Roll Cages: Street legal/Safe?
#26
Jared
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I have always wanted a cage in all my cars. If you do it right it will help stiffen up the whole car and help will roll acceleration and all that. If you do it like a ricer and just slap a cage in there then you may be asking for trouble. IMO if you have racing seats and racing harness on at all times you should be ok w/o a helmet to go get groceries. stay strapped in and dissable those side airbags! lol.
#27
NO A/C :(
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My 350z had a full roll cage in it but was race spec (too many mods) (sits in the storage covered in dust)
I'm just saying, IMO, roll cages for DD are for looks/bit of a stiffer feel/safe feeling but you don't need it unless you ( ENTER TEXT HERE)
They do make you feel bold when messing around on the streets but anyways, just be safe and take your time........
The track is where it's at.
I'm just saying, IMO, roll cages for DD are for looks/bit of a stiffer feel/safe feeling but you don't need it unless you ( ENTER TEXT HERE)
They do make you feel bold when messing around on the streets but anyways, just be safe and take your time........
The track is where it's at.
Last edited by bhop; 09-26-2009 at 01:17 PM.
#28
It's a Cavalier
Roll cages can save and kill you. You're modifying the chassis when adding a roll cage. You're modifying the way the car "crumples" in the event of an accident from what the original engineers intended. Could it save you in certain types of high speed accidents that occur move frequently in racing? Sure. Could it also injure you more by transmitting the force of the accident to YOU instead of absorbing it in the chassis? Yes. It's luck of the draw.
I'll pass on the rollcage for a daily driven car.
I'll pass on the rollcage for a daily driven car.
#29
Registered
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My only concern with regard to a cage is that of secondary impact (that is, you hitting the cage). When you're on the track, you've got a helmet to protect you. On the street, the cage could block deployment of the side curtain airbag, or you might hit the upper side bar with your head. One of the reasons we don't have steel dashboards any more is because of hazards of secondary impacts, especially to the head.
Also, if you need the use of the rear seats, I can't see how you can have a cage at all.
I know the argument that if the cage is put in "properly", there's no risk of secondary impact. My point is that unless you happen to be tiny (seriously, 5 feet tall at the absolute most) I don't see where there is enough room inside the car to put a "proper" cage installation that is far enough away from you that there would be no risk of secondary impact.
Also, if you need the use of the rear seats, I can't see how you can have a cage at all.
I know the argument that if the cage is put in "properly", there's no risk of secondary impact. My point is that unless you happen to be tiny (seriously, 5 feet tall at the absolute most) I don't see where there is enough room inside the car to put a "proper" cage installation that is far enough away from you that there would be no risk of secondary impact.
Last edited by longpath; 10-08-2009 at 08:39 AM.
#33
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ok if someone would want a set of nice more comfortable seats and 5 point harness how do you install them in an 8 cause there is no bpillar for a harness bar
#34
He's as bad as Can
#35
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dam that interior looks nice what about the stock bar down below the back door could you use that to mount your harness then bolt a clip into trans. tunnel for the other side like you would with the front submarine strap
#36
Super Low & Super Slow
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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.
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.
Just to go a little further onto what Flashwing said, most companies that I've talked to that install/build roll cages for our cars, want to remove the side air bags, so they won't deploy into the cage.
#39
My understanding regarding safety systems deals specifically with their removal. IIRC, no professional shop or dealership can remove your safety systems legally. There's nothing stopping the owner of the vehicle from removing them however. Mind you this is for a street driven vehicle.
#40
Super Low & Super Slow
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My understanding regarding safety systems deals specifically with their removal. IIRC, no professional shop or dealership can remove your safety systems legally. There's nothing stopping the owner of the vehicle from removing them however. Mind you this is for a street driven vehicle.
Flash,
As far as I know, and understand, a shop can remove the safety restraint systems, if you sign some type of waiver saying the car is for offroad use only.
What I was merely stating, it is not a crime to operate a vehicle without airbags in operational standards. It doesn't matter who/what disabled them, but if they are non-functioning, and you are pulled over, you can not be ticketed because your air bags don't work.
#41
NO A/C :(
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We will be stripping down my 8 to add a 6-point roll cage after the build. Interior will be gutted. This will be a street/track car... I'll have pictures by the end of this year at least so people can criticize me lol. I feel at this point comes a certain maturity level. But in the event of any accident, anything can happen, to anyone.
#44
I see this topic come up all the time, such as myself I like to put a roll bar in my 8 is it a death trap I wouldn't belive so. People have mixed feelings about roll bars, roll cages etc.. The question is? would BMW or any exotic car company put a roll bar in they cars if it was going to be a death trap for the consumer. I think compans would be out of business or being sued left and right. I under stand that people have there mixed feelings about them. I can say when I was drifting and ran in to the wall my head did hit the side pillar on the driver side door. Yes I had my seat belt on while this was going on. The was padding there to to protect my head but at the same time if I had a harness in my car it would have kept me down in the seat to prevent that fr happing at all. I just feel bar or cage if it's done right with padding and such it should keep a person safe.
#46
Registered
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^^ I take it you've never owned or been in a car with a cage. You can't put enough padding on there to protect your head. Empty space is the best protection. I don't believe BMW or any car company ever built a car, meant for the average street driving consumer, with a roll bar/cage. Many car companies do build them that are integrated into the body of the car, as roll over protection.
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