Outer Limits 4x4 Board

NO INJURIES?! man you're lucky!

Ok ok enough war stories... Please be very careful about the fitment of most of the "cages" you see in sierras. They are principally there to make the owner (or the owners "worried parents") feel better

Pretty much every "cage" I have seen for sierras are pretty cosmetic devices. 90 degree bends on "diagonal" down bars, thin wall (or even worse... thin wall large diameter tube like 3") small footplates, footplates backed up by washers, alloy, (wow, it's shiny!) it's all there.

In a prang, I would be really worried about some of these "cages" breaking loose and killing me.

Sierra's are VERY hard to build a cage into as they are so cramped, but it's a very nice feeling driving a car with a proper, triangulated, 6 point cage tied into the chassis.

Before you buy a $100 roll bar, go and talk to a race car builder, and get a quote on a real cage, and let him explain why it would be built the way he would build it. Then when you roll, you will know what you are rolling onto.

My wife just pointed out, that when you have a "roll bar" in the car, you tend to be more reckless, becuse of the secure feeling you get having a cage in the car. for my money, I'd want to know that the cage was really going to protect me.

sorry if that sounds like a whinge, but really, waxhead.. I would feel pretty guilty trying to sell that on the grounds of occupant protection.
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dont worry, waxhead didnt sell to me...

a bloke on ausjeep put a Tj "roll cage" into his suzi. would this be stronger than a standard suzi bar? im looking at getting my first suzi in the next year or so and just looking at protection issues

goodie wrote:a bloke on ausjeep put a Tj "roll cage" into his suzi. would this be stronger than a standard suzi bar? im looking at getting my first suzi in the next year or so and just looking at protection issues

I think I know the bloke you are talking about, and If I am correct, the vehicle was actually rolled on the weekend.

40or 50kph on a bitumen bend. Ran wide and hit the dirt and over she went. The TJ cage ( 4 piont similar to waxheads) held up alright, but it is/was by no means a cage of which I would entrust my life to.

I helped the GF's brother build his cage. We made it an 8 piont. 3.2mm DOm tube, bent and notched, big base plates, with recipricating plates underneath. 2 pionts go through to the chassis aswell.



This is the only pic I have.

This was discussed before, hope this helps

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... age+design

I know its pricey but can aluminum be used, if so what tube diameter and thickness?

I'm in the middle of building a 6-point cage for our kids Zook (I rolled too many MQ's to trust a Zook rolling ) using 38mm OD with 5mm wall thickness mandrel bend tube. The 38mm fits nicely in the Zook and is strong as hell with the 5mm walls. Plates are 100x100mm top and bottom of body in offset position to keep the body from being just stamped through. Important is the right triangulation so that the tubes can't shift sideways while being pushed.

I have a six point CroMolly cage built to cams specs
Comes with all the padding required for rego
The cage is tight fitting particulartly around the A pillars which is good in a Zook

Anybody can PM me if your interested ($1500)

abundance84 wrote:I know its pricey but can aluminum be used, if so what tube diameter and thickness?

Aluminum cages are not alowed under cams and ccda specs

But you go stainless now I have heard

Bentzook wrote:I rolled a zook ute on 235s at Wirriba Ridge at 1am in the morning,on a nasty bend, the same place the Bushdriver magazine crew rolled almost 15 years ago.

I have a Bushdriver mag here from Jan/Feb 1987 with a Wirraba run in it. "Bushed" corner.

Gutless wrote:

goodie wrote:a bloke on ausjeep put a Tj "roll cage" into his suzi. would this be stronger than a standard suzi bar? im looking at getting my first suzi in the next year or so and just looking at protection issues

I think I know the bloke you are talking about, and If I am correct, the vehicle was actually rolled on the weekend.

40or 50kph on a bitumen bend. Ran wide and hit the dirt and over she went. The TJ cage ( 4 piont similar to waxheads) held up alright, but it is/was by no means a cage of which I would entrust my life to.

that was me !

the cage did not even move a mm did not bend or anything it works pretty good lol i have even swapped it into my new sierra.

obviously it's not perfect but for what i drive it's only meant to save me from light roll overs and what not, it work above and beyond what i though it would have when i rolled it on the road.




same roll bar in the second picture, first one shows how well it help up the b pillar from squishing me

I know this is a pretty stale thread, but I clicked on it in the Sierra Bible, as I've just bought a new (well 84 1.3), thought it appropriate to share.

I rolled my old 1.0L soft top (roof on) end over end once, then it tipped and rolled down the very soft sandune on its side three times, the third being completly airborn landing on the wheels.

I didnt have a roll cage or even a bar, I had three passengers, rear two both concussed. The B Pillar was smeared with blood from it being crushed into the front passengers head. The B-Pillar was bent down level B/w the A pilar and the very strong home built rear seat the rear passengers were squashed into 3 times. I asked if everyone was alive, I got 2 yeses and a groan. Car started and I drove home, spent the next few hours hammering and jacking out dents, and shoveling out sand.

Needless to say, as soon as I can, I will install a Rollcage & harnesses in the new one. I have a 5 yo daughter that will be in the car with me sometimes now. If your using your Zuk, get a rollcage, at minimum get a bar.

Now just imagine if your rear passengers heads struck the roll bar on one of those side rolls - they wouldn't even be in a position to groan.

I'd never drive a sierra offroad with three passengers in it - as much as anything, it's likely to be over GVM unless you passengers are super skinny.

As for harnesses - they are an epic PITA offroad. If the harnesses are tight enough to be functional (and that's tight you can't drive the car offroad properly as you can't move/reach/see enough.

Quite apart from that, what's the point of tightening a harness to the point that you're submarining into the seat?

Safety equipment really comes as a suite - Cage/Harness/seat/helmet. If you're being silly enough to warrant one you kind of need all of them, at least in the case of a soft top sierra with an internal cage.

Steve.

You're so bloody right Steve, I wouldn't consider driving an internally caged vehicle without a helmet. And I wear a harness for drag racing and you really really need to have them so tight that comfort comes as a second for them to even stay on properly. I also think serious wheeling with 4 passengers in a zook not built around the task is up there with sitting on the bullbar while driving, just not worth the risk. If you ask me, steves integrated roll over setup on his zook is the best yet, enough to prevent injury but still probably sacrificing metal in a serious roll but not a flop, also doesn't reduce cabin space. In the end zook bodies are cheap, flesh ones not so cheap.

damn double post...

the old "balls out" post should be linked here to explain why a harness should be done up mega tight too... nasty stuff.

out of curiosity - has anyone ever beefed up the standard targa bar??? just curious - it'd be a neat idea if it was do-able.