Safety Devices V brace cage and the back pad ? Options

[amallagh]

I want to fit a Safety Devices V brace style cage to my 914 but would also like to keep the original back pad.
The cage needs to bolt to the bulkhead between the seat. Can this be done and still fit the back pad with some modifications ?
Anyone got any advice or pictures of how to make a tidy job of this ?

[jdogg]

No. Use carpet.

[Aaron Cox]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

BTW - whats a SD cage cost? english company right? wonder what they cost on this side of the pond

[John]

I'm not sure of the cost, bt we have been using a SD cage (that has been added on to ) for the last 18 or so years. Back then, they didn't have the v-brace.

I am hoping to get one for the car I have on the rotissorie right now.

I won't be putting a backpad in that car, so I don't have to worry about that.

I think Stable Energies sells them for about $900.

[TimT]

The Safety Devices cage in my 914 doesnt have the v-brace. I wonder if thats a feature on the new models?

[blabla914]

I have seen at least two different cars with the safety devices cage and the back pad in them. It is very tight. I did speak to one of the owners. He said they had to peel the vinyl back, trim the pad, and then glue it back down. You couldn't tell by looking at it , so it would seem you just need some extra clearance underneath. He paid to have it done, so he didn't really have much more to say. Both installs I've seen have been very tidy and looked great. The only thing I worry about is I haven't seen this done recently, I wonder if they have changed their cage at all? It looked like a minor change in the brace positions would make it a whole different ball game.

Kelly

[amallagh]

I have seen at least two different cars with the safety devices cage and the back pad in them. It is very tight. I did speak to one of the owners. He said they had to peel the vinyl back, trim the pad, and then glue it back down. You couldn't tell by looking at it , so it would seem you just need some extra clearance underneath. He paid to have it done, so he didn't really have much more to say. Both installs I've seen have been very tidy and looked great. The only thing I worry about is I haven't seen this done recently, I wonder if they have changed their cage at all? It looked like a minor change in the brace positions would make it a whole different ball game.

Kelly

Did you get any pictures of the cage fitted with the V brace you can post here or send to me on email ?
Here is a diagramatic picture of the cage showing the V brace. Does it look like what you saw fitted with the back pad in place ?
Andrew

[carr914]

Here is picture of the V-Brace in my car

T.C.

[JPB]

Here is picture of the V-Brace in my car

T.C.

I put that V-brace on my cage but it made my seat to vertical. Is that how yours is also? Seems like you have to keep your seat ahead a little closer to the steering wheel. I also had to eliminate it completely on the passenger's side do to the back pad head rest deal of my 71. I guess racing seats need to be in for that setup.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[GTPatrick]

Do any of you well respected Gents in the 914 community have anyother roll cage designs that you cold post here. For street / track use of course ???

Thanks for any imputs .

[brant]

I ran the SD cage with the V-brace in my black car for about 8 years.
when we moved the cage over to the new car we cut the V out.

Its not really bolting to a structural area
I don't think its a useful feature really...
(although I originally paid extra for it)

we added bars to our SD cage in the new car that are more functional from both the safety and chassis stiffening perspectives
brant

[amallagh]

I ran the SD cage with the V-brace in my black car for about 8 years.
when we moved the cage over to the new car we cut the V out.

Its not really bolting to a structural area
I don't think its a useful feature really...
(although I originally paid extra for it)

we added bars to our SD cage in the new car that are more functional from both the safety and chassis stiffening perspectives
brant

Talked to Saafety Devices in the UK and although they sell a version without the V brace it is not certified or homologated for motorsport. (Non competition road use only as they call it) If you have added other bars then I'm sure you would have compensated in terms of strength but for some classis series in the Europe you must have an approved cage design. With the V brace in place did you find that it in any way restricted the rearward movemnet of either seat back to the bulkhead ?

[amallagh]

Here is picture of the V-Brace in my car

T.C.

I put that V-brace on my cage but it made my seat to vertical. Is that how yours is also? Seems like you have to keep your seat ahead a little closer to the steering wheel. I also had to eliminate it completely on the passenger's side do to the back pad head rest deal of my 71. I guess racing seats need to be in for that setup.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

Hi, this really surprises me. I have been assured by several people that the V brace design from Safety devices does not restrict the rear travel of either seat back to the bulkhead. I had this confirmed by George at AA. Are you saying this is not the case ? Was it a Safety Devices cage ? Given my height it is very important that the rear seat travel is not restricted. I only just fit in the car as it is.
Seeing the picture that carr914 has posted above of his V brace cage, then to be fair it looks like it would restrict the rear travel of a std type seat. I certainly appears to sit behind the race seat in the picture. Pretty disappointing if AA have got this wrong as it would rule out this cage for me.

