Very informative link regarding cage design.

Before anyone bothers with the flaming, and stating what is obvious.

Yes, I know it is not a 4x4 site.

That stated, it is a site that covers many different aspects of cage design, and has tons of photo examples
Roll Cage Symposium (http://e30m3performance.com/tech_articles/cage_symposium/cage_symposium.htm)

The BMW guys do some cool looking cages, because they want to match their classy cars. I'll look to see if I can find some of the cage in my uncle E36 M3. Was totally awesome. Now where did that extra $30000 go.

Erin

I have a question.
Why do most wheelers bolt their cages in?
I’m from a racing background where cages are welded to the body/chassis.

I was thinking of welding my cage to my chassis. Do we just fear having something we can’t change easily?

Originally posted by MellowYellow

Why do most wheelers bolt their cages in?



none of the guys i wheel with have bolt in cages. i think the bolt in crowd ( which is larger than the fab it crowd ) does it because they bought a kit and just want a simple procedure and have no intention of ever actually rolling there rig. on the other hand all my buddys roll their junk on a regular basis and understand the need for superior protection.

OK I was flippin through this stuff and saw this...............
http://e30m3performance.com/tech_articles/cage_symposium/e36_mclaren/roof.jpg

WTF......?

Camo...what isen't welded in on your 4-runner? The lights :flipoff2:
Mine is bolted in and most everyone else I know mainly so we can sandwich the body between to plates. The bottom one is then attached to the frame. Also if you total your rig (body torn apart) you can atleast salvage the cage if it is not damaged to bad. And like on my FJ-40, to work on the transmisson I have to take the cage out so welding it in is not a possability unless I want to drop everything out all the time. And to remove the gas tank I also have to remove the cage.
Its Probably just a personal prefference and builders preference on welding or bolting the cage to the floor.

Joseph A.

nope.........lights are welded on so the don't get stolen :D

http://e30m3performance.com/tech_articles/cage_symposium/Bossert_cages/cage_photos/CageW6.jpg
This cage demonstrates the sort of multi-tube spiderweb that gets put into race cars, with many connections coming together in one place. I know our 4x4s are not designed for the sort of high-speed hit that these cars are, but is it just packaging space and convenience that prevents this sort of work in 4x4s?

Exoskeletons aside, even with inside cages, I don't see a lot of crossbracing or five-tubes-into-one-joint... curious as to why.

Randii

hahaha, my license plate bolts are welded!! Gotta keep that plate on there.

As for the cage, my new cage will be welded in 100%. Why?? Well for more protection. I started to think, ok I will just "sandwhich" plates and bolt it all together in the event that I Total the body and need to get it apart. Then I realized that chances are "if" i were to roll it bad enough to total the body beyond what I consider repairable or liveable....Then the cage will most likely be at the very least tweaked a little bit. So my thinking is, maximum protection with the least amount of "failure" points...such as sandwhich plates with bolts.

Amazing how your attitude changes when you have a kid, I used to be of the "Ah bolt it in, brace it to the frame and call it good crowd" That may have been good enough for me and my buds, but not good enough for my kid. No way.

Here's a question...


I've never had the opportunity to check out an internal cage that is welded in place, and from looking at photos it appears that it would be impossible to weld the backside of a lot of these tube junctions.
Is this the case?, do they just get a sound weld as far around as possible, and then leave the remainder. I can't see opening up body panels, and then welding tubes, and seamlessly patching the panels after.

Oh BTW, if your about to flame for the question, go here first.
click here (http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/weeee.html )

It is a real pain, but the SCCA requires all welds to be 360 degrees.
Some parts are put together first then installed. You have to get creative in the tight spots.

My brother and I spend a lot of time with our heads in very tight spots trying to get that last little bit of the weld. At times it was like welding blind. Thank goodness we have a miata. :D No top good.

Do they allow a combination of welding techniques to be used?

I'm thinking that the majority of a junction could be mig'ed or tig'ed, then once it got too tight to get the torch head in, switch to brazing. I'm not a welding expert by any strech, but theroretically I can't see a problem with this.