Cage prep rules clarification

#1

I’m preping my first SE30 and I had a question about the cage prep. As I do in all my cars, I wanted to attach (weld) the cage down the a and b pillars to the unibody using sheetmetal plates. This greatly increases the strenght of the cage and chassis in a rollover since they now share their integrity, but it is also commonly viewed a purely a performance enhancing option. I have spoken with local guys and they seem to think it is not legal, but I wnat to know for sure as it has been a long time since I have raced a car with a non-intagrated cage.

If it is not legal at this time, how do we go about making it legal? It truly is a great safety device, also in a minor rollover it can save the chassis. The cost to do it is not much, and the impact on the safety of the car is huge.

#2

I can’t speak for the legality, but that does sound like a good idea.

#3

The cage rules are mainly governed by the NASA CCR and are not specific to just Spec e30.

You can have max 8 points attached to the car. Each point has to be on a plate and the plate can only be a certain size (100 sq. inches total). That would pretty much rule out the sheetmetal plates you’re talking about.

Not sure what the overall rules process is for NASA, but it’s probably not an easy road to go down.

  • definitely sounds like better performance from the cage, but not legal.
#4

agreed

one other consideration is that some people like to cross over to other sanctioning body’s series, so the current commonality of cage rules helps there.
bruce

#5

I’m comming over from HC. The HC rules have a specific clause making it legal, and class rules supercede the NASA CCR. It is legal in HC since there are a lot of ex-world challenge, or current world challenge cars running in HC, and nearly all pro cars have cages integrated in the fashion I described.

I understand that crossover ability is an important aspect of a racecar, but just because it is legal doesn’t mean you have to do it. It is my opinion that safety equipment should not be sacrificed over a resonable amount of money. These pieces cost around $150 for the sheetmetal and around 6 hours of shop time to complete. I admit that there are performance side effects, but the main purpose is safety.

BTW, I’m new to the series, so let me know if you are a SE30 offical when you reply.

#6

http://spece30.com/component/option,com_contact/catid,78/Itemid,3/
this is a list of the regional series directors with Carter Hunt being the top dog.

I think the motivation in most series where this is allowed is for increased chassis rigidity/performance, so there would have to be an overwhelming groundswell of support to make it happen in Spec E30, where we try to keep a stable ruleset.
thanks,
bruce

#7

I agree with Bruce, this is not very likely to happen. Although $150 and 6 hours shop time doesn’t sound like much in the name of safety, it is still money and won’t be well recieved by the average budget concious Spec E30 racer. The perceived performance gain will make people feel like this is something they have to get done and the hassle of getting their cages modified, the cost and the fact we like to keep the rules stable so people aren’t preparing to a moving rule set means it just isn’t going to happen. A well built cage by a good cage builder is perfectly safe in my mind and I don’t think gussets will make or break the safety of a cage.

#8

I’m not a spec e30 official, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn express last night.

Seriously, I’ve been doing this stuff for quite some time and Simon and Bruce have nailed-it in their responses.Hat’s off to them for their participation with the rules committe.

Regards, Robert Patton

#9

thanks for the input.

#10

Mike, in honda challenge, this thread would have ended like this:

“Please submit a rules request.”

or even:

“Please submit a rules request along with a paragraph describing your hardship,and include a list of people that will be pissed off at me if the rule is not implemented. A picture of you ailing mother or a discarded carboard box of kittens or puppies is also sufficient.”

#11

ChrisLock wrote:

[quote]Mike, in honda challenge, this thread would have ended like this:

“Please submit a rules request.”

or even:

“Please submit a rules request along with a paragraph describing your hardship,and include a list of people that will be pissed off at me if the rule is not implemented. A picture of you ailing mother or a discarded carboard box of kittens or puppies is also sufficient.”[/quote]

You think all that stuff would help? :slight_smile:

#12

well, not the kittens

#13

NASA Racing primer:

Honda Challenge: Frequent rule changes or drivers will b!tch.

Spec E30: Stable rules or drivers will b!tch.

Spec Miata: Drivers will b!tch.

Steve D.