Mazda Rotary Club

General => General Technical => Topic started by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 06:58:33 AM

Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 06:58:33 AM
What does everyone recommend for cage material? Thicknesses?

There is chromoly which is strong and light weight but is it expensive?
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: clive on November 03, 2011, 08:14:16 AM
Not sure what your ultimate target is going to be, but if you end up racing the car properly it may be an idea to find out what, if any, rules would surround cage type and material thickness
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 10:25:21 AM
Quote from: clive;797220Not sure what your ultimate target is going to be, but if you end up racing the car properly it may be an idea to find out what, if any, rules would surround cage type and material thickness

Thanks Clive, I will do. I think your worried I might chop the car aren\'t you? The cage is just for my own personal safety as a car of that age with the power I\'m having in it isn\'t exactly safe is it. The cage will be fitted in with keeping the interior too.

Carl, Steve and Kev have all suggested that I should put a cage in.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: clive on November 03, 2011, 12:00:17 PM
Quote from: Grant Monkhouse;797236Thanks Clive, I will do. I think your worried I might chop the car aren\'t you? .

Never say never, you may feel the need to chop the roof in the search for 7\'s :D
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: HaywardRotary on November 03, 2011, 12:22:50 PM
CDS is fine up 7.5 seconds on the 1/4 mile.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 12:23:42 PM
Quote from: clive;797247Never say never, you may feel the need to chop the roof in the search for 7\'s :D
If I were to chop anything it would be the rear end for a proper drag 4link with 9" diff setup.

As for roll cage tubing I have found the HKS series rules on cages.

45mm OD 3mm thick mild steel.

What\'s the fastest you have run Clive?
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: clive on November 03, 2011, 01:42:21 PM
Quote from: Grant Monkhouse;797256What\'s the fastest you have run Clive?

Just for fun I went to a freezing pod in feb 2004 with my FD that was in no way set up to go drag racing with a little GT35 on board,  did just 3 runs all @ 12.2 and drove home :chat

I\'ll wisper the next bit about my 10second Street 69 Mustang that I won 5 of 7 rounds with and was presented the Trophy by Sterling Moss as it had those nasty piston things thumping up n down under the hood :rollin

Back in those prehistoric times I must have been one of the very first, if not the first  over here running NOS, trouble was I got the kit and found I couldn\'t get the gas :Hammer, luckily a mate found a full size "medical" bottle for me which went the width of the boot plus side was it lasted me half a season running lots of pressure :D
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 02:17:12 PM
Quote from: HaywardRotary;797255CDS is fine up 7.5 seconds on the 1/4 mile.

What is CDS?
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 02:18:16 PM
Quote from: clive;797266Just for fun I went to a freezing pod in feb 2004 with my FD that was in no way set up to go drag racing with a little GT35 on board,  did just 3 runs all @ 12.2 and drove home :chat

I\'ll wisper the next bit about my 10second Street 69 Mustang that I won 5 of 7 rounds with and was presented the Trophy by Sterling Moss as it had those nasty piston things thumping up n down under the hood :rollin

Back in those prehistoric times I must have been one of the very first, if not the first  over here running NOS, trouble was I got the kit and found I couldn\'t get the gas :Hammer, luckily a mate found a full size "medical" bottle for me which went the width of the boot plus side was it lasted me half a season running lots of pressure :D

Clive, a 10 second mustang is worthy of gracing any forum pages, even our rotary one. Do you have any pictures?
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: kev-yorks on November 03, 2011, 06:19:23 PM
Quote from: Grant Monkhouse;797269What is CDS?

 
Cold Drawn Seamless Grant its tube made from solid billet and more than suitable for what you want, welds and bends without a issue and doesn\'t need stress relieving after welding.
Any steel stockholder will get it for you it\'s not cheap but much less than the alternative.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 06:27:31 PM
Quote from: kev-yorks;797309Cold Drawn Seamless Grant its tube made from solid billet and more than suitable for what you want, welds and bends without a issue and doesn\'t need stress relieving after welding.
Any steel stockholder will get it for you it\'s not cheap but much less than the alternative.

Hi Kev I was just going to PM you about this!!

What is the alternative to CDS? Chrome moly?

And iv just thought about what Carl said. 7.5 seconds?! How fast do you think I\'m going to go in this car in its current state? Lol. Maybe if I back half it and throw some methanol in there we will get near 7.5s lol
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: kev-yorks on November 03, 2011, 07:21:29 PM
Yes Grant Chrome Moly is the other option, it\'s lighter (from memory 1/3 lighter but don\'t quote me on that) more expensive and adds complications in the fabrication. It should really be stress revieved but this isn\'t a viable option so most don\'t do it.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: clive on November 03, 2011, 09:31:53 PM
What do you want is a good place to start, i.e. a full cage or just a goal post.

