Roll Cage with full interior??
Roll Cage with full interior??
Hey guys i am starting to get alittle more serious about racing some road courses but i want to keep my interior in tack since i like to take all my friends out still on the weekends so we have an awesome car to drive. So i was wondering if anyone knows of a roll cage like this or if i need to just ditch the rear seat? pics would also be great!
Thanks, Ben
Thanks, Ben
i had a full interior with a custom weld in cage.. i had the seats in it just because i felt it looked better, i had to modify them a little to get them to fit though. i wouldnt reccomend having people in the back seat if you have a caged car though.. if you got into an accident it wouldnt be pretty
There should NEVER be anyone in the back of a car with a roll bar or cage. Even if there is no crossbar it is not safe AT ALL.
If you wouldnt risk being back there, then unless you don't like your friends too much I wouldn't have anyone sitting back there unless its my dog or something.
In any accident, whether it be side impact, rear end, front, or a roll the people in the back will bang anything and everything on those bars. And padded or not their head will cave in before a steel bar will.
So if having passengers in the back is important to you then don't get a roll bar. A roll bar/cage is for safety. And putting someone in danger in the back kind of defeats the purpose don't u think?
Best way to do it is if you are getting a cage or roll bar ....take the seats out so your friends won't even try sitting in the back. If for some reason you do need to take a trip with people in the back then it will take a couple hours to remove the roll bar and put the seats back in for the trip, but in no way would I lever let anyone I care about sit back there.
And while we're on this topic, don't drive a 6-point cage on the street. I am specifically talking about A-pillar bars. Roll cages are designed to protect people that are wearing helmets. Once again your head is softer than steel and although cages look cool, your head won't once it hits that bar and believe me it will. It will split you head open like a melon.
And when and if you do get a 4-pt roll bar, meaning the whole thing is behind the two front seats, get SFI padding, not the cheap styrofoam looking stuff. It is expensive, but in the event of a crash you will be happy you spent the money. A cage/roll bar can be very safe when used properly, but can actually make your car more unsafe if you do not take the proper precautions.
If you wouldnt risk being back there, then unless you don't like your friends too much I wouldn't have anyone sitting back there unless its my dog or something.
In any accident, whether it be side impact, rear end, front, or a roll the people in the back will bang anything and everything on those bars. And padded or not their head will cave in before a steel bar will.
So if having passengers in the back is important to you then don't get a roll bar. A roll bar/cage is for safety. And putting someone in danger in the back kind of defeats the purpose don't u think?
Best way to do it is if you are getting a cage or roll bar ....take the seats out so your friends won't even try sitting in the back. If for some reason you do need to take a trip with people in the back then it will take a couple hours to remove the roll bar and put the seats back in for the trip, but in no way would I lever let anyone I care about sit back there.
And while we're on this topic, don't drive a 6-point cage on the street. I am specifically talking about A-pillar bars. Roll cages are designed to protect people that are wearing helmets. Once again your head is softer than steel and although cages look cool, your head won't once it hits that bar and believe me it will. It will split you head open like a melon.
And when and if you do get a 4-pt roll bar, meaning the whole thing is behind the two front seats, get SFI padding, not the cheap styrofoam looking stuff. It is expensive, but in the event of a crash you will be happy you spent the money. A cage/roll bar can be very safe when used properly, but can actually make your car more unsafe if you do not take the proper precautions.
Originally Posted by JDMevoBOOST
There should NEVER be anyone in the back of a car with a roll bar or cage. Even if there is no crossbar it is not safe AT ALL.
If you wouldnt risk being back there, then unless you don't like your friends too much I wouldn't have anyone sitting back there unless its my dog or something.
In any accident, whether it be side impact, rear end, front, or a roll the people in the back will bang anything and everything on those bars. And padded or not their head will cave in before a steel bar will.
So if having passengers in the back is important to you then don't get a roll bar. A roll bar/cage is for safety. And putting someone in danger in the back kind of defeats the purpose don't u think?
Best way to do it is if you are getting a cage or roll bar ....take the seats out so your friends won't even try sitting in the back. If for some reason you do need to take a trip with people in the back then it will take a couple hours to remove the roll bar and put the seats back in for the trip, but in no way would I lever let anyone I care about sit back there.
