Boo Yeah

I know my car will need a 6-point soon if i get some nitrous, so here is the question, was there a huge difference in chassis stiffness??? As well, should i go bolt in of weld in??? Should i just get a 10, how much is the price difference??? Sitffness?? Can people still get in the back??

scot

Even a 4 point reduces rear seat access, but that's a minor problem.On the street the big issue is that even a minor lateral bump sends a back seat passangers head into an immovable bar. Lethal.6-10 point cages are an order of magnitude more dangerous for anyone without a helmet.If you look at the pictures of my full frame car elsewhere on this site you'll notice two things. I had to delete the back seat completely so I could locate the roll bar far enough back so as to not be an issue for the driver and pass.The two forward arms need to be just two inches off the floor, from the hoop to the front floor.Not just to make it easy to get in and out , but more importantly to have less to accidently bang into. Even a slow speed hit from the side can put your head in fatal danger if the cross bars are too high, as you'll see in some custom work that looks exotic.I've already posted elsewhere here how you can safely build a rigid chassis.

Boo Yeah

i have rear passengers ocasionally can the bars be covered in order to keep them from hitting their heads?? How well does the wolfe bolt in work?/?? Is there a big difference in chasis rigidity??

scot

Roll bar padding is mostly cosmetic. It's compression happens very fast and is only really useful in increasing the contact area for a helmet. I know this isn't what people want to hear but it's true. Back seat passengers can easily be put in mortal danger by minor impacts that throw them up, forward, backwards or sideways into a roll bar.Even when belted in, their heads are only inches away from an immovable <2 inch contact point.Far more dangerous than impacting a larger surface area.It's why a slow moving bullet can be lethal.

Boo Yeah

but is a 6 point as bad

Gary Z

I believe Scot's observations are valid and very important. My conclusions are that you need to decide whether you want a racecar or a passenger car and if you decide to install a roll bar or cage, then you should remove the rear seat.

<small>[ December 21, 2002, 02:58 PM: Message edited by: Gary Z ]</small>

v7guy

iTrader: (1)

yes, a six point would be just as bad, the main hoop that goes along the roof line is just a few inches from the side of your passengers heads. I don't know how many times I smacked my head on those sail panels, just imagine what it would be like if there was a solid steel bar there instead.
I look at it like this, the back seats are relatively useless and gettting rid of them not only removes temptations to let people sit back there but also gives you more room to do other things with the interior.
It was correctly stated before, if you want to have your passengers safety in mind, that you need to make a decision on wether you want your car to haul more than one person or not, and put a cage in according to that decision.

Boo Yeah

is the front passenger ok??? Or are there any problems with the cage there????

Boo Yeah

what if you covered it with a rediculous amount of foam and cloth padding???? I am talking about 6-9inches deep??? Would this not be enough??? You would think this would be softer than the plastic panel??

v7guy

iTrader: (1)

that amount of padding might be ok, but there's not enough room in between the car and the cage to effectively wrap things up.
Other than bashing your shin the frnt should be fine