As I scour the internet for a more finished Challenge car I stumbled upon this car. I don't know much about roll cages and would like to know your opinion on this one as the guy with the car is a second/third hand owner who knows little.
As I scour the internet for a more finished Challenge car I stumbled upon this car. I don't know much about roll cages and would like to know your opinion on this one as the guy with the car is a second/third hand owner who knows little.
Looks sort of like an SCCA/NASA/LeChump road racing cage, but tubing diameter/wall thickness, attachment points, etc. are all very important. Whatever the shoulder harness attachment is doesn't look legal- drift car?
That padding doesn't exactly scream legitimacy either.
Do you have any pictures of the roll cage? The only thing I can determine from what you posted is that someone used pool noodles for padding.
Sorry, it's the best I could get from someone on Craigslist.
I'll take better photos if I become the new owner.
It'll probably be challenge legal, since the SCCA doesn't care for autocross and the NHRA will let you run with a berkeleying tack welded together pile of scaffolding if you're not going fast.
Mazdaspeed protege?
From the photos, the main hoop doesn't seem to be 1-piece mandrel bent. In fact, I can't detect any mandrel bends at all, looks like its made from all straight pieces, cut and welded to make direction changes. If that's the case, not in my car...
If it doesn't look good to you guys if I get it I'll just have to cut it out. Don't need it for the challenge anyways, just extra weight.
Agreed, it looks like the cage was built by someone with a better understanding of geometry than engineering, and no access to a tubing bender.
From the lack of detail in the pics, the cage could be made of pipe and horribly stick welded. That padding screams pipe insulation more than actual roll bar padding.
it's impossible to tell anything from those pictures.
I'm leaning the other way. I think that looks to be a decent cage. Anybody that is going to take the time to make X bars for door braces, a dash bar, two rear braces with a diagonal, and a horizontal seat brace in the plane of the main hoop, has at least some knowledge of how to build a road race cage. Further inspection is warranted but I'd bet its better than the previous posts hinted at. Now if there is a fire extinguisher mounted with plastic clips or a ricers stack of gauges mounted on the drivers A pillar, forget everything I said about it being a decent cage.
Didn't get there in time to take pictures with good lighting.
I'd like to see better pics of the feet and make sure it's DOM tubing of the correct thickness. But, the welds look good. The plinth box in the 2nd to last pic securing the node to the sill/floor gives me some confidence that someone was thinking about structure. So do your homework but I'm not scared of that at all.
Looks real good, except that horizontal bar in the plane of the main hoop needs to be higher, and it needs to go the full width of the hoop. Seat belts shouldn't angle down that much to attach to the tube. May work well as a mounting point for the seat back, but too low to be the only horizontal bar in the plane of the main hoop. Might be easiest to just add another horizontal above it, on both sides of the diagonal.
I did buy it and it will most likely be coming to the $2016 challenge. I even let the PO do some donuts in my parking lot before I gave him the money.
I am excited!
In reply to Andy Neuman:
Wait ... You didn't let me do donuts in your parking lot when I bought the Q45 from you.
Not sure what it is but I'll give you $500 for it when you get bored
In reply to patgizz:
That's 10x what I paid when he got bored.
Need some recommendations on purchasing roll bar padding?!? Feel and looks like a pool noodle to me.
SFI padding in 3ft sticks from the vendor of your choice- cut it to fit.
There are two types of padding. There is foam that is kind of like pool noodles and the "good" stuff that's SFI approved. Some racing groups allow the softer foam and to be honest I have some in my race car. I also have some of the "good" stuff where it counts, like where my head/helmet may contact the roll cage. Covering the tubes with the soft stuff where you legs or arms may hit a tube seems OK to me but some racing bodies only allow the SFI stuff.
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