just because we race $500 cars doesn't mean they don't check things.
I am going to have a cage made, just trying to understand a little better. We have 6 big ass guys and none of us are able to do the dukes of hazards routine to get in the car.
You can angle the door bars downward toward the front (rake) so it is easier to get into the car. We do this on most of our cages. This allows you to get your feet into the car while still providing protection higher up in the seat area..
Also, install a removable (quick release) steering wheel, makes it WAY easier to shoehorn big guys into a racecar
Also, if you do your door bars NASCAR-style (so that they bend out into the area created when you skin the doors), you'll have plenty of room for ingress/egress from the seat without having to go all Duke Boys. We had a diagonal bar back when we were required to only have 1 bar and it was kind of a pain in the butt, but we switched to NASCAR-style door bars when the regs changed this year to require 2 door bars and it made the cockpit of our not-so-roomy MR2 much more comfortable for us more husky members of the team. Additionally, the NASCAR-style bars are safer for the driver in the event of a t-bone event. Cheers.
I put a little bend in the upper door bars ( maybe 20° ) 12" from the rear hoop and it is super easy to get in/out the car.
KT
I am going to have a cage made, just trying to understand a little better. We have 6 big ass guys and none of us are able to do the dukes of hazards routine to get in the car.
Where are you? I'm sure one of the local teams would be happy to help you out and show you what worded for them.
But yeah. You should expect to hollow out the doors and run the door bars into where the door was.
I am in Northern Virginia, but the car will be in Richmond
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Dumb roll cage question