And while we're on this topic, don't drive a 6-point cage on the street. I am specifically talking about A-pillar bars. Roll cages are designed to protect people that are wearing helmets. Once again your head is softer than steel and although cages look cool, your head won't once it hits that bar and believe me it will. It will split you head open like a melon.
And when and if you do get a 4-pt roll bar, meaning the whole thing is behind the two front seats, get SFI padding, not the cheap styrofoam looking stuff. It is expensive, but in the event of a crash you will be happy you spent the money. A cage/roll bar can be very safe when used properly, but can actually make your car more unsafe if you do not take the proper precautions.
If you wouldnt risk being back there, then unless you don't like your friends too much I wouldn't have anyone sitting back there unless its my dog or something.
In any accident, whether it be side impact, rear end, front, or a roll the people in the back will bang anything and everything on those bars. And padded or not their head will cave in before a steel bar will.
So if having passengers in the back is important to you then don't get a roll bar. A roll bar/cage is for safety. And putting someone in danger in the back kind of defeats the purpose don't u think?
Best way to do it is if you are getting a cage or roll bar ....take the seats out so your friends won't even try sitting in the back. If for some reason you do need to take a trip with people in the back then it will take a couple hours to remove the roll bar and put the seats back in for the trip, but in no way would I lever let anyone I care about sit back there.
And while we're on this topic, don't drive a 6-point cage on the street. I am specifically talking about A-pillar bars. Roll cages are designed to protect people that are wearing helmets. Once again your head is softer than steel and although cages look cool, your head won't once it hits that bar and believe me it will. It will split you head open like a melon.
And when and if you do get a 4-pt roll bar, meaning the whole thing is behind the two front seats, get SFI padding, not the cheap styrofoam looking stuff. It is expensive, but in the event of a crash you will be happy you spent the money. A cage/roll bar can be very safe when used properly, but can actually make your car more unsafe if you do not take the proper precautions.
Thank you for that i didnt even think about it and i like my friends alot and id rather not kill anyone.
I have an 8 point rollbar in my Malibu.. I removed the rear seat and would never consider letting anyone ride back there.
my 8 point bar was custom, it was mounted far enough back so it was safe to ride in without a helmet, but I have to always wear a racing harness anyway which is a huge uncomfortable inconvenience, but if I didnt, in a bad enough accident I could shift enough to hit the hoop bar even though its nowhere near my head in a normal driving position.
Our cars are 4 door sedans, makes sense to keep the rear seat and let people ride in it. I'd forego a bar or cage unless it was something you could remove when your not racing.
my 8 point bar was custom, it was mounted far enough back so it was safe to ride in without a helmet, but I have to always wear a racing harness anyway which is a huge uncomfortable inconvenience, but if I didnt, in a bad enough accident I could shift enough to hit the hoop bar even though its nowhere near my head in a normal driving position.
Our cars are 4 door sedans, makes sense to keep the rear seat and let people ride in it. I'd forego a bar or cage unless it was something you could remove when your not racing.
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Another good thing to remember is that 99% of harnesses are not legal on the street. They for one have expiration dates and you should always make sure they are not expired. The material harnesses are made out of break down and allow more stretch over time, so best thing to do is check those belts every once and a while to make sure. Same with fixed back seats, they have expiration dates too.
Harnesses on the street is usually not a good idea because it hinders you from doing the over the shoulder look in a lane switching situation.
And for malibujack...if you can shift upward and are concerned, look into a five point harness and fixed back seat with 5th hole. The 5th point should be aligned in line with the spine and a bit further back from the hole, not sure how many inches exactly, but when i set it up on the race car there was an exact inch amount.
Harnesses on the street is usually not a good idea because it hinders you from doing the over the shoulder look in a lane switching situation.
And for malibujack...if you can shift upward and are concerned, look into a five point harness and fixed back seat with 5th hole. The 5th point should be aligned in line with the spine and a bit further back from the hole, not sure how many inches exactly, but when i set it up on the race car there was an exact inch amount.
