Thanks Steven!
Top man!
Hi all.If anyone is interested in the type of cage as fitted to my Exige(see thread) then please feel free to contact company direct.They are Caged and based in Westbury,Wiltshire.Tel no 01373 452866, Contact is Phil.Please mention my name when you call.
As said before all work is to Lotus spec, even the cut out in the chasis.
Cheers Mark
Can anyone clarify what the scrutineering angle is?
I was disappointed to hear that so many cars failed scrutineering at a recent AMOC meeting because the cages weren’t “FIA approved”. However, since these are not FIA events, I didn’t think FIA approval was required, just compliance with the specs in the Blue Book. Same goes for things like Snell ratings on helmets - you need that for FIA events, but BS is sufficient for MSA events.
I get the impression that scrutineering can be overzealous sometimes, but also very inconsistent. Like calling a car with a thin sheet metal roof a “tin top” therefore only needing a simpler cage. I get the impressions boxes are being checked rather than looking at the safety issues.
It would be helpful to know - I have an A frame and diagonal that has not been through approval and does not carry a sticker but has been built to spec by a reputable builder and I know it is at least as robust as the SD product (from the materials used and the welds). Apparently that may not be good enough for LOTRDC …
As far as i am aware as long as it to the spec in the blue book there should not be a problem if stickered or not
Thanks Mark, will call them today.
And Stephen, I understand perfectly what you mean, and when talking to Paul Golding he mentioned that although there were a few SD A-frame copies, they had not received a pproval therefore only the SD one would be allowed (in fact, they restarted its production just for this).
When I spoke to SD a couple of days ago he mentioned that it’s all to do with regulations and how they changed recently, and to read the blue book, and if I understaood anything to call him to explain him (jokingly of course).
I started reading the regs, and now I can see what he was talking about!
Will print them out, and start really studying them, but from what I can tell so far, anybody can make his own rollcage (to the blue book specs) and he is going to be scrutineered and accepted or rejected at any meeting.
BUT if somebody is selling a cage as a kit they have to go through an MSA (and possibly FIA) approval which is much more involved.
Stephen,
Yeah there were a few cage issues during scrutineering at this years AMOC events. Basically all of the people with the A frame and diagonal type cages got varying degrees of grief. In the end nobody was excluded from any of the races for cage issues, but there was certainly a lot of discussion at some of the events. The biggest problems were at Snetterton, but like I said, everyone made it through in the end. I have one of the FIA autobytel full cages and they pulled me up at Snetterton because the FIA sticker was slightly obscured by the bodywork of the B pillar. He said I should of chopped the bodywork out so that he could eaisly read the numbers. lol
One of the biggest things I took from racing this year, was how inconsistent scrutineering was. At some tracks they really did give the car a good looking over, where at others it was a quick kick of the tyres (literally) and do your brakes lights work. That was it. I was only asked to show that my external master switch cut off worked once.
Sean…
BUT if somebody is selling a cage as a kit they have to go through an MSA (and possibly FIA) approval which is much more involved.
My reading it that you previously had to pay for an official to come and physically certify your cage design in person. Now it is much simpler in that if the design and stress calculations are signed off by an approved third party engineer, they can be submitted and you can get approval by correspondence.
Caged certainly seem to have it covered and will undertake this as part of their brief. I think their current Lotus cage with the chassis cutouts does not “look” right although may well be perfectly acceptable. I’m sure they would add the front legs to the dashboard subframe ala Sean’s install and maybe use the semicircular top frame bracing off the Caterhams to give better headroom for taller drivers.
I had an interesting chat with Tony Fall at SD this morning (I live in Soham and know him quite well). The signals I’m getting is that he may be able to develop something for the S1 (a derivative of the approved S2 cage?) and since I’m local he could use my car for the prototype. It’s a case of amortising the development costs, so volume helps.
I’ll let you know how I get on.
Although this thread is dusty, any followup news from SD Stephen?
Also, the standard S1 roll hoop is 2.5" OD and .065" wall thickness. Since it mounts the roof and door latches, I would prefer to retain the Lotus piece. But the FIA rules only refer to std. 45 x 2.5mm or 50 x 2.0mm DOM tube for the main rollbar.
Can someone with an SD FIA-approved cage please confirm they use the same tubing spec for the main hoop as Lotus?
You need to speak to Randy (he is on SELOC) he has designed and built some FIA / MSA approved roll bars that are really great. They have all of the correct mountings for the roof and doors and are a simple beefed up roll bar with beefed up rear stays and an ‘A’ frame arangement. There is no petty bar to get in the way or anything. I have one for an Elise I am building and a few other guy off here have them. You can call him on 01491 573953 and ask for Chris Randall
I have one and its the way forward although Dan said it was a pig to fit
Thanks for the leads guys, but I plan to prepare my own cage.
Sean do you have an SD cage, and in the inspection hole of the main hoop is it 1.65mm (.065") wall by 2.5" OD?
How about yours Jamie… is it same?
I have the 6 poit SD cage in my Exige and the 4 point “Randy” cage in my elise, I couldn’t tell you what they are made of or what the wall thicknesses are, sorry.
I have the 4 point “Randy” cage in my elise
Is the Elise your ‘pulling’ car then Sean
Yeah, it’s a great shade of metallic purple with under body lighting - the girls love it!
Hi all
In the end I had Kelvedon Motors make me up a cage - in fact it was made by Fabricage and installed by them. The cages itself welds to the hoop and goes forward into the dashboard - much neater, doesn’t restrict egress which all the other cages do, but more expensive to fit (about �600 for the cage, about �1500 to fit).
At this stage it is legal blue book but not FIA spec as we haven’t moved the back stays yet (they need to be higher, made of larger diameter tube and the fixing to the subframe should not be in single shear). I’ll get that done later and we’ll try to get FIA papers, but that may take a while.
It’s certainly a good cage, safe and BBook legal for non-FIA events. Pat will give you info I’m sure on 01775-725457.
My full cage similar to above but comes down in front of dash (doesn’t restrict access) about �6-700 fitted.It is also removable.Do a searh on my previous post for details.Done by Caged in Frome, Somerset 01373 452886 ask for Phil
Stephen and Mark…seems like both your cages were successfully attached to the standard Lotus roll bar. My intention is to weld in forward bars similar to Marks, and land onto a plate angle over the frame, bonded and riv-nut attachment top and side. The vertical angle remains steeper, and doesn’t require a second vertical side tube, which might otherwise be necessary. No dash cutting as well.
I’m still curious if someone with an SD 6-point cage can confirm through the inspection hole if the roll bar portion is in fact same section as the standard Lotus bar… 2.5" OD and .065" wall?