[amallagh]

Still looking for anyone who can post a picture of a V brace type cage (Safety Devices type like AA sell) with a rear back pad fitted and either std ot GT style seats.
Starting to get conflicting views about whether it restricts the rear seat travel and just want to see how to make a good job of fitting it with the back pad in place.
Picture speaks a thousand words !

[blabla914]

Sorry no picts. It was a WHILE ago, pre-digital camera always in pocket.

That roll cage is not supposed to restrict seat movement. The owner I talked to said there was no restriction, but he was around 5'8" or so. I have no direct experience with this fitment.

While that brace doesn't bolt to anything super solid, any roll bar needs some kind of cross brace to keep it from becoming a paralellogram due to side loads. A traditional cross brace will also work, but that will REALLY restrict the passenger seat movement. The safety devices design is just a shameless copy of the factory roll bars sold for GT kits once roll bars became mandatory.

Kelly

[brant]

I ran the SD cage with the V-brace in my black car for about 8 years.
when we moved the cage over to the new car we cut the V out.

Its not really bolting to a structural area
I don't think its a useful feature really...
(although I originally paid extra for it)

we added bars to our SD cage in the new car that are more functional from both the safety and chassis stiffening perspectives
brant

Talked to Saafety Devices in the UK and although they sell a version without the V brace it is not certified or homologated for motorsport. (Non competition road use only as they call it) If you have added other bars then I'm sure you would have compensated in terms of strength but for some classis series in the Europe you must have an approved cage design. With the V brace in place did you find that it in any way restricted the rearward movemnet of either seat back to the bulkhead ?

The V-brace did require the seat to be forward a few inches.
I ran no back pad on that car
it also meant that your helmet was resting against the foam bar padding.
(which required moving the seat further forward)

so I agree that it does restrict somewhat.

I certainly don't know the rules in europe.
but I can't believe that every pro-race team out there is certifying or having to certify what they build.

I find it hard to believe with the enormous racing empire in Britian that there are not fabrication shops and teams building roll cages that conform to a class rule without a test certification?

but what do I know.

brant

[amallagh]

I ran the SD cage with the V-brace in my black car for about 8 years.
when we moved the cage over to the new car we cut the V out.

Its not really bolting to a structural area
I don't think its a useful feature really...
(although I originally paid extra for it)

we added bars to our SD cage in the new car that are more functional from both the safety and chassis stiffening perspectives
brant

Talked to Saafety Devices in the UK and although they sell a version without the V brace it is not certified or homologated for motorsport. (Non competition road use only as they call it) If you have added other bars then I'm sure you would have compensated in terms of strength but for some classis series in the Europe you must have an approved cage design. With the V brace in place did you find that it in any way restricted the rearward movemnet of either seat back to the bulkhead ?

The V-brace did require the seat to be forward a few inches.
I ran no back pad on that car
it also meant that your helmet was resting against the foam bar padding.
(which required moving the seat further forward)

so I agree that it does restrict somewhat.

I certainly don't know the rules in europe.
but I can't believe that every pro-race team out there is certifying or having to certify what they build.

I find it hard to believe with the enormous racing empire in Britian that there are not fabrication shops and teams building roll cages that conform to a class rule without a test certification?

but what do I know.

brant

Thats Europe for you. Even eggs and banana can't be sold if they are ouside a std size specification !

For established make series racing and classic car racing on circuit it is normal to have a certified cage design. There really are not many companies offering cages any more over here. Only in the heavily modified type series do you see bespoke cages that offer significant chassis stiffening as well as the safety cage. Seeing some of the pictures on the website here there are clearly a lot of 'heavily' modified cars over there racing in US series. This type of racing is not so common over here and most series are very prescriptive about what modifications (including stiffening can be carried out). All designed to maintain originality('period' mods only), keep budgets down and make the racing more competitive. In theory !
All this talk about restricting and not restricting rear seat movement. Is there a possibility that there are several similar V brace designs offered by different suppliers which differ slightly in this respect. If so then I need to find the one that doesn't restrict being back touching the bulkhead ?

[brant]

mine restricted only slightly without helmet and much more so with helmet.

mine was (is) a safety devices brand roll cage with the smaller gauge tubing and made in england.

sorry about that.

check out my vintage thread for pictures of a better/safer modified SD cage as I'm using it now.

the 914 is very weak/vulnerable from a direct side impact. The SD cage offers no intrusion protection from a direct side impact at the drivers hip. I installed a cross brace in my SD brand cage that runs from the rear "foot" on one side to the rear foot of the cage on the other side. Unfortunately the "v" offers no such protection.

perhaps you could bolt in such a brace on what ever cage you end up using for your own protection.

brant