Actually My car is already set up that way, but I was Illustrating what could happen on the street with an improper setup.. The main problem is, anyone who drives on the street with 5 point harnesses, never cinches them down adequately because it hinders movement too much.. Even I'm guilty of it.. For the first year I drove the car with the harnesses correctly tightened, now I wear the lap belt only because its just a PITA and I regret ever putting a bar and harnesses in the car. The one thing that makes me feel a bit better is the hoop is far enough back that it would not likely hit my head on it. Though the odds are pretty good I'd end up hitting something else thanks to the harness not being worn properly.
I actually don't drive the car very often because of that concern, and also because its scary enough of a ride to cause passengers to giggle like schoolgirls when they ride with me.
I actually don't drive the car very often because of that concern, and also because its scary enough of a ride to cause passengers to giggle like schoolgirls when they ride with me.
Ok here is the thing. When people refer to "cage" that usually means 6-point and up. This means that there are bars running forward from the main hoop and usually through the dash or in front of it. With any car running bars to the dash it would be very unintelligent to drive on the street with the car because I assume you aren't wearing a helmet on the street. If you get in a crash and your head hits that front A-pillar bar with your head you can only imagine how bad you will be hurt. Even with the proper SFI rated padding, it is designed for use of a helmet.
For anyone that wants rollover protection in a street car, you should be looking at a 4-pt "rollbar" ..."rollbar" refers to rollover protection that has bars only behind the two front seats. So this is what most people have in their street cars when u see bars in there. It has a main hoop at the B-pillar and usually two diagonal bars coming down to the rear seat area. This is safe for the street as long as you DO NOT HAVE passengers in the rear.
For ANY style "rollbar" or "roll cage" it is NEVER safe to have passengers in the rear, period. I don't care whether they beg you or whatever to let them sit in the back. It IS NOT safe. There is no question about it. So if you want to retain a five seater than a rollbar or cage is not for you. If you dont mind losing three seats in the back then go for it. To make it easier on your friends just remove the seats so they dont even think about going back there.
I hope this clears this up.
Yes I am aware that plenty of people run 6-pt cages on the street with no helmet. Some people are willing to sacrifice their safety and their passengers to look cool. But I guarantee in an accident they will wish they didnt have bars in front of them. If you have a full race car that you tow to the track then hey do whatever you want.
But I will reitterate again that harnesses (unless specified for street use) are NOT SAFE on the street. Whether it be with a roll bar or with a harness bar it is not safe. Just like MalibuJack stated, when you are using harnesses it limits your movement. When tightened properly you cannot lift your right shoulder off the seat to look at your left blindspot when switching lanes. You can try this in your car while parked. Try to look at your blind spot without lifting your right shoulder off the seat.....it will not happen. Unless your neck is like the exorcist, it will not allow you to do so. So what most people do is loosen the shoulder straps of the harness to allow movement. Sounds harmless enough, but now you have renedered the harnesses unsafe. Because you loosened them, in an impact your torso will be thrown forward in a crash instead of strapped to the seat. This will most likely cause lacerations to your abdomen. Moral of this long story is that for the street THE STOCK SEAT BELTS ARE THE SAFEST. On track you can choose whatever floats your boat.
For my street/race car I have a four point roll bar and clip in harnesses. So while on the street I use the stock belts and when I get to the track I clip the harness in.
Sorry for the rant, but hopefully people can learn a little bit from this. What is most scary is even when at HPDE, most instructors and safety inspectors overlook unsafe setups. So basically you have to keep your own skull safe. Nobody else cares enough to do that for you. So be smart.
For anyone that wants rollover protection in a street car, you should be looking at a 4-pt "rollbar" ..."rollbar" refers to rollover protection that has bars only behind the two front seats. So this is what most people have in their street cars when u see bars in there. It has a main hoop at the B-pillar and usually two diagonal bars coming down to the rear seat area. This is safe for the street as long as you DO NOT HAVE passengers in the rear.
For ANY style "rollbar" or "roll cage" it is NEVER safe to have passengers in the rear, period. I don't care whether they beg you or whatever to let them sit in the back. It IS NOT safe. There is no question about it. So if you want to retain a five seater than a rollbar or cage is not for you. If you dont mind losing three seats in the back then go for it. To make it easier on your friends just remove the seats so they dont even think about going back there.
