IT Rollcage

[dspgti]

Okay you tech guys, I need some help.
The ITC Scirocco that I just picked up has an old roll cage in it. The past owner said he upgraded it to current specs. Unfortunitly I only looked at the upgrades and never inspected the original stuf. Boy is it ugly welding. Matt Green saw it a Summit had he can attest to that.
The question is, the horizontal bar that is behind the driver on the main hoop is larger than the main hoop and diagonal bar. If you read the GCR in the Touring catagory there is no mention under "Bracing" 18.3.5 about all the bars on the main hoop must be the same diameter and wall thickness. It states that in Production 18.6.1 and GT 18.4.2 but not Touring or Stock that they must be the same.

IS IT LEGAL FOR CLUB RACING? (Tim,Matt G, Matt R., Joe, JW)? Give me some good news.

[Tim Royer]

Hi Dave,

Looks bad Dave. GCR below says all required roll cage elements. Matter of fact it says it twice. I would say all tubing needs to be the same diameter. Did you check wall thickness and size v.s. the weight of the vehicle? IT class is calculated based on the published vehicle weight
minus 180 lbs. FYI


GCR -100
C.Minimum tubing sizes for (all Showroom Stock,Touring
and Improved Touring Category auto-mobiles registered
after June 1,1994)for all required roll cage elements (All
dimensions in inches):
Up to 1500 lbs.1.375 x .095 DOM /Seamless /Alloy
1501-2200 lbs.1.500 x .095 DOM /Seamless /Alloy
2201-3000 lbs.1.500 x .120 DOM /Seamless /Alloy
1.625 x .120 DOM /Seamless /Alloy
1.750 x .095 DOM /Seamless /Alloy
(American Sedans may construct to these specs regardless of weight.)
3001-4000 lbs.1.750 x .120 DOM /Seamless /Alloy
Over 4000 lbs.2.000 x .120 DOM /Seamless /Alloy
Note:ERW tubing is not permitted in any car registered with
SCCA after of 01/01/2003.
Main hoop:4 bends max.,totaling 180 º ± 10 º
Front hoop:4 bends max.or
Front downtubes:2 bends max.
Rear hoop supports:No bends.
If any of the above bend requirements cannot be met,all
components of the roll cage shall be fabricated from the tubing
size(s)listed for the next heavier category of automobiles.
D.For purposes of determining tubing sizes,the vehicle weight
is as raced without fuel and driver.The minus tolerance
for wall thickness should not be less than .010 ” below the
nominal thickness.Improved Touring roll cage tubing sizes
are to be calculated based on the published vehicle weight
minus 180 lbs.

[Matt Rowe]

Well I don't have a scruntineers license but I can tell you that the rule is in place mostly to prevent people from using undersized tubes for required elements. The reality is the rules exist to provide the minimum standards for safety and in the same way that no one is going to complain if your cage uses heavier tubing than required having a single bar that is larger shouldn't be a problem unless the inspector is overly anal. The only thing to be careful of is that the wall thickness must meet the requirements.

[Joe Foering]

I concur with Matt...The GCR says MINIMUM tubing sizes...if the tubing meets the wall thickness and the minmum tubing size for the weight of the vehicle there should be no problem (the operative word is should...). Joe

[Steve Tumolo]

Dave you may also want to check with Rich Sweigart. He is/was a Club Racing Tech. He used to post on here pretty often but I have not seen any posts from him in a while.

[dspgti]

Thanks for the replies so far. The main cage meets the minimun size and thickness and the horizontal bar is bigger.
I saw Rich post a reply a few days ago. Are you out there Rich? Want to post an opinion?

Dave Y.