I don't understand rules guys somethimes.

I'm building an FIA spec roll cage in a Neon here. I don't know if you guys have ever tried to read the FIA lawyer/tech engineer translated from French talk, but its not a lot of fun.

That is an aside, however. This cage design would absolutely stand up to being pitched into the grand canyon- 1 3/4 DOM tube, X in the main hoop, X in the roof, taco gussets, windsheild pillar reinforcement tubes, the whole deal. From a roll over standpoint, anyway. Doorbars are less than adequate once you get used to Nascar bars, and they don't require a dash bar, so side intrusion is not up to the level of an SCCA cage.

This entire suspension bridge, that would hold up a D9 Cat, is allowed to be bolted through the floor pan.

If you use big enough backing plates, there's no problem with that.

Race long enough, and you will realize that rules sometimes make little or no sense at all, and must be written by people without a firm grip on the reality of the situation.

Overdoing the safety stuff is never a bad idea IMHO.

racerfink wrote: If you use big enough backing plates, there's no problem with that.

Right. If is a big word. I can make a bolt in cage just as sturdy, providing I weld in plates to the sills, and then bolt the cage to that. Its not in the rules. I can clamp a piece of 24 ga steel that is spot welded to the sills (the floor pan)between 2 pieces of 12 ga and have it legal. That is an invitation to a festival of flaming death.

I think the rules are written with two conflicting ideals in mind. They want the cage to provide driver safety, but they don't want it to increase the rigidity of the car in the lesser prepared classes. This seems to result in some head-scratchers.