Noahs944

Howdy ho amigos

I need to gain 2" (52mm) overhead helmet to rollcage clearance.

I know others have had clearance issues.

Any suggestions?

I have thought about cutting out the floor & dropping it down 2 inches.

That is a lot of work though.

What did you do?

slivel

Not too many choices: If it is a race seat, you can go without a slider and mount directly to the floor gaining you about an inch. Also sit less vertical by raking the seat back you may gain enough to meet clearance requirements.

rlm328

No slider, race seat with front bolts in upper hole and back bolts in lower hole. Still not much room.

Also may want to look at roll bar design. If I remember right you place an X in the top which I considered a bad idea for a normal sized person when I saw it, I assumed you must not have been real tall. Mine has a single bar down the middle.

Noahs944

Thanks guys I'll look into mounting the seat to the floor & raking back.
Regarding the top bar designs, most of the sanctioning bodies I looked at do not accept the type of bar you installed, Rlm. I considered it at one point.
http://www.nasarallysport.com/rules-...Appendix-B.pdf

I totally agree the design you decided on is the best for head room & mine is the worst! LOL.

V2Rocket

remove the seat...big foam pad on the floor pan and block against the rear seat bottom...ive driven a few miles like that, had tons of head room...

few ratchet-straps for safety harness, tape the headlights and go racing

rlm328

My car's roll cage has passed PCA, SCCA, and NASA inspections. So yes the single bar down the middle does pass. You should listen more to what people suggest.

Noahs944

I have listened to what other people suggest... like triangles are the strongest shape & tubes should intersect at the same junctions. This is the basis for my cage, though its not without compromise. But that is another thread.

Back to head room: I just sat in the car, seat directly on floor with helmet on. measured 2.5-3" clearance to the tubes. But that's bare tubes. Rule book says 2" minimum. But I'm wondering about the tube padding, do inspectors expect 2" from pad?

951and944S

The center section of each floor side is higher in the middle due to being reinforced and raised for the seat rail mount nuts.

You can incorporate a lower mounting into your cage by widening the base with square or round tubing tub e. This way, your seat bottom will be virtually touching the existing floor.

Similar to this -



T

951and944S

Hadn't done one of these myself yet but have thought about it.

My main safety concern is running over a hard part on the track (from a wreck or fallen off another car) and it tearing through the floor directly under the driver's seat.

Let's face it, the seat isn't gonna save your backside if something tears through the floor.

In my instance, and I think I will incorporate this feature in current cage I'm doing, I will plate the area under the seat with additional 3/16th steel.

T

951and944S

BTW Noah, I have never personally had it happen to me or one of our cars, witness it happen, nor even heard of it happening to someone else where a scrute had a driver sit in a car and physically measure distance to your helmet.

Every inspection I have ever been involved in or witnessed, is done with a stationary car with no driver in the seat. You are standing outside with your helmet, suit and other gear which needs to be inspected too.

T

Noahs944

T,

Excellent description and photos. Thank you for your contribution to this thread

Humboldtgrin

You can use an aluminum racing seat as well. It will never expire like composite seats do but requires a back seat brace. That is how my car is set up, although I only have a half cage so I have a slider still installed on the seat. Something to think about if you haven't bought a seat yet.

niclase

We just built a cage in a 944 according to the latest FIA rules that require a V or X in the roof for having a co-driver and after much time wasted trying out different seat mounting, angling of seat etc. etc. we decided the only way to get reasonable headroom was to drop the floor. Even with the seat standing on the original floor there simply wasn't enough headroom with helmet on.


I was told (don't know if correct or not so if anyone knows better please correct me) that it's a big difference if you put in a cage yourself or get it built and installed by a certified firm. As I was told, if you build it yourself you better follow the rulebook to the letter, but if a certified firm fits it they are expected to know what they do and are allowed certain "headroom" (pun very much intended ) in interpreting the rules so that they can produce the best possible cage in all circumstances.

Dave W.

If you're considering adding rake to the seat, you can also get a steering wheel extension or add a quick release hub so you can reach the wheel comfortably. You might need to relocate the shifter so you can reach it, too. Just make sure the driving position still allows you to control the car intuitively.

Noahs944

Heck yes! Great point Dave! You are 100 percent on the money about being properly positioned brother.

Today I popped the seat back in for a bit of a test fit. The lean back is waaaay more comfortable than my old upright position!

Unfortunately this might mean I need to add a couple of lower harness bars.

I am SO PUMPED about this ASD motorsports "pass through" style professional grade hydraulic handbrake. I need to figure out if I'll run it in a "pull" or "push" configuration.