I hope this clears this up.
Yes I am aware that plenty of people run 6-pt cages on the street with no helmet. Some people are willing to sacrifice their safety and their passengers to look cool. But I guarantee in an accident they will wish they didnt have bars in front of them. If you have a full race car that you tow to the track then hey do whatever you want.
But I will reitterate again that harnesses (unless specified for street use) are NOT SAFE on the street. Whether it be with a roll bar or with a harness bar it is not safe. Just like MalibuJack stated, when you are using harnesses it limits your movement. When tightened properly you cannot lift your right shoulder off the seat to look at your left blindspot when switching lanes. You can try this in your car while parked. Try to look at your blind spot without lifting your right shoulder off the seat.....it will not happen. Unless your neck is like the exorcist, it will not allow you to do so. So what most people do is loosen the shoulder straps of the harness to allow movement. Sounds harmless enough, but now you have renedered the harnesses unsafe. Because you loosened them, in an impact your torso will be thrown forward in a crash instead of strapped to the seat. This will most likely cause lacerations to your abdomen. Moral of this long story is that for the street THE STOCK SEAT BELTS ARE THE SAFEST. On track you can choose whatever floats your boat.
For my street/race car I have a four point roll bar and clip in harnesses. So while on the street I use the stock belts and when I get to the track I clip the harness in.
Sorry for the rant, but hopefully people can learn a little bit from this. What is most scary is even when at HPDE, most instructors and safety inspectors overlook unsafe setups. So basically you have to keep your own skull safe. Nobody else cares enough to do that for you. So be smart.
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From: NY
Originally Posted by JDMevoBOOST
Ok here is the thing. When people refer to "cage" that usually means 6-point and up. This means that there are bars running forward from the main hoop and usually through the dash or in front of it. With any car running bars to the dash it would be very unintelligent to drive on the street with the car because I assume you aren't wearing a helmet on the street. If you get in a crash and your head hits that front A-pillar bar with your head you can only imagine how bad you will be hurt. Even with the proper SFI rated padding, it is designed for use of a helmet.
For anyone that wants rollover protection in a street car, you should be looking at a 4-pt "rollbar" ..."rollbar" refers to rollover protection that has bars only behind the two front seats. So this is what most people have in their street cars when u see bars in there. It has a main hoop at the B-pillar and usually two diagonal bars coming down to the rear seat area. This is safe for the street as long as you DO NOT HAVE passengers in the rear.
For ANY style "rollbar" or "roll cage" it is NEVER safe to have passengers in the rear, period. I don't care whether they beg you or whatever to let them sit in the back. It IS NOT safe. There is no question about it. So if you want to retain a five seater than a rollbar or cage is not for you. If you dont mind losing three seats in the back then go for it. To make it easier on your friends just remove the seats so they dont even think about going back there.
I hope this clears this up.
Yes I am aware that plenty of people run 6-pt cages on the street with no helmet. Some people are willing to sacrifice their safety and their passengers to look cool. But I guarantee in an accident they will wish they didnt have bars in front of them. If you have a full race car that you tow to the track then hey do whatever you want.
But I will reitterate again that harnesses (unless specified for street use) are NOT SAFE on the street. Whether it be with a roll bar or with a harness bar it is not safe. Just like MalibuJack stated, when you are using harnesses it limits your movement. When tightened properly you cannot lift your right shoulder off the seat to look at your left blindspot when switching lanes. You can try this in your car while parked. Try to look at your blind spot without lifting your right shoulder off the seat.....it will not happen. Unless your neck is like the exorcist, it will not allow you to do so. So what most people do is loosen the shoulder straps of the harness to allow movement. Sounds harmless enough, but now you have renedered the harnesses unsafe. Because you loosened them, in an impact your torso will be thrown forward in a crash instead of strapped to the seat. This will most likely cause lacerations to your abdomen. Moral of this long story is that for the street THE STOCK SEAT BELTS ARE THE SAFEST. On track you can choose whatever floats your boat.
For my street/race car I have a four point roll bar and clip in harnesses. So while on the street I use the stock belts and when I get to the track I clip the harness in.
