Cusco Roll Cage

[DjeMz]

hey all

just after a 6 point cage to add some extra rigidity to the 32

just wanted to know how much i should expect to pay for a cusco 6 points (either new or 2nd hand)

can i install it myself? or will i need to drill/weld stuff?

do the cuscos meet vic rules in terms of clearance from the occupants heads?

has anyone got any photos of them installed?

are then annoying in terms of resting ur foot on the door when ur in traffic or does ur hand/watch hit the cage when ur turning or anything?

and has anyone noticed a real difference after they have installed it?

thanks in advance

[R31Nismoid]

Let alone the fact the cusco one might well be more dangerous than not having one at all

Your far better off contacting someone locally.

Going locally will be both cheaper, and built to ADR/CAMS/Vicroads requirements. What more could you want?

Also if you dont know what your doing, then a DIY cage isnt the way as its a "must be done right" scenario as per the first sentence... it might cause more harm than good.

See here:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...209&hl=roll

[DjeMz]

Ok well i have read the whole thread (even the garbage kim started lol)...

The way i see it, is that i can get the full 6 point cusco cage for $500.. lets say another 100-200 for it professionally installed (i guess its like alarms; the install is more important then the actual components)..

Now that would suit my needs perfectly; Pad it up, its my daily aswell. I only plan in taking the car on the track only to drift it (for now) - as far as i have seen, 90% of these drift days dont require a cage at all, but if you plan on taking passengers, a cage is a must (a majority of us from ns.com have cusco cages and pass winton/calder checks without a problem).

I guess also adds to the whole 'tuffness' of a drift car..

On the other hand, if we can get a group buy of cages that are street legal and are safer/more rigid then the cuscos... i could use it for drift events and if i plan on doing some circuit time (which i may) that requires a cams approved cage, if these comply that would be an advantage.

However, if i decide to go cusco, i know i wont be loosing any money on cages as i dont think they will ever loose value (unless this group buy goes ahead )

Ahhhh my dilemma!

Edited August 5, 2007 by DjeMz

[phunky_monkey]

If I were you realistically I'd be buying an off the shelf jap cage, just make sure that it is in perfect condition. For your intended use vs cost I'd say this is the best option. However, if you've got the cash for a custom built CAMS approved cage then it's definately the better option, but I'd be planning on keeping the car for a while and doing a fair share of motorsport.

My 2c.

[DjeMz]

Yeah im leaning more to the cusco cage for now...

but what is to hard about putting the cage together myself? isnt it literally just bolt down each bar to the car, joining the pieces then bolting the pieces together???

[Beer Baron]

yeah, and cutting your carpet, and drilling holes through your cars floorpan, and through your wheel arches, and cutting up some trim. appart from that piece of cake, just don't stuff it up!!! also bear in mind it's not the easiest thing to assemble in the car. it's not like a can of baked beans, you can't just assemble cage, pull the roof off and dump the cage in there.

[DjeMz]

i was under the impression that the rear of the cage bolted onto the strut tower :S

lol i guess not.. i think ill just leave it with my mechanic

[tacker]

Its not hard to do mine fitted perfectly, i have a 9 point made from 40mm cold drawn seamless tube. which has also been passed by the local ASN of the FIA here in the United Arab Emirates for national events.

And no the rear of the cage doesnt bolt to the stut towers but as Beer baron says its the top of your wheel arches, will post some pics for you.

[DjeMz]

Thanks dude

[R31Nismoid]

The way i see it, is that i can get the full 6 point cusco cage for $500.. lets say another 100-200 for it professionally installed (i guess its like alarms; the install is more important then the actual components)..

Now that would suit my needs perfectly; Pad it up, its my daily aswell.

Ahhhh my dilemma!

Indeed there-in lies your dilemma.

I would still be very surprised if the Jap cage meets AUS standards as past ones haven't and im of little confidence this will either.

Also to note, you will more than likely need to re-rego the car as a 2 seater and all that's associated using a 6 point.

So if you install a 6 point cage, dont re-rego it your potentially creating two very large issues with regards to legalities.

Especially living in Melb, its something you'd rather not have to worry about.

When a road legal 4-point cage costs around $700-$800 to be professionally made, and installed to suit the car,

And then you can get removable intrusion bars etc etc

The decision is quite easy as i see it. Get a AUS ADR/CAMS made & approved one.

[DjeMz]

Thing is the cage isnt a matter of urgency, or a necessity. Just a little added safety/value/wank factor on the car. I dont want to re-register the car as a 2 seater also like most of us here, a cage is just another thing to add to the list of our worries in terms of the law...

[tacker]

some pic of cage for you, sorry about the quality but its 7 am and its 37 degrees and 70% humidity so didnt have time to let the camera defog before going towork

[[WLDCRD]]

i have the same cusco roll cage as the tacker minus the side bars. Can you confirm if that is the chrome moly one? I have been lead to believe that the blue ones are the chrome moly ones and the black ones are the normal ones. I havent done a comparison in weight with a friends one who has the black one.

and just to reconfirm what beer baron said, its a pain in the ass assembling the cage inside the car!

[tacker]

Normal they are i am told, but as we had to order others for a LHD R34 and R33 at the same time. These had to be made to order so we were able to ask for the color. They wanted Blue and i didnt care to much so blue it was.

Few little pics of my mate LHD R34

[[WLDCRD]]

interesting...i'll weigh two identical bars (black vs blue) and i will post it up haha

[tacker]

comon the blue!

[Duncan]

chromoly is not legal for CAMS unless you have an engineer certify your actual cage...so think $000s on top of cage cost.

[DjeMz]

90% of the drift events i will hopefully be entering DONT require a cams approved cage...

[R31Nismoid]

Not at the moment

But as i said, due to the nature of illegal cages, if they decide to say "Approved cage or none at all", then you've wasted your money.

There was some talk about approved-or-none a while ago, not sure if its going to occur or not though.

Personally i would like it too, a bad cage is a coffin.

So to be honest, if you did roll the car, its likely you'll either maim yourself or die. Fat lot of good your cage did then!

And from the pics above - the blue cusco one will NOT PASS approval here in Aus. No chance with bends on the front pillar like that to go 'around' the dash.

Thats instant fail.

[tacker]

yep but thats the price you have to pay to convert a skyline to LHD. You will see in the other pics that its a straight through jobby.

I have no reason to pump these cages, but i have spoken to the JAF who are the ASN of the FIA for japan and these cages are made to appendix J section 253 article 8 regulations. These cage designs have been been submitted JAF who homologated them as the FIA ASN for Japan.

Short extract of the aboved mention regulations;

Any new cage which is homologated by an ASN and is on sale as from the 01.01.2003, must be identified by means of an idenification plate affixed to it by the manufacture, this identification plate must neither be copied or moved ( ie embedded, engraved or self destroying sticker ).

http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/994...ppJ_Art_253.pdf

I have attached a picture of the sticker on the Cusco cage i brought and if anyone can translate it for me and its not what it should be then the person who sold it to me is in for a tough time! as its an eye for an eye in these here parts