bolt in or weld in cage?

Post Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:11 pm

i am having a cage fitted next week and was wondering which way to go , either a bolt in or weld in cage, if i need to move cage to another car for any reason the bolt in would be the way to go, but if i had a weld in would that make much difference to the handeling of the car? any advice please.

Post Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:44 pm

Isn't the biggest difference the integrity of the cage during an accident? I have heard that bolt in cages can wander and shift during an accident, which greatly diminishes their effectiveness. In contrast, as a weld in cage becomes a structural member of the car, it will not shift, therefore greatly improves cabin safety.

I think the question comes down to "what will the car be used for?" If you are only planning to punt around the local skid pan, then a bolt in cage would be fine, however if you were going to tackle the Manx rally, then I am not quite so sure how a bolt in cage would withstand a 150km/h shunt with a tree.

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:03 am

If you are going for a bolt in I recomend the Safety Devices. Its an 18 point cage with front and rear triangulation. Found it fitted easier (i.e. less having to tweak it to line up) than the Sparco 6 point.

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 8:37 am

weld in everytime for safety reasons unless like millrat says your just having it for show.

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:26 am

Weld FTW

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:28 am

punko wrote:weld in everytime for safety reasons unless like millrat says your just having it for show.

+1

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:29 am

Even if it is bolt in you still have to weld the foot plates for the cage to botl to

Jason

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:01 pm

i am using the car for track days, the reason i was thinking about a bolt in was so i could move it to another car if i crash and break this one.

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:05 pm

Surely if it's weld in it can be cut out and moved to another vehicle if necessary ?

Post Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:09 pm

not sure, it would be tied in all round the front screen and round the roof etc, not sure how easy it would be to move it, i'll have to find out.

Post Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:20 am

Topblag wrote:Surely if it's weld in it can be cut out and moved to another vehicle if necessary ?

Nope. I asked this when we had our cage fitted. Must be something to do with metal fatigue when re-welding.

Sucks hey.

Post Sat Aug 07, 2010 4:09 pm

I you crashed a car so bad it needed a new shell i would leave the rollcage in the old one

Jason