tyson Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 Has anyone used one of MotorSportAuto's bolt in 6 point roll cage? I am interested in it for my 78Z for looks and functionality on the track. If anyone could please tell me how well it fit, if I have to remove any items to use it (door skins). And how well it looks. Thanks - Tyson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 That unit is (Or at least was last time I checked) a standard Autopower unit and shouldn't impact the door closing. What I would recommend strongly is that you have it welded in by someone. Even though it doesn't bolt to the floor area, instead bolting onto the rear wheel wells, I still would weld it in. You will notice the car tighten up much more. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyson Posted January 25, 2001 Author Share Posted January 25, 2001 Hmm I just talked to a guy here at work who is a master welder and he said it would be better to bolt it together than weld it, because when you weld something you weaken it, bolts dont weaken it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 Ask him why does nearly every racing team run with weld in cages??? I suppose if the heat was way too high it could weaken the metal, but a good MIG weld should never do that. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 Well all I can tell you is every single cage in every single race car I have ever seen or driven is welded, sedans, rails, roundirounds, you name it. I bolted mine in and it worked great for years and through one huge wreck. However, I recently removed it from the current car and the rear inner fender sheetmetal was deformed due to the stress put on the car by the suspension and the cage. Your absolute best bet is to weld that cage in and use backing plates. Yes, the metal will be weakened, but thats what the backing plates are for. my .02 Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 I would weld it in too. And if you're gonna be dealing with regualtions and such, isn't the Autopower one a different wall thickness than those mandated by safety rules? Depends on what kinda racing too. Also that thing is only the back half of the car right? I guess it's better than nothing though. Owen ------------------ http://www.homestead.com/s30z/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 Well, to bolt a cage together you have to weld the stubs to the bars to bolt the other bars to! Welding is vastly superior to bolting when you're fastening relatively thin metal(under 1/2 inch thick) in all aspects - strength, reliability, weight, longevity, and everything else you can think of. If a welder told you that then I wouldn't let him weld anything of mine, 'cause he doesn't sound like a very good welder! ------------------ Morgan http://z31.com/~morgan/s30 http://carfiche.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 > Hmm I just talked to a guy here at work > who is a master welder and he said it > would be better to bolt it together than > weld it, because when you weld something > you weaken it, bolts dont weaken it. A good weld is as strong as the surrounding metal. A welded in roll cage is much stronger/stiffer/safer than a bolted in cage. BTW... what kind of welding does your master welder friend do? Hopefully not nuclear powerplants... ------------------ John Coffey johnc@betamotorsports.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RisqueRace? Posted January 26, 2001 Share Posted January 26, 2001 Hello Tyson, Make sure that whatever you do that it will conform with your uses of the vehicle. e.g. nhra drag racing rules or scca rules. Or if your not going to race at a sanctioned track, do what works best for YOU. It can always be welded later, BUT, I feel that the metal in the datsun chassis is already mild steel and that welding will not weaken/degrade anything. It will definatly tie the system together in a more permanent fashion. Also it will be more rigid. If you need it removable, welllll, maybe you should consider "do I really need this?" There are other ways to stiffen up a chassis. Personally I would go with the SW Race cars, or cachassisworks,or Art Morrison stuff, if you go the welded route. Sorry I cannot help you with the Scca stuff. Can anyone explain in a nutshell what the differences are in the roll bars/cages between SCCA and NHRA? Thicknesses and diameters and such? I hope this helps somewhat, and, I do believe we have met, in fact you have been down to my house to view some parts. NO? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted January 26, 2001 Share Posted January 26, 2001 I agree - have it professionally welded in. Another issue is the Autopower location of attaching a roll bar - it sucks. The inner fender is a lousy choice. The roll bar main hoop should be landed either at the juncture of the rear of the inner rocker and floor, or the inner wheel well and raised area of the floor just above the hat stiffener below the floor that the front diff crossmember bolts to. Of course, use large plates to spread the load out. And tie the rearward supports off the top of the main hoop back to the tops of the strut towers. This picks up the vertical suspension loads that come through the strut isolator. The inner fender is too compliant to transfer those loads through. Sure, it'd probably work for a roll over (maybe not), but having it tied down to the strut tower is much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dp351zcar Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 I also would like to know the diffrences in roll bars between scca and nhra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 I won't go into a metallurgy tangent again guys I promise. Seriously, I think the main difference is in pipe wall thickness and pipe size. You'd have to check with both organizations to find out for sure. Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 4, 2001 Share Posted February 4, 2001 I believe NHRA allows welded seam tubing, while scca requires seamless tubing. ------------------ Morgan http://z31.com/~morgan/s30 http://carfiche.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cable Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Bump!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.