mikegarrison

How much of the under-dash electronics have to be removed/relocated to fit a full cage? I'm especially wondering about the stuff behind the kick panel near the dead pedal.

Nobody

Depends on how the cage is installed. TC Designs S2000 cages don't require but a couple components to be relocated--and by relocated I mean zip tied to something.

BrianGT

There really isn't too much electronics under the dash if you are removing your SRS, heater and AC unit. The only thing left will be the ECU in the driver's kicker panel, which you should easily be able to relocate a bit to make a cage fit.

--
Brian

mikegarrison

Another question: do "NASCAR bars" eliminate keeping the stock window functionality, or is there some room there for compromise if you remove the trim but leave the windows and motors?

jlucas

Do a search for the photos I posted before on the T2 car. Nothing was relocated.

For the bars, you can do them without cutting the door (say cut just the door lining) but you limit the benefit. If you are on a trailer (open or enclosed), gut the door and add little backets in the upper part of the door frame to hold the stock glass for easy transportation and storage.

mikegarrison

At the moment I'm still trying to figure out if I can put in a cage but keep the car streetable -- not as a daily driver but as a "drive itself to track events" car. I know, a trailer and haul vehicle would be better, but a new garage and a Carrera GT would also be better, and neither are happening really soon.

Besides, I live only a few miles away from the track I drive at the most, so having to trailer the car there would be a royal PITA compared to just driving it over.

My goals at the moment: keep the car street legal, improve the safety on the track, keep it weather-proof enough to be able to park it outside in a rainy climate, make it lighter, and (if possible) retain the ability to run with the top down (and/or hardtop removed) if I want to. And not spend too much doing it.

Making it faster is not actually a priority right now, though it would be nice eventually.

Yes, a drop-in bar like the Elda would do most of those, but as long as I'm still wide open I'm considering what tradeoffs would be involved in a full cage.

CRDMS1

My basic plans to improve safety for a daily driven *track* car would be:

Remove:
- soft top & motor assembly
- roll hoops & all non-essential trim rear of the seats

Add:
- hard top
- custom 4-point roll bar (proper design & construction)
- race seats & harness

That would be one possible way to meet your criteria without breaking the bank

mikegarrison

That's more or less what I'm thinking of right now. I'm just considering whether to go with a cage rather than a bar.

CRDMS1

For a daily driver, I would consider the roll bar with rear supports & reinforcements. Basically, the same design as a full cage without the structure forward of the main hoop. I think you could even get away with some variant of door bar in this scenario.

May not be as safe as a full cage, but far more practical for a street-driven application...IMHO.

mikegarrison

It won't be a daily driver. It will only be street-driven to/from track events.