paddylad

Lads,

Where Can i buy a roll cage that is usable for every day driving and you don't have to climb over to get in the car. I have been looking about but i can't seem to find them anywhere!

Any help greatly appreciated.

Cheers

scoobyslut

A Roll cage is designed for competition use and is as strong as possible, so that means to maintain its full strength capacity, it has to be used with all associated components.
"If" you fit such a cage and do not use all its components, then you risk being injured by the cage "As Well" as by the car bodywork.
You can fit a cage and leave the "side door bars" out. But PLEASE, do not go out and buy a cage from some back street garage which does NOT have a "safety certificate" with it.
If you contact a company called "Safety Devices", they will be able to supply and even "fit" if required your roll cage.

I speak from many years of motorsport accident investigation experience, so be careful, ONLY fit genuine approved kit like this otherwise it can and will "Kill" due to cheap "reproductions".

paddylad

thanks mate. I'll get on to them asap.

mutant_matt

Safety Devices have supplied a few chaps on here and seem to make a quality product. They are very fussy about who they let fit it too. I *think* Scoobymania sell the SD cage too....

Matt

Blackscooby

I would be reluctant to fit a cage to a road car to be honest. I'd had an issue with my Pug 205 which I use in competition. On the road obviously I don't wear a helmet (otherwise I'd look a right *** ) But if you have an incident and hit your head on the cage it hurts .... beleive me !

StickyMicky

Neil Smalley

Also, your insurance will go up, or even be cancelled because of it. You'll also need to ditch the seatbelts, and use harnesses for the reason outlined above.

scoobyslut

You can get proper material to go over the roll cage tubes to protect yourself from minor bangs so to speak, but only fit proper stuff and NOT water pipe insulation, this has the same level protection as a chocolate teapot does with warm water!

Richard Askew

I was under the impression that pipe lagging was of the same density as cage padding but wouldnt get through scrutineering due to lack of fire retardation?

Please advise

16vmarc

mmmmmm chocolate tea pot

Richard Askew

BTTT as I have concerns ref padding

greasemonkey

There is no such thing as a cage that is usable/designed for everyday driving. If your driving is "everyday", why on earth would you need a cage? Not only will it negatively impact your safety, it'll also cost you more to insure the car with it fitted.
If you literally just drive your car on the road, you don't need a cage, and you will be safer without one.

As Blackscooby says, the dangers of hitting your head, or indeed any other part of you, against the cage in the event of a relatively minor accident far outweigh any beneficial effect it is likely to have in the comparatively small likelihood of a serious one. That's assuming of course whatever you get is properly fitted.

The Safety Devices RTRS cages are designed for quick fitting/removal so they can be installed for trackdays and taken out the rest of the time. If you track the car, this is what you should be looking at.

Rich, yes, any cage protection would need to be fire retardant.

BTW, the U-shaped FIA spec padding sold nowadays is much, much harder than any older style blown foam padding. It's a surprisingly high density plastic.

Its purpose is to spread and absorb the energy from an impact between padding and helmet , not an unprotected skull. If you hit your head on this stuff, while it wouldn't be as bad as crunching against the cage itself, you would still be risking serious injury. It is not something I'd want next to my head unless I was helmeted...


[Edited by greasemonkey - 10/16/2003 6:34:24 PM]

RRH

I had a half cage (rear) in my last RA. it bolted in to the floor behind the drivers seats, and to the rear turrets.

I must admit to having serious concerns in the event of someone running in to the back of me hard.

Very worried that if the impact was substantial, the rear turrets maybe move, and the whole cage pivots on its centre mount- and thusd hitting me rather hard on the back of the head.

Dream Weaver

Sorry to disapoint everyone, but check out Matt's recent accident - 205 turbo, flipped into a field.

http://www.btinternet.com/~matthew.constantine/Crash/



Accident people said he would have died without the cage in. Think he uses it for trackdays etc.

Anyways, is it worth fitting just a rear cage? Going to be tracking my 205, and would like a Safety Devices rear cage in. Dont want ful cage as I wont get my lardy **** over the door bars.

Richard Askew

**** ME SIDEWAYS!! thats a biggie!

Looks like the cage was installed and bolted together well

Lucky lucky bloke

greasemonkey

I'm not trying to say that a cage (providing it's properly fitted) won't do some good in an accident like that Dream Weaver. The problem with them is that they can make the much more common accidents (i.e. ones that don't involve car going *rs* over tit) more dangerous.

So sure, if you drive in a manner that is likely to result in you rolling your car, a cage may, once the averages are worked out, be a benefit. If, OTOH, you drive with a modicum of common sense, it's likely to do you more harm than good.

Matt205

uhm err, well that 205 would be mine !

Rolled the car 7 times bonnet to boot and side to side. The car is / was mainly for track day use and as it happened I was on my way to an event when that little bump happened !.

In my opinion if you can afford it do it, best £500 I ever spend. The cage fitted was a Saftey Devices 6 point FIA approved cage with removable door bars and rear diagonal section so the back seats could still be used.

Would you pay that to keep your life ??

Just my 2p people

cheers
matt

mel

OMG!! I heard about your crash at the Anglesey track day

I'm really glad your alright such a pity about the car too, I have some fond memories of being chased by this mad red thing through Wales one autumn

[Edited by mel - 10/17/2003 8:49:48 AM]

Dream Weaver

Hi Matt

Hope you didnt mind me posting the pics, just amazes me how you can see where the shell has crumpled around the cage.

Would you recommend the single rear cage, rather than full? I saw the work involved in fitting yours, and dont have that much time or equipment to do it.

Any ideas on costs for someone else fitting it?

Glad to see your OK now.