I've been looking at roll cages and trying to learn more about them and saw a 10-14pt conversion kit. Other than going through the firewall & dash, what are the benefits of a 14-pt over an 8 or 10pt?

Or for that matter, what are the benefits of 8 & 10 pts over the 4pt roll bar. I've not found much other than required for tech lists on cages.

 

Basically roll cages are for your protection. 14pt is stronger and will give
you more protection. That's just my obvious opinion lol. Also 14pt sill give u less body flex as well

 

I was looking for something more than the blatanly obvious

 

Hello
The pros are if you race the vehicle you will need it (but hopefully never have to use it) but it will protect you if that anything ever happens. I went with the bare minimum in my car "tubing wise" and save weight. The cons are no more back seat and if you are going to drive the car on the street at all I would recommend a swing out bar (makes it easier to get in and out). If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
Thanks
Brad

 

Just wanted to make sure we got it all covered. Haha

 

Pro's are saftey and structure.


Cons are expensive installs(unless you do it your self)
Also makes the interior of the car pretty unusable unless you plan very well on where the bars are going and use swing outs etc....


A regular 6 point roll bar will make your car much stiffer when launching and taking turns as well. If your car runs between 10.00 and 11.49 the race track will require you to have at least 5 or maybe 6 points installed for saftey. If you go 8.50 to 9.99 you will be required to have a halo ceiling bar and dash bars making the 6 point bar into a 8 point cage. If you run the trans tunnel bars it will be a 10 point cage.

If you have a frequently driven street car that stays slower than 10.0 a nice 6 point bar with swing outs would be nice and could be installed at a reasonable price.

 

I've thought of getting one for road use since the third gen has all the structural rigidity of news paper and if I get T-boned by anything larger than a civic I'll most certainly be killed.

 

A basic 8 point "cage" can certify to 8.50 but all the other bars still serve a purpose.

The dash bar, door X bar, main hoop diagonals, roof diagonal, sill bar and tubes through the firewall are not required but all do something different to how the car reacts and protecting the driver. Although I have a full cage, I still don't have the tubes through the firewall.

Disadvantage of a full cage? Lots of extra weight and difficult to get in and out of the car especially if you have door X bars. A simple swing out door bar will certify to 8.50.

A typical roll bar is good to 10.0 as long as the floor and firewall have not been modified. 6 point is fine but many add the main hoop diagonals to make it an 8 point. Although it's not required, a full cage can be in a 12 second car if you want. Once you hit the 9 second range, a full cage is mandatory.

A 4 point roll bar is for show only. It's not track legal.

 

I would have liked to added the dash bar and rocker bars to mine. I just figured its more weight and money. I really only plan on going mid to high 9's with mine so the simple stuff will work for me.

 

look around at some of the accident threads from years past for the 3rd gens. Despite the flex, these things are tanks. They can really take a hit. You are more than safe under most normal accident circumstances on the street.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I've been thinking about a cage because I know that the mods I'm planning on doing to my car would require me to run in the SCCA F-Mod class. And while they don't require a cage (it is strongly recommended however), I figured that if I ever do go turtle it would be nice not to be crushed.

One question though, could I do a 10pt and then just run the rocker tubes of a 14pt? I highly doubt I'll ever see 10's in my life.

EDIT

The car would be driven on a semi regular basis, so swing out bars would be more than likely to be used.

 

If you DO install a cage, you need to install a 5-point harness as well

 

It depends on the class you want to race in.( the track will give you all the info depending on what you are doing) A 5 point harness is usually a good idea. If just for street use, a 6 point bar is good enough as the upper cage bars may be in your sight line and get anoying in daily driving conditions.

 

Lets not forget. Ive known of people getting seriously injured just by having a cage in there street car. If you get plowed in the side while your out just driving around, (which probably means you wont have a helmet on) and your head comes in contact with one of these bars, you could be looking at some pretty bad injuries, if not death.

 

However, i DO have a 8 point in mine with the low side bars, main loop, and reinforcement bars. Ive noticed a stiffer chassis with it, and because the side bars are low, its easy to get in, and out of, and theres no chance of your head coming into contact if a bad situation occurs. And yes..... say goodby to the back seat. Mine are still in the car, but unusable.

 

got some pics of your roll cage...??????

 

Ive always heard about how on a street car a cage can also be a bad thing. Just like Jeremy mentioned above. It would give something for an unhelmeted head to smack into. However, Im up in the air about that. To me it seems that if the cage is a certain minimum distance from the driver, wouldnt it be just as safe if not safer then an unprotected car? Your head could hit several things inside, C-pillar especially, in a cage-less car. Any thoughts on that?

 

This is why you need at least a 5-point harness, it will actually hold you in the seat (If it's adjusted correctly). The stock 3 point will let you move around way too much and that's where you get into trouble with the cage