TRM Spec e30 rollcage build photos

[matt]

Keeping the sunroof was a preference of the owner, we did suggest otherwise.

Gusseting to the chassis like you're suggesting is illegal is Spece30 racing. We may go back and add some gussets between different tubes, and we may actually add a couple of bars.

The rear was tied in to the rear spring upper perches (well, the trunk floor above them since cutting the sheet metal there is illegal) because it's stronger than the shock tower mounting points (which only need reinforcement when using true rear coilovers, which are also illegal in SpecE30 racing.

[iflytii]

A few comments:

Are you not allowed to take the sunroof cartridge out in spec-e30? You can save a LOT of weight and gain over 1.5" for the cage by taking it out.

Your plinth blocks could be be better designed by following the profile of the rocker and welding the vertical 100% if you aren't going to use a base plate under the plinth.

Some gusseting in the door x, the horizontal to b-pillar and the a-pilar to cross piece would be a nice addition but obviously a decision for the owner (added cost).

Do you have any pics of how the rear was tied in? I think I read somewhere that rear sheet metal was finished off too, got any pics of that?

Overall the cage looks great! My comments were very "nit-picky" :D

[e30 gangsta]

How much would a cage setup like that cost? If car was brought in with no interior or dash?

[matt]

Hey guys, this is a car TRM designed and installed the cage for. It was installed months ago, and has garnered some serious praise from tech inspectors and racers alike since its owner's racing debut in August.

It's a bit more expensive than most people are paying for cages that are just fabricated, but having a cage that's engineered is worth it to a lot of racers. (bolded for an important distinction) Of course a well engineered design can't make up for crappy craftsmanship, but this cage is certainly one of the most well built as well.

I've also edited in some comments to distinguish this cage from some others we've seen around that contain some not-so-awesome features.

Note how the dash bar runs behind the dash and steering wheel... far above the driver's knees. (Here is a different cage for comparison. Note the dash bar location, just because they were too lazy to remove the dash to install the cage.)




Of course all the welds are neat and tidy, made in one pass with a properly sized welder. (Lots of cages are done with smaller 115V welders that don't have the juice to weld .095 tube in one pass.)


Check out the close fit to the B-pillar. (Comparison here) Obviously closer to the chassis means farther from the driver, which makes a tight fitting cage safer.


Foot protection is an optional extra on a lot of cages. By the way, I've also seen cage fabricators weld in tubes with the wiring stuck behind them, which I think is pretty hilarious.


This is a node: a point where multiple tubes meet. This allows loads to be transmitted along the length of the tube to compress it instead of bending it. (Compare that to this cage, with poor nodes. (Tubes don't all meet at the same point.)




Owners comments: http://www.tehdriven.com/forum/showp...9&postcount=21

Custom roll bars (from the main hoop back) are also available, installed only at this point but we're thinking about coming out with a weld in kit for the roll bars. Cages can also be built to any class rules and customized for driver size and car setup (rear coilover reinforcement for example) on a one-off basis.

Thanks for looking!