Sparco 10 point bolt in cage

[chips]

Has anyone had any experience with this cage? It seems very nicely priced and it looks very strong, plus its FIA, MSA, etc approved.

http://www.southwestmotorsport.com/shop ... cts_id=642

[Brian28]

Good cages, should be able to get it a bit cheaper if you shop around. I've fitted a few of them in PBMW, fit is Ok, bit of minor leverage and jiggling for things like the door bars and lining up with original seat belt bolt holes etc, but no more than most other cages I've come across. There is a photo of one installed in the for sale section. Only disadvantage compared to SD is that there are no harness bars, so belts go to strengthened mountings spreader plates behind parcel shelf/rear bulkhead so may stretch a bit further in a head on. Also you have to paint them rather than SD which is powder coated. Excellent cages for the money IMO.

[chips]

Thanks Brian. Would it be easy enough to make up some harness bars for it? Can that be done with it still being compliant with FIA, MSA, etc regulations?

[chips]

Is the picture on that site accurate? I didnt think they had the extra bracing or the X bar?

[flyingfarrier]

I had one sent out here, we couldnt even assemble it out of the car it was so twisted and deformed, after a week of heating cutting and bending we got a snug fit but what a hassle if i hadn't have lived in Bahrain i would have sent it back but we couldnt wait for a replacement, the doors bars where way off to, we junked them and made x bars , be warned, maybe our cage was just a one off dud, but i will never risk buying one from them again,

[flyingfarrier]

the cage we received didn't look like that one no extra bracing, it didn't have the main x bars and the doors bars where A type,

[Elecblondie]

Two guys with e36 coupes and the equivalent cage both reported the fixings to be substantially out, around 50mm at the worst point.

[Brian28]

Mebbe I was just lucky (fitted three with no issues at all). Odd tho to have quality control issues, as Sparco generally have a good reputation across their range of products and are not usually regarded as the budget end of the market. Pzero the diagram on the site is only indicative, the white one in the for sale section is how they come. Main hoop with upper pick up points bolting into the seat belt holes. Front stays bolt into the original dash mountings. Has a cross diagonal from drivers head to rear passenger arch, and one from passenger head to lower passenger side on the main hoop. Also has a horizontal bar running across the main hoop low level behind the seats. OMP do a bolt on harness bar, so shouldn't be impossible. From the posts above tho it looks like the fitting may be a bit of a lottery .

[chips]

Rather than use a seperate harness bar, could harness bars be welded into the cage? Would it retain its FIA, MSA, etc homologation?

[Brian28]

Pretty sure that all cages lose approval if you modify them. Nothing wrong with rear mounted harnesses though, several PBMW cars are set up like this and never had any problems with scrutineering. Its more a technical/theoretical disadvantage rather than anything that makes a difference in the real world. If harness straps weren't safe to be used over that length, they wouldn't make them that long

[Elecblondie]

Length isn't so much the problem, it's the angle at which the straps approach the seat and the strength of the rear fastenings that matter. Harness bars guarantee that the rear straps continue roughly horizontally backwards which means they will stretch correctly in an accident whereas if the straps approach from below 20 degrees it is said that they do not stretch correctly increasing the instantaneous restraining force in an accident, leading to potential organ damage. I've also been told that harness bars tend to be stronger but I wouldn't have thought there'd be a problem if mounted well.

I have also heard that cages lose their approval if modified, I quickly flicked through the blue book a moment ago but I couldn't really be confident giving an answer.

[chips]

Thanks chaps. That pretty well exludes the Sparco from my shortlist then, I've never felt comfortable mounting the harness to the rear of the car. I know the shelf is not far off level with the harness holes in a seat, but its such thin metal there and could deform quite a lot in an accident. Or worst case, the harness mounts could tear out altogether.

[mikekean]

yeah deffinatly dont get a sparco. i bought one, the fit was terrible so i sold it for 20 quid less than i bought it for a got a safety devices. which fits pretty much perfect

[MrBenn]

I recently put a cage into mine for the PBMWC, spent a while reading the forums on SELOC and decided that as I was going to be doing it all, save myself potential problems and buy one that should fit easily. Having never fitted a roll cage to a car before (or anything mechanical before the start of this year), I can say it wasn't easy. I ended up getting the Safety Devices B6 which has the rear triangulation, option for front triangulation, bolts down through the subframe bushes and multiple other fixing point to the inside of the car, to make it super rigid(fairly close I would say to a weld-in cage, but, with the bonus of being able to remove it!). Admittedly the B7 would have been a better choice for ease of installation as you don't have the rear triangulation and a few other bits. I rented a welder, taught myself to weld and after a week of swearing at it, it was in. Honestly, if I can do it.....anyone can!
The b7 should be very simple to fit as it only needs 4 floor plates welding in, iirc, and costs around £700. If you fancy a bit more of a challenge, the B6 has 10 plates to be welded in, and needs fairly large holes cutting into the rear bulkhead. I think both cages need the dash modified for the front legs to go through, the B6 did anyway.
Loads of the guys in PBMWC have the B7 (including front runners), not many have the B6.
Hope this is of some help,
Alex

[LondonTom]

Pzero, slightly off topic but notice from your sig that you're after some rollbars, there's some on ebay - seller is called dips something, not sure if it's the same guy as on here, but might be worth a look

[chips]

ah cheers mate. might have to wait a while though. just about to splash out on a new kitchen