just aut of intrest how many peaple have cages in there dattosany would any one have anthing to warn me not to do

im looking at getting one myself for rallying and im really starting to think that going with a "cheap and nasty" option could prove to be a BIG mistake, i really think its worth hanging out and saving a bit of cash up for a serious one and if nothing else reaping the benefits of a stiffer body from a handling point of view

Im with you on that one 1200rallycar. You see a lot of alloy ones for sale now days but as far as I know they have been banned from competition and you require a steel one, must check the CAMS manual on that one.

An 8 point would do me nicely. I was reading one of the older posts on cages and I think someone said you could get them sent to you in kit form and then you/professional can weld them up, I think thats my prefered option and its not all that expensive.

Hi there everyone. Cages are probably one of my favourite topics. I've recently completed a homologated cage for my coupe. 40mm steel Tube cost $150 and it is far superior to any kit set cage you buy. The trick is to have the cage as close to the body as possible and kit cages don't have that tolerance. This cage is tied into the A and B pillars and has a cross bar under the dash and permanent X intrusion bars on both sides. The rear stays go to the inner guard as you are usually not allowed to go past the suspension points front and rear. I have a horizontal belt bar between the rear stays and a diagonal from the driver's head to the passengers rear stay - this forms a triangulated structure that is heaps strong over the drivers area. Another horizontal bar runs above the front screen. You can mock your cage up with PVC pipe or wire to get the bend angles right. All bending was done with a hydraulic former - the trick is to full the tube with sand, tamp down, top up with sand, tamp again until no more sand can be added and then mig a plate over the end. We then heated up the pipe over my new barbecue and coated the part to be bent with grease. You have to measure your bends with a micrometer - if it crimps then it won't be strong and won't pass homologation. Attach the A and B pillars with a bit of plate. You end up with a cage that offers great protection and really stiffens up the chassis. The kit cages are usually free standing with oodles of room between them and the interior. If you do have a major stack then the body deforms and then hits the cage with impact - sort of like a slide hammer action. A custom engineered cage is part of your body structure because you spend time getting it close to the roof and pillars and tying it in to them. You will need a ticketed welder to do the welding and then sign off on the homologation form. It can be a lot of work but if you have the time and want to have the best result get into it. A lot of laughs can be had slowly rotissering a 5 metre legth of tube over a BBQ at 2 in the morning!

So when can I place my order teretonga? :)
That sounds like a lot of work but I bet it is worth it. Was it hard to homologate it? ie. was there many rules you had to stick to?
What sort of racing are you using your coupe for?

Now that I've heard the story about BBQing rollcage pipe, I no longer think I'm as car-mad as I thought I was. I'm a mere novice.

You must either live in the bush or have good neighbours :)

Chris

Homologation isn't hard as long as you plan to follow the rules they require before you start. You'll run into things like type of pipe, size and attachment of base plates, intrusion bars, bend radius and crimping etc. Cool stuff like you can only bend the front legs once i.e follow the A pillar down from the roof and then one bend and drop to the floor. Welds are critical with regard to penetration and all around jons - not tacked. My cage is in a circuit car but is legal for rallying - we designed it so that no matter what goes up front in the engine bay won't over power the cage with regard to speed and safety. The only difficult thing with the BBQ was sneaking it off the porch and taking it to the shed - it was a Christmas present and was only a few weeks old. Luckily my wife was on the phone...

Ah your wife doesn't understand you either...........I'm glad to see Aussie has finally done away with alloy cages they've been illegal in NZ for over 10 yrs. I have seen alloy cages snap and do some really nasty damage to the occupants. When I do a cage I make the front legs in 2 pieces and join them down the windscreen pillar. With a tube inside and some plug welds as well as around the joins. I can then twist the 2 pieces to get the tightest fit in the footwell and roofline. Are you allowed to do that in OZ?? Where the join is on the pillar I also tag it to the body. It sure makes life easier than trying to bend tube in 2 different planes...

i just took my car to a guy named Mike Duncan at advanced automotive engineering in CHCH
it's thursday here and he thinks he might have the cage done by satur day this week it's a six point with diagonal roof bar and side intrusion with a belt bar and another diagonal going from just behind the seats to the wheel arches and get this he said it was going to cost only $700 bloody cheap

have you had any quotes as yet on your cage. If you do I would be interested to know where from.

I got a quote from a mob in Dandenong about 6months ago for my coupe, it was basically for a 6 point cage fitted (cams approved) around $800.