yet another question regarding building a cage
 

Hello all, this is my first post on here! A few days back during the SCDA trackday at lime rock park, I crashed the brz into a tire wall and caused quite a bit of damage to the car. approximately three grand worth of body work, and front passenger side suspension is completely out of alignment. i am guessing the suspension/lcr needs to go as well. :sigh:

anyhow always have been thinking of turning this car into a track car and possibly a race car. currently this is my daily driver and occasional track toy, and i have a spec miata for racing. the BRZ is in shop now, and figured this would be the time to give the car an overhaul, namely putting a half cage in and five point harness and racing seat. the reason i decide not to go with a full cage yet is i still wish to be able to drive the car from and to event without trailering, the extra ability to have it still street legal is a big plus and saves a lot of time/money/hassles. but i do have plan to make it into a full on race car in the future, namely when the spec 86 series is introduced:party0030: does anyone know a conversion from a custom made half cage to a full cage would be viable and easy to do? I will have a reputable cage builder near me to do it, and if anyone can shed some light how much it usually costs to build a half cage, would be great. thanks guys!

cheers!:cheers:

You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

While there's nothing that prevents a roll cage from being illegal, having any cage while you are driving the car on public roads puts your head at severe risk of injury if you do get in an accident.

-alex

If you're within driving distance of lime rock you aren't that far away. Call up Scott from Ballistic motorsports. He is a fabricator and SCCA driving instructor and will not steer you wrong, I've actually seen him turn away a customer because what they wanted to do would not be track legal AND would potentially ruin the car in the process.

I'd find a company that makes a good quality weld in cage. If you go the custom route it's gonna be 3x more expensive and unless you're seriously serious racing theres no need.

Sell me your Spec Miata so I can get rid of my shitty NA M45 1.6L one...

thanks for the input. correct me if i am wrong, i thought half cage(or aka rollbar) is safer than full cage because of this reason. i am interested in having a half cage installed first, and a few years down the road, converting it to a full cage.

Just think of it this way: a cage is a part of an active safety system that should be used with a harness and seat.

If you put in a cage, it alters the crash characteristics. It puts a metal bar very close to your head (even if it's behind the seat). It makes crumple zones in your car act differently. It may transfer crash forces differently.

Have you seen how a dummy's head moves in a wreck? Side impact? Rear? Offset? The body moves in unpredictable fashon when you are hit and if you are close, you may strike the cage with your head or another body part.

I am only saying this so you understand what it means to put a roll cage/bar/whatever near your head. You don't need to be in a rolling car to be in a serious accident.

-alex