Sorry for the rant, but hopefully people can learn a little bit from this. What is most scary is even when at HPDE, most instructors and safety inspectors overlook unsafe setups. So basically you have to keep your own skull safe. Nobody else cares enough to do that for you. So be smart.
For anyone that wants rollover protection in a street car, you should be looking at a 4-pt "rollbar" ..."rollbar" refers to rollover protection that has bars only behind the two front seats. So this is what most people have in their street cars when u see bars in there. It has a main hoop at the B-pillar and usually two diagonal bars coming down to the rear seat area. This is safe for the street as long as you DO NOT HAVE passengers in the rear.
For ANY style "rollbar" or "roll cage" it is NEVER safe to have passengers in the rear, period. I don't care whether they beg you or whatever to let them sit in the back. It IS NOT safe. There is no question about it. So if you want to retain a five seater than a rollbar or cage is not for you. If you dont mind losing three seats in the back then go for it. To make it easier on your friends just remove the seats so they dont even think about going back there.
I hope this clears this up.
Yes I am aware that plenty of people run 6-pt cages on the street with no helmet. Some people are willing to sacrifice their safety and their passengers to look cool. But I guarantee in an accident they will wish they didnt have bars in front of them. If you have a full race car that you tow to the track then hey do whatever you want.
But I will reitterate again that harnesses (unless specified for street use) are NOT SAFE on the street. Whether it be with a roll bar or with a harness bar it is not safe. Just like MalibuJack stated, when you are using harnesses it limits your movement. When tightened properly you cannot lift your right shoulder off the seat to look at your left blindspot when switching lanes. You can try this in your car while parked. Try to look at your blind spot without lifting your right shoulder off the seat.....it will not happen. Unless your neck is like the exorcist, it will not allow you to do so. So what most people do is loosen the shoulder straps of the harness to allow movement. Sounds harmless enough, but now you have renedered the harnesses unsafe. Because you loosened them, in an impact your torso will be thrown forward in a crash instead of strapped to the seat. This will most likely cause lacerations to your abdomen. Moral of this long story is that for the street THE STOCK SEAT BELTS ARE THE SAFEST. On track you can choose whatever floats your boat.
For my street/race car I have a four point roll bar and clip in harnesses. So while on the street I use the stock belts and when I get to the track I clip the harness in.
Sorry for the rant, but hopefully people can learn a little bit from this. What is most scary is even when at HPDE, most instructors and safety inspectors overlook unsafe setups. So basically you have to keep your own skull safe. Nobody else cares enough to do that for you. So be smart.
Good posts! You are 100% right.
Here is a quick pic of my race car. Because I do drive it to and from the track I have an Autopower 4-pt.
Please note that the padding you see here IS NOT SFI-rated. I was running this padding until the SFI stuff came in.
Whenever buying a rollbar make sure it has a "crossbar", which is the bar you see with my camera mount on.
For those that want to know where to get the camera mount it is from IOportracing.com and I believe it is 70 dollars. It holds firm and mounts like a tripod. Very stable for taking good video.
Please note that the padding you see here IS NOT SFI-rated. I was running this padding until the SFI stuff came in.
Whenever buying a rollbar make sure it has a "crossbar", which is the bar you see with my camera mount on.
For those that want to know where to get the camera mount it is from IOportracing.com and I believe it is 70 dollars. It holds firm and mounts like a tripod. Very stable for taking good video.
I've got a question: I've got an Autopower 4-point roll bar with SFI rated padding, a Bride Artis III bucket, and a Simpson 5 point camlock. I've got the shoulder belts wraped around the harness bar (attached to the roll bar) and the lap belts attached at the factory belt points. Now I have to bolt on the 5th point (sub-strap), but it has to go on to sheet metal under the seat, so I've ordered the proper backing plate and hardware (with a 45 degree belt loop, grade 8, M8, washers, etc.) from HMS motorsport. Where exactly will I drill the hole?
Edit: I've asked this question in How-to section also. Didn't mean to double post.
Edit: I've asked this question in How-to section also. Didn't mean to double post.
Last edited by nicka117; Oct 30, 2006 at 04:41 PM.