I ask because if its just a goal post then you cheapest and easiest route would be a Safety Devices one and I have the feeling that a Ford Escort MK1 or MK 2 would be a good place to start or a Capri one.

This would give you a hoop with bolt down feet and tubes to bolt back onto the inner arches.

I may see if I can get a boinger pic up just for you, mind you I get enough people who want to linch me as it is, without posting pistons on a Rotary site  :Hammer
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 10:15:14 PM
Quote from: clive;797353What do you want is a good place to start, i.e. a full cage or just a goal post.

I ask because if its just a goal post then you cheapest and easiest route would be a Safety Devices one and I have the feeling that a Ford Escort MK1 or MK 2 would be a good place to start or a Capri one.

This would give you a hoop with bolt down feet and tubes to bolt back onto the inner arches.

I may see if I can get a boinger pic up just for you, mind you I get enough people who want to linch me as it is, without posting pistons on a Rotary site  :Hammer

Full cage, been discussing it with DAD.

Don\'t fancy a bolt in one but I\'m sure tha escort ones will fit perfect, just like the many other escort parts I have got from escorts :)

A full welded in cage will also increase the chassis rigidity and. Hike my confidence for some more boost!

If people want to complain about a 10second mustang then send them
My way ;)
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 03, 2011, 10:22:10 PM
As for people wanting to lynch you?? Some people just don\'t seem to be able to get along nicely these days and worth wasting your time on. If your concerned and want to empty your mind of things then Ring my dad for a chat, you will soon forget what you are talking about. Lol.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Skifledanabit on November 03, 2011, 10:37:57 PM
10 second \'Stang!?!?! SHARE SHARE SHARE!!!
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 28, 2011, 07:18:25 PM
Right so CDS is £18+VAT per metre from a place over in leeds. I need at least 15 metres of the stuff. £324 for tube! Then I\'m going to have to spend time binding and measuring all that.

For the time and money it will take, I may order one online and pay extra for less hastle as there seem to be some full cages from the states for $450.

But by the time the cage gets here it will b costing me close to £600 and I still have to weld it in myself.

I just can\'t make my mind up as to what route to take.

Offers, suggestions, and help would be much appreciated.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Skifledanabit on November 28, 2011, 07:28:15 PM
Depends how confident you are at bending and welding it, there will be no room for mistakes here, if you get a bend wrong, that\'s however many meters X £18 down the drain.

My personal choice if you are a bit wary of DIY bending would be to save up a little extra and buy one pre-bent.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 28, 2011, 07:50:00 PM
That\'s what I\'m worried about. The rear wheel tub to the front of the car is going to have 4 bends in it, roughly a 3 metre piece.

Its not like you can unbend the stuff either.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: kev-yorks on November 28, 2011, 07:53:02 PM
With a decent bender its easy enough to do the job yourself Grant but it must be a decent bender you use! Plenty of software out there that will work out pipe lengths bend radius\'s etc. If not use copper tube to make dummy pieces up as templates.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on November 28, 2011, 10:52:25 PM
I have a bender in the shed. I was thinking of doing it in metal conduit first as I use this at work for installing cables.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: kev-yorks on November 28, 2011, 11:26:20 PM
A normal crush type bender Grant forget about it you will kink the tube.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: rx7boy on November 29, 2011, 02:35:09 AM
you can use a standard crush bender, however you must fill the tube/pipe with sand and seal using gaffa tape. this way the pipe retains its shape and doesnt kink, its a pita though
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Skifledanabit on November 29, 2011, 11:28:23 AM
So, I\'m guessing the general consensus is... buy a pre-made one... or get the material and pay a pro to do the bending?
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: PhillipM on December 07, 2011, 05:41:47 PM
You want a rotary draw bender tbh, you\'ll find even if you fill it with sand and bend it the ratio of the tube ovalling from a compression bender exceeds the 0.9 ratio allowed anyway.
 Try Proformance metals for the CDS, you want their ROPT510 (it\'s their specification for the CDS, bends a little neater than most).

As clive says, it depends what you want to do, as the drag guys have different regulations to the MSA, etc, generally, 1.75" 2.5mm wall CDS will do you fine for most stuff.
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: BlitzBoy on December 08, 2011, 09:55:23 AM
you need 3mm wall thick CDS for Drag racing in this country Grant
Title: Roll cage material
Post by: Grant Monkhouse on December 08, 2011, 10:36:43 AM
Quote from: BlitzBoy;801709you need 3mm wall thick CDS for Drag racing in this country Grant

Yes I have been through the HKS rules twice just to check on the size. I am wanting to do a full cage in the car but I am wondering what the minimum would be required.

I have noticed that cage requirements are dictated as to how fast you go. So if I cage it for 8s I should be fine. Lmao.