DeadOriginal

I have done a good amount of research and I really just need some confirmation on the safety of roll cages.

From my research I have come to learn that it is a possibility you can "smash" and I emphasize that word because going into a bar with your head at 60mph isn't exactly pretty enough for "hit", but what are the chances of it? On many different forums everyone argues over the same exact thing. One side says if its only for street and daily driving, it'll only make the car a death machine because a daily driver most likely wont be wearing a helmet. On the other side people argue that if the roll cage is put in correctly that there should be no connection of head and steel bar. I am torn between the two.

What doesn't seem to be explained or be very controversial is if roll cages are street legal. Now from my research I've heard stories ranging from insurance companies ditching the client when realizing that the client had a roll cage installed in his car before an accident to cops giving out tickets because you looked like you were trying to race someone when you were actually driving fast because your mother was dieing in a hospital 50 miles away. The question is.... Are roll cages street legal and safe enough not to be a double sided blade?

This is the only forum that hasn't really debated about this. There were a few threads on roll cages for track use that I found, but what about street use?

shaunv74

Why do you want a roll cage?

mike[piston eater]

iTrader: (3)

if you dd your car i wouldnt do it

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Roll cages = Helmet and harness (and Hans if you are smart)

There is no way a cage is safe in a street driven car in any shape or form.............

Symbioticgenius

Check your state laws, I know you can pass NYS inspection with one, but I "believe" you can be ticketed for having one. Possibly Impounded? With that said, I see at least 5 cars a week with them on the street so w\e.
Safe. No. Just try this. Late night, hit 80. Slam on your brakes and see how much movement your body suffers. That PALES in comparison to inertia created during an accident.

Here is a thread on the subject on a different forum.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?p=4869709

While I strongly advise against it... the chances of you injuring yourself on one are about the same as the chances of you having a car accident... good luck.
Lastly. If you want the cage built for street use, notify your cage builder of that fact, they can design something that curtails to the original body panels as closely as possible, minimizing the possibility of contact with the cage. TBH, if I had a good enough reason. I would do it too

Flashwing

I guess we might want to discuss what kind of a cage we're talking about here. I've seen with the RX8 that there are drop in 4 point cages which only reside in the rear of the car. That being said, unless you find a way to flop your head into the back seat I'm not sure how you could be injured.

With a 6 point cage where bars extend down the A pillar I could see that being an issue with side to side movement. Also unless you remove the airbags on the side you might run into an issue with them deploying into the cage. I'm not 100% on that but it seems like another problem to deal with.

I've looked into 4 point cages so I can run harnesses, add some rigidity to the chassis and also protect the roof from caving in during a flip. I'm curious about this topic as well.

I8U

iTrader: (1)

A 4-point roll bar in the rear section should be fine. I would apply foam around any area where your head hit in case of an accident.

ZumnRx8

I want a 4 -point all Polished Roll Cage

expo1

Kind of like mine. I am not going to argue safe or not, but as far as my head hitting the bar I am not concerned with that. This bar can also be removed if I have issues with inspection.

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

I presume with the "saftey" worries that it only applies to those worried about hitting their head on the tubing and not the tubing collapsing on them. That being said, unless you feel you can hit the tubing in a wreck then I wouldn't worry about it. While that may not be exactly helpful if you have no experience with it, the roll cage should be hugging the frame structure of the car to minimize the possibility of hitting them.

Coming from an open wheel racing background with roll cages I have a feel for how close the roll cage tubing can be which is a lot closer than what would be in a street car. I did wind up hitting one of the cross members on the roll cage once or twice in my career (helmet of course), your body and head can stretch farther than you think. Yet again these cages and cockpits are far tighter and close together than in any street car. I would think if with a 5-point harness that someone is able to hit them with their head, whomever made the roll cage should be fired. There's so much more room in a street car compared to open wheeled race cars I find it hard visioning someone hitting them with their head with proper seat belts and roll cage design.

I wouldn't say it's completely not "safe", but I would add padding to it like I8U mentioned and consider a 4 or 5-point seat belt harness to keep your *** down on the seat which is night and day compared to a typical vehicle seat belt.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

roll cage without helmet = death trap.

you will not wear a helmet for DD right ?

so no, dont get roll cage for your DD.

DeadOriginal

That certainly looks like theres no way u can hit your head onto it, but what happens when you feel like putting your seat down to take a nap?

ZumnRx8

u lay on the hood,roof, trunk, its ur nap............MOTEL 6 is pretty good for those too^

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Your assuming that the seat back doesn't break or something else doesn't go wrong.

I8U

iTrader: (1)

Speak for yourself, they call me The Stig! hehe I wear my helmet all the time, just not the Hans.

ScottyFlow

iTrader: (2)

You can call me an idiot, but I'm not sure if that would be totally safe. I believe there are indeed areas of the (normal, consumer) car that are supposed to collapse/break/give in collisions to absorb impact, thus absorbing it instead of your body. I believe there is a science to the structure of the roll cages used in racing, that is specifically designed to avoid transfer of impact to the body. Thats why I've always believed it was best to not have them in a DD. I would hate to be in a collision and instead of my car taking the majority of the impact, it being transferred to my body and possibly killing me. Just a thought, I could be totally wrong.

ou_joshua

since your having so much doubts, why are are u putting a roll cage in ur dd?

2SeeKU

iTrader: (1)

Wouldn't the rollcage add a considerable amount of weight to the car too?

I've always wondered that...

expo1

The Autosport bar I added was 55 pounds. A full cage would be about 3x that.

2SeeKU

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for that. So it would be like someone sitting in the passengers seat almost...

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

dont add anything that serves no purpose---unless it willl be a show car?
I have worked in major trauma center ER for many years and believe me weird things happen in mva's. The impact that hurts you usually is from the side or toward the front --so a partial roll cage wont do a damn thing.
stay safe dude so you can have more fun!
OD

StevieD561

i wear a racing helmet when i DD. it's JDM tyte yo.

Razz1

I believe Expo1's roll cage is fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with stock air bags.

You must have all stock air bags functioning to be street legal. That is a Federal law.

Alot of old cars get totaled because the cost of the air bags are more than the vehicle is worth.

expo1

While on this topic (slight thread jack)
I just wanted to remind everyone I still have an identical bar for sale. I can also deliver the bar within 50 miles of 08759.

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-sale-wanted-44/autopower-roll-bar-%24350-local-p-u-nj-155848/

epikeddie

I used to have a full Spec Miata Roll Cage in my Miata.

That thing was a pain in the *** to get into and out of. I had the Bride VIOS III Low Max seat with Bride Type LF Rails - that was the ONLY way to get my head low enough to make it suitable for daily driving / using with my helmet at the track.

Would I ever get a cage on my daily driver again? Simply......HELL NO!!!

I'll be REAL when I say this. I was a ricer with probably the entire Hyper Rev Magazine's parts catalog on my car. It was very uncomfortable!!!! I had no AC, no PS, and no PW on that car with a Custom 6 point full cage w/ door bars, two Bride VIOS III buckets seats made for a 5'4" Japanese man, and full 5-point 3" Takata harnesses.

I have since grown out of that "modding" frenzy. If you really need a cage because of the series that you run in - then go for it by all means. I think safety is VERY important especially for full track-oriented cars.

For the streets? HELL NO!!!! It is dumb, it is dangerous if you don't have the proper clearances, and it just makes you look.....well......like a ricer.

Mind you that I did all my stuff on a Miata which has no roof.....and even that was frowned upon by a lot of guys.

In a RX8? Unless you're running in a very track-oriented racing class.....I highly doubt you NEED one.