Roll Cage while still keeping OEM softtop
02-26-2009, 03:44 PM
#31
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[QUOTE=circuitclub,Feb 26 2009, 03:35 PM] i dont get it, there are pictures floating around of cusco/safety 21 bars supporting the s2000 upside down after a roll bar.
02-26-2009, 07:30 PM
#33
Originally Posted by urBan_dK,Feb 26 2009, 04:49 PM
I don't want to start an argument so I'll try to be objective.
I think most people think it is unsafe because:
1. It makes compromises in the number of bends to work with the soft top.
2. The bars are smaller in diameter and may have less wall thickness than many set-ups.
3. They look pretty, cost a lot, and are "JDM," a lot of people have bias against JDM products as they "couldn't possibly be functional."
I'll take off my objective hat, and say that I think most of these arguments are over stated. I have seen the picture you have mentioned, and it does show the structural integrity of these so-called "crushco" bars. They are legal in some Japanese racing classes, so I think they must do something more than just "bling factor."
In my opinion, the bars even on the Cusco roll bar are plenty strong.
I think most people think it is unsafe because:
1. It makes compromises in the number of bends to work with the soft top.
2. The bars are smaller in diameter and may have less wall thickness than many set-ups.
3. They look pretty, cost a lot, and are "JDM," a lot of people have bias against JDM products as they "couldn't possibly be functional."
I'll take off my objective hat, and say that I think most of these arguments are over stated. I have seen the picture you have mentioned, and it does show the structural integrity of these so-called "crushco" bars. They are legal in some Japanese racing classes, so I think they must do something more than just "bling factor."
In my opinion, the bars even on the Cusco roll bar are plenty strong.
02-26-2009, 08:38 PM
#34
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These threads come up remarkably frequently. People ask if it's "safe" to put in a roll bar while keeping the car as a daily driver. Almost never are they really asking for honest opinions, it seems, but validation of what they have already decided to do.
Assuming you don't compromise the stock safety features, you're not making the car any less safe on the track (perhaps on the street, but not on the track) by doing that. But that's not the same thing as "safe" on the track.
It's been a little over two years since I've tracked my S2000 (which I tracked for two years completely stock); for most of the time I was tracking it, I felt that I was safe, despite my height. Now that I've been racing for two years, I can't imagine being on the track without all the safety features a race car has, including and especially a properly welded cage well above the top of my helmet.
We all have to make our own decisions (assuming your decision meets minimum standards for whatever track/organization you're tracking with) as to what's "safe;" for many of us, there's no such thing as "safe" and "top works." YMMV
Assuming you don't compromise the stock safety features, you're not making the car any less safe on the track (perhaps on the street, but not on the track) by doing that. But that's not the same thing as "safe" on the track.
It's been a little over two years since I've tracked my S2000 (which I tracked for two years completely stock); for most of the time I was tracking it, I felt that I was safe, despite my height. Now that I've been racing for two years, I can't imagine being on the track without all the safety features a race car has, including and especially a properly welded cage well above the top of my helmet.
We all have to make our own decisions (assuming your decision meets minimum standards for whatever track/organization you're tracking with) as to what's "safe;" for many of us, there's no such thing as "safe" and "top works." YMMV
02-27-2009, 07:07 AM
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Originally Posted by TKim103,Feb 27 2009, 09:36 AM
will my Cusco 4 point pass tech for most east coast track events? TrackDaze, HPDE, etc
02-27-2009, 07:24 AM
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Originally Posted by s2kobsession,Feb 27 2009, 08:07 AM
I could contact the organization you plan to run with before making the trip to the track.
02-27-2009, 07:58 AM
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Originally Posted by TKim103,Feb 27 2009, 09:36 AM
will my Cusco 4 point pass tech for most east coast track events? TrackDaze, HPDE, etc
I also don't think they pass at njmp or watkins but I have seen some people get away with it.
For me and like a lot of others have said I wouldn't wan to run it for safety reason and also the chance that I might not pass. Since every track is over 2 hours from where I live if I drove all that way just to fail tech my blood would boil.
02-27-2009, 08:11 AM
#40
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Originally Posted by circuitclub,Feb 27 2009, 09:04 AM
^does it depend on what event you are doing? i can understand it being strict for TT and such, but things like HPDE or PDX doesnt require as much.
Typically if you meet SCCA-type race specs, you'll be more than covered for most events. But I know of at least one group that just doesn't allow convertibles at all -- even fully caged race cars. They take the position that they are not tech inspectors and they do not want the liability of deciding which cages/bars are good enough.
(That particular group was selling out all the time, so they could get away with that conservatism. In the current economic climate, I wonder if they will be able to continue to write off the business of the convertible owners.)