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We will now point out some important design elements that separate our cage from a bad or mediocre one. The main hoops are within an inch of the roof and sides of the car, giving us as much room as possible. The forward hoops follow the window frame closely and are welded to the floor as close to the firewall as possible. Because of the forward hoops’ close proximity to the firewall we decided the two optional points on the firewall were not necessary.
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| Can’t get any closer to the corner than that! |
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| A lower x-brace and built-in strut tower bar increase side impact protection and overall rear structural rigidity. |
For side impact protection we used an x-brace design on each side. We believe an x-brace is safer than “NASCAR bars” because the x-brace’s bars will not bend without “stretching” the metal. The distance “NASCAR bars” are bent outward away from the driver is also the distance they can be bent towards the driver before the force of the impact starts to stretch the tubing. This makes impact intrusion more likely, something we do not want to think about while driving at over 100 mph. Since it would be much harder to stretch the tubing than to bend it, the x-brace creates a fairly impenetrable wall. The cage tubing was bent on a hand powered mandrel bender to give you an idea as to how easily it can bend. As an added bonus, removing or installing the seats is also a lot easier with the x-brace.
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| NASCAR bars | X-brace |
