Roll cage

[///meric]

I want to put a roll cage in my e30. Im gonning to be getting it form bimmerworld most likly and they offer a 3 piont or 6 piont bolt in or weld in. Which cage will be better im going to run sablet 6 piont harness and a sparco Pro 2000

[rs4pro3]

Check what the guidlines are for the class you plan to run in either autocross or track events, then go from there. Or are you putting it in for street use?

[///meric]

Im not really planing on running in any specific class, im just building a fast little fun car for me to injoy and it will see a little street use

[Rich V]

For anything driven on the street stick with a 4 point roll bar. A 6 point roll cage is dangerous and won't offer much (if any) bennefit.

[asubimmer]

For anything driven on the street stick with a 4 point roll bar. A 6 point roll cage is dangerous and won't offer much (if any) bennefit.

how would a 6 point be dangerous?!?!?!

[bimmer8604]

possibly getting stuck, not being able to get out...maybe emergency crews wouldnt know how to move around the bars and whatnot.

Just a thought...

Kyle

[Justin B]

Thats very unlikely, imo. The ONLY downside of having a 6 pt in a car driven on the street is the bar coming along the top of the door frame area, tall guys could hit their head on it so foam needs to be added there. If you get stuck with a cage you'd be dead for sure without one, and if you cant get out because you're stuck well, that front half of the roof would already be in your face anyway w/o the forward bars. Emergency crews wouldnt mess around either if the bars are compromised the rest of the car is probably too and if they need to chop stuff up I can gurantee you they wont hesitate to whack a bar too. Its safer if things are done properly, but for the most part, yes, unnecessary as a simple roll bar (4pt) should be sufficient.

[bimmer8604]

sounds good to me, I just didnt know if they would know how to deal around that kind of stuff...

Kyle

[MichaelH]

Unless you are racing there is no need for anything more than a 4 pt bar. It will serve the purpose of mounting the harnesses as well as provide protection in the case of a rollover. Anything more is a complete PITA and overkill for the street. Ely (rs4pro3) has a nice 4 pt in his car, you might want to see where he got his.

[rs4pro3]

Mine is a Kirk bolt in roll bar, considering I haven't taken the car onto the track yet it's all I need. I purchased it purely for safety, with doing lots of mountain drives, I know it could save my life if an accident occured. I drive the car daily, and yes it's overkill but who cares :finger:
The most important thing is to put foam around any bars that could hit your head or injure you if you hit the bars and wern't wearing a helmet or other safety equipment.

[Bavarian3]

Why do I have a feeling your going to run a full blown cage on the street?

You posted on bimmerforums that you wanted a cage that perhaps tied into the front towers....

[jht3]

get a 4pt roll BAR, the sparco's, and 6pt harnesses. you'll need equal restraints on the drivers and pass sides if you wan't to enter any HPDE's. this is all you need for simple track days while still being safe on the roads. it's best to get a weld-in bar, but a good bolt-in will work. if you start with a good 4pt, you can easily have the a-pillar bars and foot protection welded in later if you retire the car from street use. make sure you build it to bmwcca and scca rules as you can go racing or sell it to someone that will. you'll need to keep the stock belts functional too if you plan on staying street legal. this won't get you a cage that fits tightest to the b-pillars, but that's ok.

as for padding the bars, please do on any bars your head can contact. and use REAL padding, not fun noodles.

[cwbaader]

Cages

Cages are installed for two reasons...safety and strength. A bolt in cage will add safeness to a street driver, but it will not add strength to the car. What I mean is, a bolt in cage will not increass chassis stiffness but a weld in will....tremendously. Having been both routes, if you start with the bolt in and decide to go to a weld in, your spring rates will be wrong. basically the stiffer the car, the softer the springs. As an example, the Korman kit for the e30 uses around 900# front springs and 800-1100 progressive rears (I have a set to sell if anyone that does not have a weld in wants them). Those weights are horrible on a car with a weld in cage. They were designed to tune the chassis flex, so when you try these on a caged car, the car just skates through the turns...you must go much softer for the car to work. Good luck, Chuck

[rwh11385]

As mentioned on bf.c could a rollbar be welded in, and a cage made out of it later on by adding onto it??

[tommyboy]

Would it really be worth the effort?

It'd probably be easier to just take out the bar, sell it, buy a cage, replace?