Modified 944's
- Thread starter rickware
- Start date
I've seen one with the Nissan lights and somehow this looks different. Not being flush also hurts the appearance. Not sure why he has all those vents, they are all probably counter productive. It's a shame as he's put a lot of time and money into this car...but there's no accounting for taste...Oh, the little filter top is a blowby to atmos vent I believe. Here's a picture of someone who has spent more money on their white car. Some of this is fantastic work, but again on the whole it just is overkill. The quality is very very good from what I can see though. It's in Sweden.
I actually don't think the Swedish one looks too bad either - I guess quality of workmanship makes a lot of difference. I wouldn't want ti myself, but it doesn't look like a 944 that has driven through Ripspeed like the other one does. I hope its owner never gets hold of a 911.
I'm going to disagree on the little filter Partick, because I had one on my ISV and that was exactly where it sat.
My car was booked in for a custom weld-in cage a couple of years ago (and didn't ever get done fo a combination of reasosn) at a place I forget the name of, but who specialise in fitting weld-in cages to cars with full interior. Basically they use heat shielding and build the cage a few inches low, then insert the required amount of extra height at the bottom of the legs before attaching it to the car. They had pics of a DB7 with a full cage they had done among others on their website.
I'm going to disagree on the little filter Partick, because I had one on my ISV and that was exactly where it sat.
My car was booked in for a custom weld-in cage a couple of years ago (and didn't ever get done fo a combination of reasosn) at a place I forget the name of, but who specialise in fitting weld-in cages to cars with full interior. Basically they use heat shielding and build the cage a few inches low, then insert the required amount of extra height at the bottom of the legs before attaching it to the car. They had pics of a DB7 with a full cage they had done among others on their website.
There you go again with the 'Partick' Fen. If you say it in a bad Indian accent with a touch of Brogue I'll accept it. [
]I find the ultimate line in the sand with regards to modifying our cars is a cage. I just don't want one in my possible daily driver (apart from it being dangerous), so that's what prompted me to build a track specific car. However with the world economy all doom and gloom, it has put the brakes on that project yet I will have a very powerful 3L motor in my car in a few months so I have to reconsider. I wonder what the consensus is on a half cage? Will they work in the worst possible moment?
The good thing about the White car that I posted is that I wondered about a wider body kit that was more like a 930 type rear wheel arch than our hourglass profile. I now know that I don't like it no matter how good the workmanship is. However I do admire it for the obvious quality. From what I understand, this belongs to a shady character in Sweden who has probably funded this with dirty money. So I guess crime does pay but not neccessarily account for taste. [
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944 man
Active member
The principal safety concern with a 'half cage' is always the fixing provision for the front section (when have you ever seen a proper rear section thats designed to be used without a front?). If you are certain that you wont ever want to fit a front section then you can cut and grind flat the mounting points, which will remove most of the risk.
In any case you should fit fixed-back lower mounted seats and satisfy yourself that you will gain a satisfactory and safe clearance.
In any case you should fit fixed-back lower mounted seats and satisfy yourself that you will gain a satisfactory and safe clearance.
I don't see the point in fixing just a rear cage, new cars have a lot of strength in the windscreen but cars our age have very little, so you want the strength above your head not behind you. Also with just rear cage you get very little side impact protection. Lastly without it tie in all 4 points (suspension points) you don't get the extra rigidity around the whole car. Just fit a rear bar.
I think we have two issues here.
1. A half cage may have nasty sharp forward pointing bits.
2. A half cage isn't as good as a full cage.
1. Some might have. Many/most are built to order so if you don't order a front section you wont get the brackets.
2. True. But a half cage is better than no cage at all.
1. A half cage may have nasty sharp forward pointing bits.
2. A half cage isn't as good as a full cage.
1. Some might have. Many/most are built to order so if you don't order a front section you wont get the brackets.
2. True. But a half cage is better than no cage at all.
sawood12
New member
My concern with a half cage would be that it would only be any good when the car rolls and wouldn't offer you much protection if the car flips. What you are doing in effect is stiffening up the rear of the car therefore leaving the energy and forces of a crash being transmitted to the front structure of the car to be absorbed. - so in effect you are doubling up the energy the front structure of the car is being asked to deal with, as ordinarily the forces of a crash are distributed around the whole shell (the main advantage of a monocoque shell as opposed to a ladder chassis and body construction). So in a simple roll event a half cage will be sufficient, but in a more serious accident where the car flips over and lands on the roof, or in a frontal impact, then a half cage might not protect you all that much.
