Autopower street cage?

[z31maniac]

Is a simple 4pt bolt in cage worth the relatively small investment?

Seems like it would really benefit chassis stiffnes, be auto-x and track legal, and not break the bank.

[matt]

The street one will have no benefits whatsoever for chassis stiffness. Actually almost any bolt in roll bar will have limited stiffness benefits at best.

Legality... well, none of them are required for anything I know of so there are no specs to meet like a real cage. I guess it's legal as long as its padded properly.

Will it make your car safer? Probably.

[Jparkr]

I have the model your talking about. I had blown stock suspension when I got it for trade over some work I did.

It did stiffen the chassis up a bit, it could be in my head, but it felt like the car was more willing to oversteer in the wet... once i got my suspension installed I cant comment Until I welded the street bar into the chassis then i seemed to feel more oversteer again...

Like I said, this could have all been in my head I only had some lapping day experience 5 years ago...

[Elephant]

The first question is are you putting it in temporarily...meaning are you bolting it in because you really think you'll take it out later. If you going over the edge and the car is not going to be dedicated street car again then have something welded in, that will make a much bigger impact on chassis stiffness.

If it's still a DD then you probably don't want to consider a roll cage...that and it will cost more. A well done roll bar welded in should only cost a few hundred $$$, depending on where you're located. Not sure about OK but I bet you could. You didn't say what this one you're considering is costing so a few hundred $$ may be right on target or maybe not.

Either way, even a crappy bolt in, as long as it's bolted in properly, will be safer in some instances, particularly a roll over situation.

Cheers.

[JGood]

You guys think it would be safer, even with stock seats and belts? I would think harnesses at a minimum, I can't imagine the pain involved with my head smacking off a bar at 50g's... Which isn't out of the question if you get rear ended.

[z31maniac]

The first question is are you putting it in temporarily...meaning are you bolting it in because you really think you'll take it out later. If you going over the edge and the car is not going to be dedicated street car again then have something welded in, that will make a much bigger impact on chassis stiffness.

If it's still a DD then you probably don't want to consider a roll cage...that and it will cost more. A well done roll bar welded in should only cost a few hundred $$$, depending on where you're located. Not sure about OK but I bet you could. You didn't say what this one you're considering is costing so a few hundred $$ may be right on target or maybe not.

Either way, even a crappy bolt in, as long as it's bolted in properly, will be safer in some instances, particularly a roll over situation.

Cheers.

I think its around $350.

It's a DD/play/weekend car. I still have a beater than I'm not getting rid of anytime soon.

The main reason I was thinking bolt-in, is that at some point down the line I'd like to do a full cage, but wouldn't want to have to cut out this roll-bar to do it. And like I said, I thought it would help chassis stiffness some. There is already a front strut bar, and I'm going to put in a rear shock tower brace as well.

[z31maniac]

You guys think it would be safer, even with stock seats and belts? I would think harnesses at a minimum, I can't imagine the pain involved with my head smacking off a bar at 50g's... Which isn't out of the question if you get rear ended.

Stock belt, but a Sparco Milano seat.

There is another version of their street bar that has a place to mount a harness off of.

[joshh]

Autopower's footprint is pretty small. And you can get the same thing for just a bit more custom made but better built.

[matt]

Or you can get a much better non-custom bar from me if you can wait a month or two.

[Elephant]

Honestly, Autopower is crap. Their bolt in stuff sucks, at least everything that I've seen. There are better bolt in options but they tend to be localized such as Kirk in the GA area or TC Kline in the midwest.

As someone who is cutting out a welded in cage right now it's not really that bad to cut out a welded cage later. Plus most roll bars mount in places you likely won't mount a real cage anyway so that shouldn't be much of a problem. Yes it's more work but it's not bad at all.

I would recommend doing a custom, or higher quality at least, welded in roll bar. And I am just assuming it will have a diagonal and a horizontal bar....a rear only cage if you will. It sounds like Matt might have something for you, I'd look into that and see what he has to offer.

I don't think TC Kline does roll bars anymore...at least not for E30's. I do know the fabricator that does most of that work anyway so I'm sure it could be done if you desired. If you want his contact info let me know.

If you're going to run a roll bar you will want to investigate the use of harnesses. We are a Schroth distributor and are very safety concious, please let me know if you have any questions at all. I'm more concerned about a safe set up than you buying that stuff from me.

Cheers.

[matt]

Kirk stuff doesn't fit well either, in my experience.

Our bar will be $650. That may not fit into the OP's budget, but the details on the bar make it worth the price difference. Things like using pre-curved base plates on the wheel wells, main hoop bases that fit into the space between the fuel tank and the floor instead of sitting flat on the floor, and putting an X in the main hoop. Oh, and its welded in one piece (no removable bars) and still installs and removes with one person.

I am not in favor of welding in a bar... the advantages over a bolt in are minimal, but the bar will be wasted if you decide to go back to a street car or weld in a full cage. Adding a cage to a welded in rear bar is an option, but welding all the way around the A-pillar bars to the main hoop can be a challenge.

[z31maniac]

I'm in no hurry.

Elephant, thanks for the heads-up on there stuff, I didn't know about, hence the question!

I try to do as much research on things as I can before I plunk down my hard earned money.

Matt, when do you think you may have some pics of your bar in an E30?

Or do you need to send me a prototype for fitment/testing purposes? :)

[matt]

Some pictures were attached in this thread: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=100619

Do you have a coupe or sedan?

[z31maniac]

'88 2dr

[matt]

In a 2 door, you just need to pull all the seats out and it slides right in. I haven't done a 4 door yet, so I'm not sure how that's going to need to work.