5 replies to this topic

[nivek2002]

I recently found a freind who has experience with welding. We were talking about my CRX and i have been thinking baout an Autopower roll bar for stiffness #1 and safety #2 (only because i doubt ill be rolling it at autoX) - So want to investigate fabricating my own bar or 6 point cage. The interior is stripped so dont worry about that. I want to source and cut and bend all the tubing myself to keep cost down. What type of tubing is ideal, keeping it light? Can it be bent at a muffler shop or how should i bend it? I need ideas on exactly where and how to mount things and all the specifications. A guide to all the lengths of tubing i need and the bends in them would be ideal. or any photos of CRX with cages. Please shower me with all your knowladge. Thanks guys!

[Doodson]

here is a picture of a Honda/Michellin bolt in cage - but its for a civic

http://www.redpepper...o-funracing/abz


Doodson

[Greg Gauper]

If you are going to race this someday, put some thought into your cage design ahead of time and build it per the sanctioning body's rulebook, regarding material, number of braces, etc.

That said, at a minimum I would use 1.5" diameter DOM tubing with 0.095" wall thickness. I would stay away from ERW tubing since more clubs are starting to ban it and DOM is not much more money.

The more you can triangulate the braces, the stronger the cage will be.

[skelly_snake]

A great site for pic's of cages is:
http://www.cscracing.com/
These guys are focused on stockcars but the basics are the same.
Do what Greg says for sure. If your going to race, make sure your cage meets the requirements. Some techs are finicky about the oddest things.
I had one give us shit because we had the seam on the out side of the bend.
So make sure you know what you’re going to be tech'ed for.
The rule book should tell you what you use for tube.

Doodson's pic is a nice basic cage.
It's the same one I have in my street/track car.
Although basic it can be added to meet your local rules.
I added door bars (removable), dash bar and a petty bar to it.
When you mount it to the floor pan take time to guarantee there is meat to bolt too. If not then make sure to reinforce the underside of the pan. 1/4 plate is your friend here.

If you are going to weld your cage in then consider welding brackets between the top hoops and the roof. That adds a tremendous amount of rigidity. But you may find you suspension setting will go all to hell because of it. We stopped doing this to our stockcars because it was too rigid, big hits would buckle the roof. But on the RR cars it was popular.

Oh, and one last thing, the bar you add to mount your belts too should be as close to the seat as you can comfortable build it. Too far back will mean your shoulder belts are too long. The shorter they are the less they will stretch if you wreck.

Sheesh, that's a lot of yapping form me.
Hope it helps

[funkmaster]

ive got the Autopower 6pt cage in my car.
I can take some detailed pictures of it if you think theyd help you.
and if youre in the area and want to take some measurements thats cool too.

Ryan

[skelly_snake]

If you can get access to a car with a cage in it take the time to make card board patterns of the inside radius of as many hoops as you can get at.
Then bend the tubes to match.
Getting the main hoop tight to the body is the toughest part.
If it's perfect the rest of the cage will work sweet.
But if your sloppy with that tube the rest will be all over the place.
We use a really simple cheap pipe bender.
You don't need anything fancy.
Just take your time and be careful the pipe doesn't collapse.

Blah blah blah...
Can you tell fabrication is my fav?