I think Pat is right. If you are doing the sort of driving where you think there is a high likelihood of a serious accident then a full cage is the only way to go. But for the typical track-day warrior in a track/street hybrid then I guess a half cage will do.
For a start if you drew a line from the top of the roll bar of a half cage to the front lip of the bonnet it would slice through the head of the driver so as soon as the front part of the roof starts to deform into the car your head is going to get squished. A full cage supports the front part of the roof structure as well.
The half cage in GT3's is not intended for racing but for the enthusiastic track-day warrior. People who want to race 911's don't by GT3's or GT3RS's, they get GT3RSR's which to have proper full FIA approved roll cages.
I think Pat is right. If you are doing the sort of driving where you think there is a high likelihood of a serious accident then a full cage is the only way to go. But for the typical track-day warrior in a track/street hybrid then I guess a half cage will do.
For a start if you drew a line from the top of the roll bar of a half cage to the front lip of the bonnet it would slice through the head of the driver so as soon as the front part of the roof starts to deform into the car your head is going to get squished. A full cage supports the front part of the roof structure as well.
The half cage in GT3's is not intended for racing but for the enthusiastic track-day warrior. People who want to race 911's don't by GT3's or GT3RS's, they get GT3RSR's which to have proper full FIA approved roll cages.
Peter Empson
PCGB Member
When we were adding the harness bar I realised quite how far forward I have my seat (I have short legs) as others with the same cage couldn't fit the horizontal bar to the front uprights as we've managed. For this reason the top mounting points on the cage are quite a way from my head, but I will still be covering them with a rubber cushion to be on the safe side, they are extremely unpleasent looking things!
For me a rear cage was a necessity as I simply needed to fit a harness. Without it I was losing time and confidence, not to mention getting a bruised knee after every trackday from bracing myself against the transmission tunnel (and this is with snug fitting bucket seats). I wouldn't want to run a harness without some roll over protection for obvious reasons and I've heard too many horror stories about head injuries from a full cage when used without a crash helmet so that wasn't an option either.
I would now like to add in the door bars if I could find some for sale (as the car probably wont be my daily driver anymore easy access isn't a major concern), but I suspect the bodyshop will take a contract out on me if I give them any more work to do []. I would fit these mainly to allow me to strip the doors out, as they're probably the heaviest bits left now.
For me a rear cage was a necessity as I simply needed to fit a harness. Without it I was losing time and confidence, not to mention getting a bruised knee after every trackday from bracing myself against the transmission tunnel (and this is with snug fitting bucket seats). I wouldn't want to run a harness without some roll over protection for obvious reasons and I've heard too many horror stories about head injuries from a full cage when used without a crash helmet so that wasn't an option either.
I would now like to add in the door bars if I could find some for sale (as the car probably wont be my daily driver anymore easy access isn't a major concern), but I suspect the bodyshop will take a contract out on me if I give them any more work to do [
]. I would fit these mainly to allow me to strip the doors out, as they're probably the heaviest bits left now.
944 man
Active member
Well; if you do actually draw such a line then it appears to clear the drivers head completely, especially if the driver is sat in a side-mounted seat. How often do 924/944/968s turn over? According to a man who has raced and built a good many, its virtually unheard of. In my experience, and Ive looked at a good two hundred properly crashed transaxle cars, I remember a couple and theyd both rolled over their corners.....
I think that it would be a mistake to assume that a bolt in rollcage, either full or part, adds a deal to your chassis other than weight. It certainly does not add a great deal of structural stiffness in the way that you are suggesting.
I think that it would be a mistake to assume that a bolt in rollcage, either full or part, adds a deal to your chassis other than weight. It certainly does not add a great deal of structural stiffness in the way that you are suggesting.
sawood12
New member
Well I'm like Pete in that i'm a bit shorter of stature so my seat is probably more forward, but when i'm in the car with a helmet on and the seat raked back a bit my head is touching the roof of the car. A half cage would be positioned behind so there is no way a line from the top of the roll hoop to the nose of the car wouldn't intersect my head.
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