My 91 future IT-S car should be going to the fabricators next week to get its cage installed.........any tips, or suggestions on designs that have worked (and were SCCA legal).

Pics would be great!

thanks

 

Your in Miami? Who is doing the cage?

 

Have you looked at the SpeedSource cages ? www.speedsourceinc.com

 

Checkered flag racing..heard of them? Ive seen a few 1st gen cages theyve built and they look pretty good. Im just still ironing out the details on the design. Honestlly im a bit confused by the speedsource cages, unless Im missing something, they seem a bit redudant.

 

***they seem a bit redudant.***

If you think SpeedSource is a bit redudant you need to look at the www.bimmerworld.com cages. Maybe that's why cars fabed by both companys are FAST.

 

PM me your email addy and I'll send you 20 or so pics... I'm lazy today.

 

I'd like to see 8pt FC cages...

 

speedsource is the best for IT-S

 

Redundancy is what keeps one of your rear shocks from piercing the back of your helmet, killing you before you even have a clue you've just spun backwards into a wall.

I *heart* redundancy...

 

I understand that they are indeed the most compettitive In it-s, but with some backgroundin in load bearing as an aeronautical engineer I dont "understand" their cages. I'm all for robust cages, but for example I dont undersatand why they would opt to run the rear bars to the top of the fuel tank, and not to the strut towers, where they could do some good. Outside of creating a complete load model of the car and using finite element analysis software to run different options I wouldnt understand how they came up with such a design.

Dont get me wrong I look up to them, and I understand that they indeed are very competitive. Perhaps they have done the math on this car, and came up with the best design, however I doubt it.

 

Gut the doors and install Nascar style bars on the drivers side. Start them low enough to take the front bumper from another car. The extra space makes driving orders of magnitude more comfortable. Also decide if you ever plan on having passengers. If not, put in a petty bar to triangulate the entire drivers compartment. Other things to consider are the major limitations in the rules book (no bracing forward of the firewall, etc...

my $0.02
-Trent

 

Can you show us the pic your referring to? I've seen SS cages and can't imagine what you're refering to, unless the cage you're referring to had the downbars attaching to the frame rails.

I can assure you that SS has done a FEA on their cages. Hell, I've had an FEA done and I've got a racing budget of (checking my pockets)... $43.12 this year.

 

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WOW.....a bit melodramatic perhaps?

 

um, what he said...hehe.

I would think that one WOULD run the bars to the strut towers. Most FIA style cages are designed that way, including the redundancies...

 

Not completely familiar with the FC's, but I'd imagine that the rear downbars pads are on the framerails, and possibly the LCA pickup points (?) on the subframe.

ISC Racing is another good source for cage work, and they're in your neck of the woods.

www.iscracing.net

 

Maybe. Of course, I'm still alive, so take that how you want it.

 

so........any pics, anybody? anybody? Bueler?

 

ISC Racing is another good source for cage work, and they're in your neck of the woods.

Yeah, Ive rented 2 of their first gen cars, and they were great. Very well prepared cars, however, although I know they run FC's Ive never seen any of them. Any idea on what geometry setup they run for the cage?

 

Let's here it for redundancy, here is an EVO VIII @ big willow last weekend, turn 9 100mph plus rolled 6-8 times, doors opened, and the driver "walked away".

http://www.socalevo.net/forums/viewt...=6908&start=15

Regarding the cage with the bars going to the "gas tank". Have you guys even seen an FC before... I know you have, thoose would be the frame rails the plates are sitting on/attached to. I agree the rear towers need to be tied in, but that is not the gas tank, it is in front, and outboard of the tank. Carl Byck

 

I would guess that the proper way to tie in to the rear would be at the frame rails ("gastank"). The towers are taking the vertical loading but I would assume the lateral load is being transferred through the subframe and the lower unibody/frame rails. It's not a like the front suspension where the shock/strut is actually a location, lateral load bearing member of the suspension. On my ITS car I told the cage builder to locate the rear down bars to the floorpan/frame rails but he felt the need to locate them to the towers. I wasn't pleased but accepted the car anyway.

 

I have the Kirk cage. It locates the rear cross brace just to the rear of the towers, on the frame rail. I am adding a secondary structure that will tie the rear towers together, and add a cross brace from those to the main hoop. What is the concensus on a cross brace inside the roof halo? Also does anyone have a good source for the gussets used in the "pro" cages ALA BMW/Porsche factory cages. I am refering to the nice hole punched folded sheet metal gussets, not just plate(weight). One other thing, how is everyone reinforcing the top of the rear towers. I have Advanced Design coil overs, and they utilize two stock bushings. I can fab something, but was curious if anyone was using the Cusco, or perhaps JIC pieces? My problem is that I suspect the larger piston diameter on the AD dampers will preclude any ready made products. Carl

 

Several folks make them, I'll try to dig up the info of the guy that told me he'd do it.

Although, these gussets aren't necessarily lighter than plate, but they're considerably stronger. My guess would be that the weight is about equal, but you have 2 or 3 times the strength of a piece of plate. For stuff like NASCAR bars, etc., I still use the "old fashioned" gussets, but on an X-brace I use the "new-hotness" gussets.

Plus they look cool.

 

If you're running SCCA, just be cautious of the 100" rule as well as the 12"x2" rule, especially when going from horizontal to vertical. Even though they're on two different planes, when flattened out the length cant be longer than 12".

Huge gains in "stiffness" but remember, it's weight at the worst possible place.

Send me some measurements and I can make some for you.