I've been thinking about how best to lay out my cage for a while now. The rear roll bar, diagonal and stays are pretty much a given on the locost so it was the front half and roof that came in for scrutiny.

I had considered the external layout and bolting it on so i could remove it for access if required but I also want to vent the side panels at the engine bay bulkhead and didnt like the look of some of the bases of cages, not least the ones with a bend at the bottom which aren't MSA compliant. This one doesnt have the bend at least, but obscures the venting:



Heres mine:



This is just a first shot, I tried tying the front legs into the chassis, having the front frame about where the screen would normally go (I think Ive gone one step too far forward in my diagram)

Things Id like to know:

Is the basic layout MSA compliant if made from the appropriate material and welded by a good welding contractor?

Will having the tube inside the chassis annoy my knees forever more? I see the procomp cage is welded to plates mounted on top of the standard chassis bars?



Does the X bar in the roof (rather than two rails along the car and a single diagonal) make getting in and out significantly easier? more importantly is it still safe?

Cheers

PS, a second take:



An alternative option for the lower mounting, but I don't like the single bolt fixing



Any comments of advice would be great as obviously if I'm going to tie in the front tube as Ive shown it needs done asap, otherwise I need to fit some fairly hefty mounting plates to which i can bolt or weld the cage at a later date.

[Edited on 6/10/10 by alistairolsen]

I doubt the X shape roof bars will comply. They need to be as per diagram 53, page 191 in this dococument http://msauk.org/uploadedfiles/msa_forms/bluebooks/10/160-195%20Competitor%20Safety.pdf

which shows 2 connecting bars, in line, either straight or with a bend/kink in them. You can have an optional cross/digaonal bar between them, but you must have the 2 outer connecting bars.

I did wonder, I didnt like the look of them, but it's as ever a trade off between living with the cage everyday, and wanting it right the one time you have to rely on it.

Thats why im going for the arched style bars that are slightly towards the centre, that should allow comfortable access and 'i beleive' will still comply (should I ever need them to)



[Edited on 6/10/10 by loggyboy]

I havent looked at the MSA implications, but i do recall seeing diagrams showing bolt on connections, you could do a single bar down the midde for road use, then bolt on the side braces when using for competion.
Diagrams 21-29 and 52 seem to show approved bolt in connections

That might be an option. I seem to remember matt saying the raised bars like in your diagram (which is the MK cage I think?) arent legal

Just to let you know its my car in the first pic and the cage doesn't affect the vented panels at all, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered venting them

quote:

---

Originally posted by alistairolsen
That might be an option. I seem to remember matt saying the raised bars like in your diagram (which is the MK cage I think?) arent legal

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by alistairolsen
That might be an option. I seem to remember matt saying the raised bars like in your diagram (which is the MK cage I think?) arent legal

---

On a further note regarding comparisons to Procomps cages, these are tested and approved, so using these as any form of base is pointless, unless of course that part of design is also shown in the Blue book. Use nothing but the blue book for guidance and you should get it right.

I would ignore the Caged mounting system as its rubbish (I know this because I have one and had to get Pro Comp to modify my chassis to fit it correctly)

I would drag the car down to Pro Comp and let them do their thing, for the sake of a few hundred ££'s it’s not worth 'trying' to do it yourself

This is not my opinion, this is from my experience BTW

This is how my cage is now, custom made in holland, don't know how this complies to msa or not, but gives some thought


striker cage 1

striker cage 2

striker cage 3

Don't know about how useful it will be in a rollover Werner (hope you don't ever test it)... but that looks

thanks, i'm really pleased with it and no i'm not going to test it, though it's build to standard raw spec, they all are like this.