SCCA/NASA guys post pics of CAGE/SEAT setup
 

Like the title says, post some pics of your cage and seat setups for club/pro racing. I am looking to build my 8 into a dedicated track car, possibly grand am ST car. So i want to see what cage designs are legal and what pwople are using for seat setups.

Thanks!

Start with the rule book. SCCA and NASA should be similar when it comes to cages, seats and other saftey gear. Go with which ever is more stringent. Next find yourself a good shop that specializes in race car builds, specificaly cages. Next let them give you their ideas for a cage, it should be somewhat tailored to you, your size and the rule book you are using. Once you have a plan, come back and compare to others.

Going the other way around will increase the likelihood that you build a car that is not legal for the sectioning body you want to run with.

dude...dont tell me youre Voodoo8648 and just made up a new name...

The rules are VERY different between those three categories. I have several pictures that I can post up sometime this week when I have time. In the meantime try to set a goal on which series your planning. Grand-am is 10-15k per weekend and the RX8 is almost done in that series. Big investment for only a few yrs... MS3 might be a better option if you want to stick with a new Mazda.
Build.

Stephen

No im not the other Voodoo lol.

I have read the rules for SCCA and have run a formula car with them. I understand that it spells out the tubing and mounting points. Just wanted to get some ideas as to how people have set up there cages for there rx8s. I plan on mounting the seat first and building the cage around me and it but just would like to get a mental picture started. Also I have read that seats can be a problem of fitting in the car, as was the issue with my rx7s. So I would also like to know what seat you guys went with as a starter that does fit witha nascar style cage.

I was thinking along the bride zeta III?

Thanks for the repsonses

I used Recaro Profi XL seats which are very large, but fit my wide shoulders well. Needed a custom bracket to get them in though and my head is right against the upper bar. Here's some good mid project photos for you: http://domomotorsports.com/about/Flash02-a/index.html

Fitting a seat isnt that hard when you use custom mounts, expecially if you have Nascar style door bars ( I assume thats what you mean by Nascar style cage). I have heard some guys pound in the transmission tunnel to increase room and helps center the drivers weight. If you are tall and have a sunroof, head room can be an issue.

Here are some pics from a Grand-AM ST RX8. In ST you can have multiple points of contact with the chasis including gussets to the A-pillar and other areas. Not legal in most classes that I would think you would run in SCCA or NASA. It currently does not have a seat in it but these are some build pics from last year that gives you an idea of what you can do. This car had a Recaro seat with head supports. The only thing with these bars is that you DO have to modify the rear door as the bars go through the door pillar. You also need to remove the rear door handle. Under the dash the heater core had to be removed and extensive modification to the dashboard as well.

Stephen

Here are some build pics of the SCCA ITR car. Biggest difference is that you CANNOT add gussets to the car. I read the rules back then as if you could NOT make modifications to the door other than gutting so we went with a X bar instead of Nascar bars. They do still go as far out as possible and they do go into the door so we had to gut it. Since then I have been convinced through others interpretation of the rules that I could have modified the door for those NASCAR style door bars. If I did it again I WOULD do them. This does has a bar that goes under the dash but we did it in a way to keep the heater for rainy days. Still needed extensive modification under the dash to get it all to fit properly. This car has a Sabelt XL seat with the head supports.

A few more pics of the SCCA ITR car from last season at Watkins Glen. As you can see from the picture on pit lane heading out I do sit pretty low but I can easily still see out of the car. I am 5'8" or so.

My biggest challenge was fitting the head support of the seat inside the car... I actually had to put the left side of the seat about 1/2" lower than the right. Without doing this the top of the seat on the head support was flush iwht the window if I were to install one. I figured this was a bit sketchy and wanted it further inside the confines of the car/cage. Sitting in the car you would NEVER know it was lower on one side and if I didn't say something I doubt anyone would ever have a clue. the results of doing this had the top of the seat fit about 1-2 inches further into the car because of the slight angle. Other than that the only modification was some flat steal for the mounts to mount on.

One last thing to remember!!! If you Run NASA the big difference in cage design is where the cage mounts to the rear of the car. Those two points cannot have a bar attaching the top of the shock/strut towers even if only attached to the cage mounting plates or its considered an illegal rear bar. Maybe "docgatorx8er" can verify that :)
Its those little things that will get you between each sanctioning body and/or class you decide to run :wallbash:

Also be carefull when picking a seat. I wouldn't get a seat without "halo" AKA head supports. Nor would I get a seat that isn't FIA approved. Don't forget if its not FIA approved you need a back support... (I don't think Bride is FIA) The other thing to consider is how well the HANS or other type of H&N restrant will fit with the seat. Those are mandatory in each sanctioning body you mentioned.

Lastly PLEASE let me know if you want a specific angle of anything on either car. They are both not in a great position to take current photos but I can take some for you soon if you want. I am more than happy to help anyone get out on track!

NASA CCR at this link: http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/ccr.pdf

Cage rules under 15.6

"The main hoop braces may be mounted at the rear shock
mounts or suspension pickup points (providing that the braces remain in compliance with
all other sections of the CCR)." (page 59)

sblethen, thank you very much for all the points and pictures you stated above, they will be great help.