Not sure where to post this on Tiger Cage

[NOT A TA]

From what you've stated, a rollbar with a diagnal, solid body mounts, subframe to firewall support, and subframe connectors.

[Bill Howell]

Ridetech is a sponsor here. You should call them up and talk to them about your application. You will find there are a lot of these cages out there now and many happy customers.
No, they are not NHRA approved yet, but Bret and crew are and have been working on that, however if you are not planning on racing the car, that should not be an issue. You will not find any better quality or workmanship on a rollbar anywhere and they offer several options also. Give em a call.

[MtotheIKEo]

If you are going to put hard metal tubes all over the inside of your car they might as well be installed properly and be serving a distinct purpose i.e. rollover protection on a track car. If it's a DD or weekend cruiser then leave the cage out, add subframe connectors and firewall braces, and call it good.

[mstennes]

My 69 is a convertable and anything is better than a windshield frame

[bret]

A few additional things to consider about the TigerCage:

1. The mounting points of the cage are designed to integrate with the structural strength points of the vehicle in TWO planes. This means that not only is the cage tied into the car at the strongest possible location, it is attached in both the horizontal plane and the vertical plane so there is always at least 2 of the fasteners that are loaded in shear in addition to tension.
2. The TigerCage clamps are investment cast from 304L stainless. This means that they are much more malleable than a sand casting. I have pressed these flat in a press with no fracturing.
3. The clamps have been tested to over 700 lb. ft. of rotational resistance. That means that it takes a sustained force of over 700 lbs at 1 ft. from the centline of the tube to even begin to move the clamp around the axis of the tube.
4. The 304L stainless tubing is Rath-Gibson Microweld. Their manufacturing data indicates that this tubing has a superior and consistant wall thickness, roundness and concitricity than comersially available DOM tubing.
5. 304L stainless has a tensile strength that exceeds 1035 mild steel and approaches 4130 steel. The YEILD strength, however , is lower than mild steel. This means that it will bend sooner than mild steel, and will therefore ABSORB some crash energy as opposed to transferring it directly to the vehicle and driver. This is why several OE manufacturers are going to an austensic stainless in crash area panels.
6. I didn't "invent" the concept of controlled crash absorbtion [although I do have a patent pending on the clamp assembly]. It was borrowed from one of our military projects. They were kind enough to explain concept of crash energy dissipation to me over the last few years. They also pointed out that buildings, bridges, and airplanes are bolted together. The concept here is that if you can test and certify the fastener, test and certify the attachment mechanism, test and certify the material, THEN you have a certifiable complete unit that leaves no latitude to field inspector as to its integrity.
7. SFI certification is still pending. These kinds of certifications do not come easily. SFI is [rightfully so] VERY sensitive about safety and engineering.

If it was easy...it WOULD be "rice".

There are several other general benefits [self installation, exposed welds, no painting, etc] of the TigerCage that are well covered in our literature and on our website. The TigerCage is NOT for everyone. For those who are skilled weldors, designers and fabricators...you can likely do as good a job as we can on a cage. Also, for a 6 second Pro Mod car or a 250 mph land speed car there are issues that the TigerCage would not be effecient at addressing.
For the rest of the world...you may want to take a look!

[mstennes]

Originally Posted by bret

A few additional things to consider about the TigerCage:

1. The mounting points of the cage are designed to integrate with the structural strength points of the vehicle in TWO planes. This means that not only is the cage tied into the car at the strongest possible location, it is attached in both the horizontal plane and the vertical plane so there is always at least 2 of the fasteners that are loaded in shear in addition to tension.
2. The TigerCage clamps are investment cast from 304L stainless. This means that they are much more malleable than a sand casting. I have pressed these flat in a press with no fracturing.
3. The clamps have been tested to over 700 lb. ft. of rotational resistance. That means that it takes a sustained force of over 700 lbs at 1 ft. from the centline of the tube to even begin to move the clamp around the axis of the tube.
4. The 304L stainless tubing is Rath-Gibson Microweld. Their manufacturing data indicates that this tubing has a superior and consistant wall thickness, roundness and concitricity than comersially available DOM tubing.
5. 304L stainless has a tensile strength that exceeds 1035 mild steel and approaches 4130 steel. The YEILD strength, however , is lower than mild steel. This means that it will bend sooner than mild steel, and will therefore ABSORB some crash energy as opposed to transferring it directly to the vehicle and driver. This is why several OE manufacturers are going to an austensic stainless in crash area panels.
6. I didn't "invent" the concept of controlled crash absorbtion [although I do have a patent pending on the clamp assembly]. It was borrowed from one of our military projects. They were kind enough to explain concept of crash energy dissipation to me over the last few years. They also pointed out that buildings, bridges, and airplanes are bolted together. The concept here is that if you can test and certify the fastener, test and certify the attachment mechanism, test and certify the material, THEN you have a certifiable complete unit that leaves no latitude to field inspector as to its integrity.
7. SFI certification is still pending. These kinds of certifications do not come easily. SFI is [rightfully so] VERY sensitive about safety and engineering.

If it was easy...it WOULD be "rice".

