Roll cage for the hatch

[eclricochet]

Looking to install a cage in the 95 Hatch so I can install harnesses easier. What has the experience been with bolt in cages that accept harnesses. Any suggestion or places to buy?

Thanks
--Doug

[SpoolinSol]

i suggest you don't get a cage unless you need it...

[vietnameeh]

i suggest you don't get a cage unless you need it...

+1

[ToneDx2049]

but if he does how bout we answer his question...sorry no experience with cages.....yet time will come

[ZackieDarko]

why would you ever BOLT in a cage? what do you think is going to happen when you roll your car or get it hard? bolts break a lot easier then a weld will


if you are gonna cage your ride do your self a favor and weld it, don't bolt it

[Dweezil]

Double wall floor pans pretty much prevent useing a weld in cage easily. You still end up bolting it together to the plates to prevent it from tearing out.

[Levi]

http://www.ioportracing.com/

They sell autopower products. I have never seen one that had bad fitment.

[eclricochet]

For the main question, yes this is necessary. Between Auto-x and HPDE it is. During my last HPDE at Summit Point I was sliding around way too much. Seats, harnesses and a cage will solve this. As far as strength this car will still be used on the road for a while and will not be a dedicated race car until the K20 goes in next winter. I was looking at the Autopower line but this is the first site that I have seen that looks right. I have ordered equipment from IO Port before and cannot believe I forgot them this time. If anyone else wants to chime in with seat options or opinions on a different cage let me know.

--Doug

[vietnameeh]

u might want to go custom.. as autopower is the BARE minimum .. plus you can get everything the way you want and fitment will be dead on

[24-7]

Untill you have a real (welded) cage installed, bolt the harness to the floor. Unless you have a cage mount harness.

[solo-x]

for DE car that might never become a full bore racecar, keeping the interior intact and the cage easily removable are primary concerns. additionally, since a DE is not actual wheel to wheel racing the risks, while present, are lower. one must weigh the concerns mentioned above with the lower level of protection offered by a bolt in cage. fyi, a properly installed bolt in cage like the autopower is both SCCA and NASA approved. that should be one of the first things to look at when looking into a bolt in cage solution. who deems that cage sufficient for their race series? if it is any of the nationally recognized racing series, then you're pretty safe.

[eclricochet]

Well assuming I don't put this into a tire wall it is guaranteed to become a full out race car. I am just looking for something that will allow me to use harnesses through this next year until I get my comp licence. Does anyone know of a good harness system that would not require a cage? I am not a big fan of just using a harness bar.

Thanks
--Doug

[Dweezil]

For the main question, yes this is necessary. Between Auto-x and HPDE it is. During my last HPDE at Summit Point I was sliding around way too much. Seats, harnesses and a cage will solve this. As far as strength this car will still be used on the road for a while and will not be a dedicated race car until the K20 goes in next winter. I was looking at the Autopower line but this is the first site that I have seen that looks right. I have ordered equipment from IO Port before and cannot believe I forgot them this time. If anyone else wants to chime in with seat options or opinions on a different cage let me know.

--Doug


Seats will do most of the work, cage and street aren't a good idea. If your going to put in anything jsut get a 4 point roll bar with a harness bar. Make sure your head and body sit well below the bars. Nothing worse than a minor acciden causing brain damage.

[eclricochet]

Seats will do most of the work, cage and street aren't a good idea. If your going to put in anything jsut get a 4 point roll bar with a harness bar. Make sure your head and body sit well below the bars. Nothing worse than a minor acciden causing brain damage.

