roll cage upgrade

[gavinp]

Is there a really good guide to this somewhere, to help you choose waht to go for. Something simple like a diagram and then a descripton of each? In summary what I want is the safest roll cage I can get for the SLR without going to a full cage.

thanks

g

 

Superlight R #41

[Nick Chan]

Surely the choice is either a roll bar or a full roll cage? I have a full roadsports roll cage with the straight bars on the top but otherwise its a superlight cage with the curved bars instead. If you don't have a full cage then its the normal FIA roll bars.... or am I missing something?

 

Nick

 

Yellow HPC - A 2.0 VX - 😬

[gavinp]

Hmmm...I am just a bit confused. I think I have a superlight roll bar (thick main bar with 2 struts) but it seems a bit low. My helmet sticks above it a bit (I am only 5' 10").

 

gavin

 

Superlight R #41

[jerrypike]

gavin

with slr you have FIA bar which is higher/thicker than standard bar and has option of petty strut from bar to n/s side chassis

your helmet may come up to this level:

options

lower seat/more rake

lowered floor pan

tall hoop extension

full cage road sport or slr

 

jerry

[Shaun_E]

If there is no cross brace on the main hoop then you do not have an FIA bar.

The rollbars available are:

1. Standard bar - hoop with 2 struts - waste of time probably

2. R500 bar - thicker main hoop but still not FIA approved

3. FIA bar - thicker still and with a cross brace for the main hoop. This is FIA approved and the minimum required for L7OC trackdays. It will also have a hole in the passenger side rear strut which the "petty strut" can be bolted to (other end attaches to passenger side chassis rail).

4. Tall FIA bar - as 3 but higher and standard weather gear won't go over it.

5. New FIA bar - bar has been redesigned (new supplier) and has 2 cross brace bars.

6. Roadsports cage - full roll cage as used in road going race series - weather gear can be used.

7. Superlight cage - full roll cage as used in the Superlight Racecars and identified by curved tubes in the top of the cage. Weather gear won't fit over this (I stand to be corrected on this as some calim it can be done.

Hope this helps.

Shaun

 

Yellow SL #32

[Shaun_E]

There are some more details and pictures on the Caterham website here - click on "online-guide" and then scroll down to "Safety" and click "more"

 

Yellow SL #32

[Chelspeed]

Shaun - Comprehensive list except that there are two types of Roadsports cage in the same way as there are two types of FIA bar, they changed in 2003.

 

The old one was made by Safety Devices and clamped to the bottom of the dashboard. The new one is made by Caged and has filletted curved front hoops which don't clamp to the dashboard, instead they have a U shaped clamp that fits over the sill.

 

I believe Caged are also making the 2004 R400 race cage but I'm not sure how different this is from the 2003 and earlier curved top tube SLR cage from Safety Devices.

[gavinp]

Shaun, great help, just what I needed. I have no.2 by the sounds of it (it is not the original SLR roll bar I know that much).

 

Is no. 5 as tall as no. 4?

 

(I think no.4 is the one that looks as though it is leaning forward a fair bit, when viewed from the side.)

 

thanks

 

gavin

 

Superlight R #41

[robmar]

the new caged r400 cage looks similar but has a couple of minor differences

 

*arrowright*the front 2 mounting bolts go into bushes in the chassis wheras the SD version went through the skin and some sort of bracket which you added under the scuttle....

 

*arrowright*the head restraint mounting is diferent

 

*arrowright*also the top front horizontal part of the cage is less curved or straighter depending on your POV

 

they are both a pig to fit tho ☹️

 

rob

[MikeE]

Rob,

 

I've specced and SLR cage on my R400 kit and have been told 'they're easy to fit'. Regardless of CCs claims I've asked them to make sure they drill all the necessary wholes in the side skins ready for me to just bolt it on.

 

If they deliver to my spec. will it still be a pig to fit? Do I need to make any other requests short of asking them to fit the whole thing (which I don't think they will do anyway).

 

cheers,

Mike

 

R500 Duratec 230bhp

[Shaun_E]

Gavin,

5. should be the same height as 3. so the weather gear fits but I have no measurements.

If you want to do trackdays but don't want to fit a full cage then the FIA bar is the one you want. You might be lucky and find a second hand one (3. in my list) otherwise you'll need to get one from Caterham (5. in my list). Unless you are very tall then you won't need the tall FIA bar(4. in my list but probably now the new design). Your head (with helmet) should be at least 5cm's below the roll bar.

Thanks to the others for the corrections on the full cage designs - if you fancy a full cage then I'll duck out as I only have the standard FIA bar.

Shaun

 

Yellow SL #32

[robmar]

MikeE - it may be worth getting them to fit it see how much they charge it ,if they charge a lot you know it is a PITA

 

here are 2 main problems I had fitting mine

 

1. getting the bolts above the suspension into the cage is even more fiddly than the FIA bar as they are a lot fatter, took me 2 hours ro do this....

 

2. getting the cage to align to all the holes was hard (in fact i gave up on 1 of them!!!) we had various cra tie downs pulling it forward, various bars and ties down pulling it down, not impossible just a lot of hassle The mian problem is that the front 2 holes are under a triangle of pipes and as such they is no stretching you can do to get these in, and if you get these in and the holes further back to do line up then you are stuffed. You can start fiddling about undoing bolts a bit and seeing what you can do but then witht he tie downs you are putting a lot of strain through a half threaded bolt...

 

the way i look at it is tht with 11 out of 12 bolts in it is far better than a FIA bar by itself or with petty strut...

 

rob

[Anthony]

Mike, strongly suggest you get CC to fit this. To the best of my knowledge no reason why it should hold anything else up.

 

All the ones I have seen have been a real swine to get in and have taken hours ! Apologies if they have simplified it since.

 

If CC are convinced it is easy it should be a very low cost and will avoid headache etc with assembly, esp if you are trying to do this in a single garage or with limited help ( certainly one for a few chaps to help hold each corner etc to avoid damage on paint work etc )

 

Regards

[Peter Carmichael]

It took me more time to fit my SLR cage than it took to build the entire car originally.

 

I was mucking about integrating it with half sidescreens though.

 

The trick that made it work was to stretch the cage using a ratchet strap to the front lower wishbone.

[Sheds Moderator]

I had hell on getting my cage off, it must be even more fun getting one on. Mind you most (all) my problems were corrosion related and I ended up drilling one of the bolts. Another bit of startlingly awful design from Dartford, don't get me started on that one again...