Autopower Roll cage or VSR race Bar ?

[HarryPotter]

Ask 619e30 he's pretty knowledgeable on the subject.

[BMW_TUNER]

I am DE' ing but I will run full season auto-x and then I want to do full race in a few years.

[JGood]

I bought a used Kirk 6 point bolt-in cage to replace my Autopower 4-point roll bar. After installing it and getting in the car, I immediately removed it, sold it, and put my roll bar back in. I felt much safer with the roll bar. I'll let the pics explain:


















Note how far inboard the vertical tubes are. Much further then the autopower roll bar. Granted, they have wider floor plates, but still. Also, my head rested against the top tube while in my normal seated position. My leg rested against the front down tube as well. Basically, If I so much as hit a bump in the track the wrong way, I was going to have serious body damage with that cage.

[e30s50dan]

are you just D.E ing or racing/TT.??..I am working on a cage now.I will be running NASA TT and also driving to work,BUT work is only a mile away

good luck

[BMW_TUNER]

Ok so VSR it is.

[CrazyB]

I do regularly drive my car on the street and Only track twice a month. Ironicly I have seen two accidents here in Nevada in the last two years that involved a fatality in an e30 pass and a driver. It seems the older I get the more I worry a out getting t-boned. So with that in mind it is time to work on safety.

Unless you wear a helmet the full cage on a street is dangerous

[kishg]

if your daily driving, that rules out cage.

[briansjacobs]

I can just see it now, daily driving with a SA05 with Hans Device

[BMW_TUNER]

I do regularly drive my car on the street and Only track twice a month. Ironicly I have seen two accidents here in Nevada in the last two years that involved a fatality in an e30 pass and a driver. It seems the older I get the more I worry a out getting t-boned. So with that in mind it is time to work on safety.

[briansjacobs]

first a shitty cage is better than a good bar. With that said my has an autopower cage modified with nascar door bars. I have no complaints with it, but in all my years I have never taken an impact hard enough to need the safety of the cage. It does add a ton of rigidity to the car as well.

[kishg]

go with vsr for now, esp if you are street driving the car. when your ready to trailer it, get a proper welded in cage. i've had an autopower rollbar (half cage) previous and while it did the job, it was not quite flush with the roofline and hard to install. the vsr is better. i've also raced a car with an autopower bolt-in and trust me you don't want to :)

[jlevie]

The Autopower cage is pretty good for a bolt in. And a cage beats a rollbar for protection every time.

But the best solution would be to have a cage welded in. It will be more expensive but provide greater protection.

[BMW_TUNER]

I am getting ready to pull the trigger on at min. a roll bar (VSR) but I would also be happy to run a full blown bolt in cage. Does anyone have any experience with the Autopower bolt in cages? Are they crap? Am I better off doing the VSR for now and having a full blown cage fabbed when I go to designated track use? Any input is appreciated.