A lot of you guys are saying cage+street=bad. What I need to ask is why? An answer without an explanation is an opinion. Thanks

--Doug

[solo-x]

a harness bar without a seat back brace or an FIA seat is bad news. back the car into a wall and you'll seriously hurt yourself when the seat breaks.

a harness can be used without a rollbar. a lot of guys claim that in a roll over your body won't move to the side as the roof collapses. if you think about it though, for the roof to collapse you need a lot of force, so if your stock seatbelt lets your body move out of the way of the roof, what is holding your body from free falling INTO the roof? great, i've prevented being squashed by the roof, but battered myself to a pulp bouncing around inside the car. that sounds a lot like that age old argument against seat belts on the street. "what if i get in a wreck and the car catches on fire?" you aren't going to get out any quicker being unconcious!

if you're going to use a fixed back seat i'd suggest at minimum using a roll bar. the thinking behind that is simple. companies like Schroth have been selling harness to install in stock cars for years. In the good 'ol United States of Litigation, if they felt there was any legal risk behind using their product without a roll bar/cage on a STOCK car, they would have disclaimers all over the place to that affect. once you've changed out the stock seats for something else, you've lost that legal high ground.

cage vs. rollbar really comes down to how much risk you want to take on the street vs. the track. the cage (bolt in or weld in) will offer more protection on the track while becoming more of a liability on the street. the opposite for the roll bar.

[solo-x]

A lot of you guys are saying cage+street=bad. What I need to ask is why? An answer without an explanation is an opinion. Thanks

--Doug

hitting your body/head against one of the steel tubes is bad, m'kay? a cage tends to have tubes that run closer to your head then a rollbar which typically is well behind your head. that's the whole reasoning behind cage+street=bad.

[kyle h.]

^^^

for curiosity sake. why is the cage a liability on the street?

edit: because you're not wearing a helmet?

[EG5[KRT]]

cusco/safety 21 make a half cage,full cage

they are bolt in.

depends what type of racing your are doing and what their rules allow..

if u want to use harness u can just get a c pillar bar with eye bolts in it..

or u can get a half cage and install harness bar..

alot of ways you can do this but its up to your financial backing and how hardcore your racing will be.

[solo-x]

;726283']cusco/safety 21 make a half cage,full cage

they are bolt in.

depends what type of racing your are doing and what their rules allow..

if u want to use harness u can just get a c pillar bar with eye bolts in it..

or u can get a half cage and install harness bar..

alot of ways you can do this but its up to your financial backing and how hardcore your racing will be.

hook a harness to a c-pillar bar and the first time you need it that c-pillar bar will crumble. same with those cusco ricer "cages".

[vietnameeh]

^^^

for curiosity sake. why is the cage a liability on the street?

edit: because you're not wearing a helmet?

ya ... even if u have sfi padding all that garbage on the cage... your head and other body parts are gonna get jacked up... even with a helmet it can hurt.. now imagine getting hit with a bat in the head

[eclricochet]

The one I am looking at is a half cage with a harness bar so my head will be fine. I just don't trust a c-pillar harness bar and would feel a lot better with a half cage. when I turn this thing into a full track car next fall I am going to custom build a cage that will allow the seats to be bolted directly to the cage as opposed to the car. So this is temporary and I think it will be fine until later this next year.

--Doug

[Dweezil]

So a four piont roll bar. Not a bad coice, much better than a cage in a street car.

[vietnameeh]

id save money for a daily driver now

[inh]

cage + street = suckage.

i have an scca approved cage in my car, and i daily drive it. have fun getting in and out over the door bars... and yea. in an accident, you dont wanna be knocking your head off the bars. i spun out pretty bad and clipped a hydrant and was glad my cage had padding everywhere...

my next car isnot going to have a full cage, but probably a custom rollbar with a harness bar thats offset so i can recline the seats a bit

[latapx]

Do yourself a favor and fabricate a harness bar that will go from b-pillar to b-pillar and attach with the OEM seat belt bolt locations. Make sure to use grade 8 or higher bolt as you'll likely need longer bolts to bolt in the seatbelt + harness bar.

Do not install a roll cage on a street driven car...even if you do have roll bar padding it is dangerous.

[93 red ls]

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product2_10001_10002_758645_-1

if you know someone that can weld this is most likely the best deal youll find imo

always search on ebay as well some times you can run across one or two on there

[vietnameeh]

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product2_10001_10002_758645_-1

if you know someone that can weld this is most likely the best deal youll find imo

always search on ebay as well some times you can run across one or two on there


its not approved by SCCA OR NASA.....