roll bar/cage question
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From: Franklin Lakes, NJ
roll bar/cage question over summer, i plan on having a 6 point roll cage/bar (I don't know if there is a difference) installed in my car. I am doing it for three reasons. 1. safety of course 2. stiffening up the car 3. in case i ever do run faster than a 11.50 
my question is as follows: has anyone ever heard of a subframe/roll cage system that will integrate the two for more rigidity? i remember reading it one time but don't remember where. i don't know how this would be done, but i feel the need to ask before assuming anything. i believe it was a chassis shop sponsor (i wanna say midwest but i'm not sure) that posted it. thanks in advance guys
my question is as follows: has anyone ever heard of a subframe/roll cage system that will integrate the two for more rigidity? i remember reading it one time but don't remember where. i don't know how this would be done, but i feel the need to ask before assuming anything. i believe it was a chassis shop sponsor (i wanna say midwest but i'm not sure) that posted it. thanks in advance guys
normally on a roll bar/cage on a unibody car the subframe connectors run inboard the main hoop far enough to add the two short diagonals(points 7 and 8 compared to a 6 point) from the connectors to the main hoop. however, the subframe connectors on most f-body cars are only a few inches inboard of the main hoop. this causes the short diagonals to run nearly vertical, therefore not doing much benefit for structure. it can be done, but is it worth it...
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From: Out on the farm in Central IL
There are advantages to tieing them together. This is the way all 25.x cages have to be built. With just a 6 pt, I would say get a good set of SFCs and a CM roll bar. You will gain a great deal of chassis stiffness. I don;t think there is a lot of gain in tieing the roll bar to the SFCs at this point.
you will notice enough of a difference in rigidity with a cage even without subframe connectors. i had a 5 point in my formula without sub frame connectors and it really got rid of most of the body roll around corners at stock height, but with my seat fully back against the bar any wheel hop or potholes made the whole car feel like it was going to shake itself apart
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I would do everything in 4130 "chromemoly" round tubing. For a 6-point it must be 1.75 x .095. Then do a good set of subframes. At this point, it's not worth the extra money to tie them together. I do rollbars all the time on these cars and I always suggest SFC's at the same time.
Call me if you want to come check out a similar setup I fabricate everything in-house including bending the rollbars and SFCs...
Call me if you want to come check out a similar setup I fabricate everything in-house including bending the rollbars and SFCs...
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To do it for maximum support you would want to look at a through the floor set up. its nasty looking in a street car but allows you to use some serious components to put it all together. I've seen this on a few class A sedan cars.