There are several other general benefits [self installation, exposed welds, no painting, etc] of the TigerCage that are well covered in our literature and on our website. The TigerCage is NOT for everyone. For those who are skilled weldors, designers and fabricators...you can likely do as good a job as we can on a cage. Also, for a 6 second Pro Mod car or a 250 mph land speed car there are issues that the TigerCage would not be effecient at addressing.
For the rest of the world...you may want to take a look!

Bret, Cool thanks for the explanation, but will it work on a 69 Camaro convertable? Thats the deal maker , will it hinder the top mechinism and will it fit under the top?

[rogue]

thats great news but the product is still $500 above the cost of a full custom cage.

[ccracin]

Originally Posted by bret

A few additional things to consider about the TigerCage:

1. The mounting points of the cage are designed to integrate with the structural strength points of the vehicle in TWO planes. This means that not only is the cage tied into the car at the strongest possible location, it is attached in both the horizontal plane and the vertical plane so there is always at least 2 of the fasteners that are loaded in shear in addition to tension.
2. The TigerCage clamps are investment cast from 304L stainless. This means that they are much more malleable than a sand casting. I have pressed these flat in a press with no fracturing.
3. The clamps have been tested to over 700 lb. ft. of rotational resistance. That means that it takes a sustained force of over 700 lbs at 1 ft. from the centline of the tube to even begin to move the clamp around the axis of the tube.
4. The 304L stainless tubing is Rath-Gibson Microweld. Their manufacturing data indicates that this tubing has a superior and consistant wall thickness, roundness and concitricity than comersially available DOM tubing.
5. 304L stainless has a tensile strength that exceeds 1035 mild steel and approaches 4130 steel. The YEILD strength, however , is lower than mild steel. This means that it will bend sooner than mild steel, and will therefore ABSORB some crash energy as opposed to transferring it directly to the vehicle and driver. This is why several OE manufacturers are going to an austensic stainless in crash area panels.
6. I didn't "invent" the concept of controlled crash absorbtion [although I do have a patent pending on the clamp assembly]. It was borrowed from one of our military projects. They were kind enough to explain concept of crash energy dissipation to me over the last few years. They also pointed out that buildings, bridges, and airplanes are bolted together. The concept here is that if you can test and certify the fastener, test and certify the attachment mechanism, test and certify the material, THEN you have a certifiable complete unit that leaves no latitude to field inspector as to its integrity.
7. SFI certification is still pending. These kinds of certifications do not come easily. SFI is [rightfully so] VERY sensitive about safety and engineering.

If it was easy...it WOULD be "rice".

There are several other general benefits [self installation, exposed welds, no painting, etc] of the TigerCage that are well covered in our literature and on our website. The TigerCage is NOT for everyone. For those who are skilled weldors, designers and fabricators...you can likely do as good a job as we can on a cage. Also, for a 6 second Pro Mod car or a 250 mph land speed car there are issues that the TigerCage would not be effecient at addressing.
For the rest of the world...you may want to take a look!

Bret,

Great information and very well stated. This is one of the benefits of having the person truly behind these products available here to provide accurate data. While I still stand behind my earlier post, I will say that I probably should have explained my position a bit better for the benefit of Mike's search.

This part of your post to me says it all:

Originally Posted by bret

There are several other general benefits [self installation, exposed welds, no painting, etc] of the TigerCage that are well covered in our literature and on our website. The TigerCage is NOT for everyone. For those who are skilled weldors, designers and fabricators...you can likely do as good a job as we can on a cage. Also, for a 6 second Pro Mod car or a 250 mph land speed car there are issues that the TigerCage would not be effecient at addressing.
For the rest of the world...you may want to take a look!

With any type of cage system the use should be evaluated first and foremost. As you said, the TigerCage is not applicable to all needs. The same can also be said for the classic cage installation. The intended use will dictate the configuration, materials, and installation requirements. This is where doing your homework is oh so critical.

I assumed (I know!) that the cage was intended for all out track days and since the SFI certification is pending, I responded as I did. I should have asked some questions before I responded with a recommendation. Your product eliminates alot of variables that the average guy in most cases does not have access to. Namely a certified welder. There is no point buying a certified cage kit and then bubble gumming it together. On my projects, I have a certified welder do all the structural welding. Good advice for anyone in my opinion.

Anyway, I think Ridetech has very well engineered products and I wanted to clear up my first post so that it did not shed a bad light on the TigerCage product. The intent was to convey the importance of applying the correct solution to the requirement. I did a poor job of that to start. Hopefully this clears that up and gives Mike and others some more to think about.

Thanks for taking the time to explain the product Bret. Keep the great products coming.

[bret]

I just received notification from ECTA [East Coast Timing Association] that they have certified the TigerCage for competition up to 175 mph. http://www.ridetech.com/store/tigercage/

ECTA runs the standing mile event in Maxton, NC a few times a year including the Hot Rod Magazine Top Speed Challenge http://www.ecta-lsr.com/?page_id=69

Joe Timney is the President of ECTA. He also owns Deleware Chassis Works and builds many top speed style vehicles for MAxton and Bonneville.

Keith Turk is the competition director for ECTA. Some of you have met Keith on Hot Rod's Drag Week over the years...He and his wife Tonya run the event there as well.

Both of these guys were instrumental in wading through the details that have allowed ECTA to grant us certification at this level.

SCCA and SFI are next!