smlporsche

As I mentioned previously I will be having my bolt in cage replaced with a custom cage to provide better protection and hopefully increase the rigidity of the car.

I have found a well respected builder with alot of experience but the cost is a little higher than I expected and I'm looking for some feedback from those of you who have gone down this path.

The roll cage will be built to NASA & PCA specs and will be made out of 1.5 X .120 DOM tubing to include the following:

- 2 rear straight bars w/ diagonal roof bar
- NASCAR door bars on both sides
- Firewall bracing
- Dash Bar
- Fabricate & install window net
- Prime & paint cage.

The cost is estimate to be around $3600.
Any comments?
TIA

jscott82

Actually that sounds cheap to me.... I paid almost 4k, only did a bowed "X" on the drivers side, and gutted the interior and painted it myself.
Question though: why NASCAR on passenger side? I assume you would only have a passenger in DE... and then it would be a student, where you would not be running 10 - 10ths anyway.... that is alot of extra weight/cost for no/little gain in my book.

Just my 2 cents

Lemming

Kirk racing did mine and it cost me more because it was done in two stages. 4-point roll bar (around $1,000), finishing the cage up 1 year later was another $1,200 IIRC. Had I done it all at once, the quote was something like $1,600. Mine was built to NASA specs as well, with NASCAR bars only on the drivers side. Price did not include priming or painting, which I did myself. This was a few years ago, so I'm guessing it would be more now.

Cory M

price varies a lot by builder, region, design, etc but that price is in the right ballpark around here considering it includes window net and painting

Sean F

if he's good, it's a good price

Mikelly

I had Mitch at Piper Motorsports fabricate a 14 point cage with NASCAR door bars on both doors (two bars) and additional bracing along with Apillar gusset plates and a roofplate and it ran me $2500 in 2005. I'd expect that cost to have gone up a bit in the last 3 years.

This wasn't in a Porsche, but the costs seem to be very similar for quality work!

Mike

NaroEscape

as much as Mr. JScott would like to disagree, I went a different route....

In both of my 914's, I have a Safety Devices bolt in roll cage that we had welded in at all mounting points, and additionally on the window pillars. total costs around $1500 each.

I can honestly say that I have put BOTH to the test (Yes, I replaced them afterward so no comments there) and both have protected me and Nadine perfectly. On one I rolled at Limerock and it landed square on the corner above the drivers head at the windshield. the other I flipped end over end (front to back) at Targa Newfoundland and completely demolished the car (pictures are readily available for those interested).

In BOTH incidents, the passenger compartment was completely perfect. Doors even opened and all. In both, I (we in Targa) walked away completely unharmend (physically, not mentally).

Now, in the Papa Smurf (club racer) I have welded door bars. Mainly so I could gut the doors, but definitely for the safety aspect of them.

my $.02

bgiere

My 944 cup gage was $1110 dollars. It is quite well done IMHO.

jscott82

I never disagree unless there is a beer in our hands and time to fully hash it out

NaroEscape

there will be many beers this weekend!

TedA

Not so sure about the 10 10ths...I have seen Eddie with a student, let's just say that he didn't point anybody by.

Price on the cage sounds about right for a good build. I know of several folks who have spent much more.

Please have them de-tune that thing a little while they are in there....

Cory M

You could always see how much cheaper it would be if you did the prep and paint work. Painting cages isn't particularly difficult, but it takes some time and isn't very fun..

VERBOTN

Eddie:
The price thing gets rather sketchy to me. I just put one in my car (boxster-s) with NASCAR style door bars and paid around the same amount. I have had positive comments on how it turned out and I am very comfortable with the execution. I suspect like many things you can always get cheaper but if the craftsman is competent it seems fair to me. In addition to the cage I had to factor in painting the interior.

smlporsche

Everyone-
I really appreciate all your feedback ( except Ted ).
I guess in the end like many things in life you get what you pay for and by all accounts I have heard nothing but positive comments about this group. It is one of those things that you hope to never have to find out how good it is.

Bob I respect your comments but my current bolt in cage is not legal and the fit left something to be desired. For example, I have about 1/2" from the front of my helmet to the padding on my cross bar and that has always bothered me as I sit pretty far forward (short legs) so I thought if I was going to get some work done I might as well fix all the little nuances at once.

Ted I think the guys did say something about parasitic drag ... or was it a parachute drag they said they could put in for me...Actually my baby just got some Hoosier's (on new 18" BBS LM's) Can you say grip?

Circuit Motorsports

You can look at it like this.

DAS Sport Cage 2095.00 (if you include 100 bucks shipping)

That doesn't include Nascar bars or the side net installation/fabrication call that another 500-750 bucks.

Now for 800 more than that you have a fully custom cage that is built exactly how YOU want it.