pro stock john,
heres a paragraph i made for the fast ls1 site because as u stated[ita also post in ls1 tech a few times as people asked ] alot of people are useing the wrong terminoligy] ,a cage is a cage and a roll bar is a roll bar[a roll bar can have 5pts 6pts 7pts and8 pts,a cage can have 6 pt ,8,10 12pts] a lot of people call up for cages and their trying to ask for roll bars its a common mistake
,most cages are actualy are 6pt unless 2 diagnal bars go to tunnel or frame connectors[before everyone jumps on me the 2 side bars usually go to the front uprights so unless you have the 2 diags like i said and they are mandatory when a cage is put on plates[pge 209 of rule book see diag. read D] if its a chassis car[ ie chevelle,malibu,corvetteanything with a full frame under it]the cage then has to be mounted to the chassis and dosnt require the 2 diags to tunnel. what else is needed are ,a window net,padding anywhere drivers helmet can contact[pge 203], and the instaler should put tabs for required shoulder harness [so its bolted to spine bar and cannot slip off you in case of accident]and if you go faster than 9.99 a chassis cert that should cover the basics hope this helps. bob
@ nrc motorsports

 

Bob, seen your pics of the cage in the Z06, when you get some of a f-body can you either post them in a new thread, and or email them to me. I like your work, but wanna see whatmy daily driven soon to be caged and quicker T Top is going to look like. Thanks.

Charlie.

 

I'm on the "this sucks" band wagon
I run mostly IHRA but a few NHRA's a year.I planned on running 10.?? next year and already have a rollbar,but WILL NOT cage my car!!
All this because of T-tops Must of been a Mustang owner that came up with this rule

 

Some Mustangs have T-tops. I know they had them in '84-86, and possibly some late 70s Mustangs.

I still think it would be cheaper to replace the T-tops with a metal or fiberglass roof.

Tony

 

NRC-Motorsports said...
"ok guys page 24 of the 03 rule book states any car running 10.99 and 135mph needs a cage.period,any car running 10.00-10.99 under 135 mph can use a roll bar,except a convertable which has to have a cage if it runs 10.99 or faster et and or if it runs over 135 mph [on converts its an either one ]it has to have a cage ,i just got of the phone with our div 1 guy and he also says cars with lift off tops. that have no mid bar [ie t top bar] like you corvette guys/supras are concidered convertables as winshield has no support to rear structure,Ron will call me mon after speaking to bob lange to clarify the ruling on the NHRA site.so this will have to wait another 72 hrs to be straightend out so those of you leaving Ron messages he is going to call me mon thnx bob 631-435-1895"

Unless i have misread if you do have an F-body with the "t top bar" as long as you are under 135mph you only need a roll bar if you are in the 10.00-10.99 range. In other words, if you run a 10.01@134.9mph and have a T-top car you do not need a full roll cage, only a roll bar. Is that a correct statement? Thanks in advance.

 

I'll chime in on this one as one of the slightly pissed off experts on this topic. I ran an '99 T/A with T-Tops that I managed to corkscrew down into the median on I-75 at 50 miles an hour on a cold winter day. She did the full roll and slid for a bit on the roof along the way. Yes the rear roof V-crimped and the front held solid. Sure the T-Tops blew out but my head never exited the body of the car in a stock seat and stock seat belt.

Now knowing this information with real life test data to back it up, I built a full 8-point CM roll bar (2 to the rear, 2 for the loop, 2 for the loop to the tunnel, and 2 side bars all to plates or subframe connectors) in my 2001 which is a 10.56 car at the moment. This roll bar combined with the proper certied setbelts will hold me in the car with the T-Top. The additional front posst and dash support tie in is not going to make a differnece in a 10 second car below 140mph. The main loop is going to hold.

If they were really concerned about your saftety in a T-Top they would require a properly mounted race seat to replace the stock one which is far more likley to break loose and send you out the top then the main loop is to crush in these cars. Shoot, I'm surprised they don't require a Lexan aftermarket replacement since I know the biggest bummer of T-Tops is getting all that glass out of your hair and your ears when you flip these things.

This sound like an intentional targeting of T-Top guys because a few bad apples forgot to lock them down on hot days and blew them off all over the tracks.

Safety is important and let's not kid ourselves, this is a dangerous hobby, but they've gone after the wrong safety issues on this one for 10 second cars.

Rick

 

yes as the rule is stated you are correct but [theres always a but] the track has the right to ask you to but a cage in because you are so close[within 10% of the rule #s] that if the wind blew the wrong way you would be faster than allowed ,its uo to the tech dept at track,the safety rule is there for you and the track the safer they keep the cars the better it is for you if there ever is a problem and the better for them with their insurance liabilities

 

something just dawned on me...

they may have posted that 10.99 rule as a clarification. If you read the rulebook now..ALL CARS must have a roll cage at 10.99/135mph UNLESS the floorboard/firewall are unaltered.

They may be using the same distinction here...just pointing out that t-top cars are NOT going to be considered as convertables (which was originally speculated)...

 

okay guys and gals rejoice!

National dragster dated November 14th, has the following update on 2004 rule changes:

"On T-top-design vehicles with an unaltered firewall, floor and body and running between 10.00 and 10.99 a roll bar is permitted in place of a roll cage.



Okay everyone happy?

Derek

 

 

Got any pics?

 

heres some picts of our formula with a cage in it thnx bob

 

Thanks bob, thats the 10 pt cage right?

I always liked cages, but the two bars going up and in the dash are a lil to much

But that is requiered on lets say a 9 sec ride?

 

is the rule still on, i heard they changed it back

 

9.99 or quicker

 

ya the rule for 04 is 5pt (drivers side) minimumto 10.0 for non convertibles (t top is non convertible)

 

so far they left things alone ,the waY they were in 03 , see what happens next year [but im sure it will come]

 

Or any car over 135 MPH requires a 10 point. Ideally a 9.99 is 135 MPH, but there are some cars out there that are running in the 10's right at or above 135. Harlan's done it a couple times now, doh!

 

Some of the FI guys will run faster than 135 and be in the 10s still. Already seen it

 

I'm happy with a rollbar good to 10.00

For a minute there I was thinking of running stock tires and trying to go 134mph at 11.9 with my new setup