Goodballa

Thanks Deckoz. I agree, TBI's are nothing to mess around with. I took your suggestion. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxD-ORANVog I am 5'9". The dummy in the video is substantially taller. My head doesn't go higher than the headrest, let alone the roll hoop. I personally think that if I was in an accident with the Cusco bar pictured in your post combined with a 5 point harness my head would probably never get within oh, 3-6" from a bar, unless the bar collapsed which could be a possibility. I think there is a possibility that the vehicle could be statistically more safe than stock. FYI, I'm not planning on getting a Cusco cage. I mostly want to know if it's possible to designing a roll cage that is street and track safe, but also curious to know how much less protection you would have bolted vs welded. Personally I would think you could if properly engineer a bolted setup that is just as safe as welded.

Deckoz

I agree with some of this, bolted or welded, cages can be safe. The additonal roll height can help as seen from the crash images further up this thread with a bolted Cusco cage. But wearing a harness on the street with no helmet or neck restraint/traction device is a bad idea.

I think in order to retain dual purpose (track and street), a roll bar that has adequate distance behind the driver and passenger is a must, when utilizing 3 point belts on the street to keep the distance from your head. But also allowing you to use a 4, 5 or 6 point harness while on the track.

In summary, Bolted cages will likely withstand the intended use, provided they use a diameter, wall thickness, and alloy for such use. As well as thicker walls or reinforcement at bolts, and clean welds. But if the cage/bar can put the user at risk in a non-designed purpose, a different design should be used.

Ie there are lots of roll bars available, lots are welded, some are bolted, and some don't retain the OEM Belt mounts. regardless of bolted or welded - assuming the materials can withstand the purpose for a minimum of 1 use in a roll over. It comes down to usability.

Bars that require stripping the interior and don't retain factory 3 point harness for street, are good for track only, and take away from the clean look.

bars that require stripping the interior, but have factory 3 point mounts, are good for track and street, but again your interior is stripped

Bars that done require a strip(Mugen and Cusco) again retain 3 point harness, however one of them has the "potential" to be a head knocker more than the other, and one also requires cutting panels and the harness bar is separate from the roll bar.

The deicision for which is "right" is subjective to the owner. I hate the stripped race car look, others may love it. I want street and track, and the safety that is needed, without adding possible implications to street driving. At the end of the day, bolted cages have saved me before, just like welded cages, but the one thing "I" will stay away from is added risk on the street, because of a safety device for the track... Which inevitably, if we are talking about the s2000, a Cusco bar, is a risk due to location, not design strength.

Hope that helps...

Also I am sure others later from not will chime in and ream me a new one for saying bolted can be ok. But OEMs on lots of cars are bolted...

Goodballa

Good to know about street driving with a harness. I can't believe I didn't know that.. Thanks for the info.