Martin Gonzales posted on June 22, 2009 21:02
So what makes one cage safer than another? They are, after all, just a bunch of bent bars welded together. What's the difference? For starters, a good roll cage will keep the bars away from the driver. Things are not going to be very safe or comfortable if your body, or head, keep hitting the bars.
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| Be sure to keep the bars as far away from you as possible. |
A well-designed cage will make a good compromise between safety, rigidity and weight. If you just keep adding bars and make a jungle gym, you will end up worse off than when you started. The added weight will result in more impact energy for the cage to absorb, and an overly stiff structure may not absorb this energy. The cage should also protect you from a side impact while not overly impeding your exit from the vehicle. It would be a real shame to survive a crash, only to be burnt to a crisp in a car-b-que.
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| Like with any good diet plan, you're going to put some weight back on. Just don't over do it. |
The last, and perhaps most important, item in cage design is visibility. If you cannot see very well due to the bars being in your line of sight, dodging hazards and other cars on the track will be a bit tricky. Make sure all the tubes follow the stock pillars, roofline, etc. as closely as possible to ensure minimal intrusion on visibility.
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| A tight fit will ensure safety and good visibility. |