[shakes]

I’ve been bouncing this around my head for a bit and have a couple motorsport mates who don’t fully agree with me, (want to massively over engineer things) so I figure I’ll drop my thought process here for more like minded people.

I’m gunna put the vit on its roof at some stage, being a soft top, there isn’t much protection there. Not after high speed, figure I’ll be screwed either way unless I add 300kg+ of barwork. More a slow 2-3 times over that the 2 small pillars won’t cope with. Slow speed flops I’ll deal with along the way.

So a race seat, and re-inforced mounts so I don’t get ejected.
4 point in the rear as far back from my head as possible, which will also act as a cargo barrier.

Lack of space in the front is pushing me to either a full time helmet (nope) or an exo (cop bait) neither are things I wanna do.

Will use 44.45mm x 2.5mm seamless as per CCDA figure that will be overkill and will let me build on it at some stage if I ever manage to clear my morgage and dispose of the kids.
Have access to JD2 with dies and notcher.

[Zook_Fan]

What's the question?

You should be able to make a decent cage for well under 300kg. If you do a basic 4 point (with harness bar and X bracing) roll bar, as close to your head as possible whilst still having room to move without hitting it, then you might stand a chance but the car will not.

To position the main hoop, sit in the car in the same way you would when you're likely to roll it (with helmet, harness, whatever) and get someone to take a photo from the side. You want the roll bar to be high enough so that if you draw a line from roll bar and your timing cover it doesn't intersect with your head, even better would be ~50mm clearance because you'll stretch as you go upside down. Once the windscreen crushes down the engine will likely be the next strongest point for the car to rest on. That creates a game of getting the bar close to your head so it doesn't have to be as high or putting front legs on the cage so you're fully encapsulated.

Just a note that roll bars/cages make you feel like you're well protected and it changes your driving habits. Make sure you are fully cognisant of the limitations of whatever you choose to install before you push the boundaries. That being said, I'm probably more in line with your motorsport mates than giving you the feedback you were after, sorry.

[shakes]

Zook_Fan wrote:

What's the question?

I'm not sure. Mostly putting stuff into words to decipher my brain. And trying to decide if I can get away with a basic 4 point vs a proper 6 point.

Zook_Fan wrote:

Just a note that roll bars/cages make you feel like you're well protected and it changes your driving habits. Make sure you are fully cognisant of the limitations of whatever you choose to install before you push the boundaries.

Thanks, something I'd forgotten.

[Gwagensteve]

I don’t understand internal cages in the passenger compartment in 4wd’s unless the competition rules demand it. The car isn’t safer unless you’re wearing a helmet, harnesses and some sort of containment seat, and in even a light roll or hard flop, the car is totalled long before the cage has the chance to protect the occupants.

A very neat exo over the front wouldn’t be obvious at all (and isn’t inherently illegal) and will mean you can get literally years more out of the build.

[Beery]

As steve said, I don't think exo's tied close into the cab are overly obvious. mine is obvious to me, probably because I made it and put it on the car, but I've had people walk past/around my car for half a day before they even notice and then start asking questions - it's not even body colour (this will probably change). tie it super close to the pillars and colour match it and it'll be pretty subtle.

Mine isn't going to do much in a heavy roll or flop, and is hardly a full exo/cage. it's only there to protect the front pillars, windscreen, gutters and rear corners of the roof, so it's pretty minimal, But if the main reason for having it internal is cop bait, then I'd reconsider, I don't think it's a massive issue. Mine passes RWC without so much as a mention and weighs ~20kg.

What's the car used for? 2-3 times over is pretty significant, how often do you expect that to happen? The cop bait of caved in panels/pillars everywhere or not being able to fit a windscreen in it anymore from a multiple rollover is going to be much more obvious then an exo imo.

[shakes]

Exo vs trail damage is an interesting take.

I wonder how much I’d get away with it as a ‘roof rack’ as a soft top too.
Back to the drawing board to do some more homework. It makes sense.

If anyone has seen something sleek that will work with an early vit I can steal idea off, I’m all ears.