BLACKBIRD8200

well i hope to be in to the mid to high 12's this summer and pondering the idea of a roll cage? my problem is this my car is a drop top and rules are 13.49 and faster need a roll cage, but if put a cage in then the figerglass cover i got won't work no more. and the covers make the car look so much better and i spent alot of $$ on them. so what do you think i should? no cage and hope the track dosen't catch on or , put a cage in?

n20ta2

Convertible= cage, the track will find out if they have any tech at all.Not only that but for your own saftys sake!

97FormulaWS-6

It's a bar, not a cage... and personally I think the Wolfe convertable bars look awesome installed; especially when paint-matched to the car.

Mike94ZLT1

I'm going to be putting a 6 point cage in my car this winter, and I'm trying to get the door bars as low as possible. Trey's (yes, that Trey) last f-body had a 6 point in it, and it was the stiffest chassis I had ever seen, that car was solid as a rock. No subframes either, it was amazing. Anyways, the thing that sucked was getting in and out of his car, nearly impossible with the t-tops on. I don't want to deal with swingouts, and I don't think I want to cut the door panels to make it fit.

IROC-T

There is a rollcage for converts in the F/S section might be what you need.

2QUIK6

I'll be in the same boat when my wife gives me the go ahead to take over her '95 Ta convertible. I've seen some that look really good, but not sure if they were NHRA legal, they almost looked like a factory piece the way they were designed. Not sure if they had the front bars that went past the doors or not, but either way I was hoping to find something that just wasn't a plain bar sticking up so when the top was down cruising around town it wouldn't look like a drag strip car.

Injuneer

NHRA requires a "5" point roll bar down to 11.00 (or below 135mph traps) in a convertible. This includes the main hoop (2 points), two braces to the rear (2 points), mounted within 5" of the top of the hoop, and a single side bar (1 point) on the drivers side, running to the front footwell. The side bar has to pass the drivers arm between the shoulder and the elbow. The sidebar can be a "swingout". There also has to be a fixed cross-bar on the main hoop, to fasten the harness to. It can not be above the drivers shoulders, or more than 4" below them.

"White Knight"

Sounds like the perdiciment I will be in soon. I don't know what i am going to do either. Guess that's why many go to the streets. I really think they should adjust it for hardtop cars. Cars are running 13.0 now from the factory...and that's the 4-door sedans. But in a convertable i'd say you'd need something. But IMO you should be able to sign a waiver or something....then again they have to mess with the consequences when somehting goes wrong and that really turns people away from your track...so i guess it's their call.

My solution is i'm going to build my own track someday. behind my house.


What is the rule for Hard-tops, isn't it the 12second rule.....someone told me they were thinking of changing it, because the stock cars were getting faster, but maybe it was in an article saying that's what they should do.

ABA383

I just saw a thread here somewhere that for the 2005 season the NHRA changed its 5 point requirements from 11.99 to 11.49 for roof cars...

1 Nasty Bird

lil off topic, but does a t-top car have the zsame requirements of a convertible, or a hardtop car? Ive heard both, and now that i actually have a t-top car i need to know.

Bob's 01SLPSS

My 01' SS + 6-Point Bolt-In Cage with Full Suspension Mods= Rock Solid Ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CCCCCYA

In a manner of speaking, yes. You can run as low as 11.50 without a cage in the stock classes, but only if the car is COMPLETELY unmodded. The convertable rules are STILL in there, and that means a roll bar for ANY convertable running 13.99 or quicker (not 13.49 or quicker). All of the other rules are still in full effect...

What this boils down to, is if your car is modded, then your going to have to pony up and meet the regs. Sure, you might get away with it for a while, but they WILL catch on eventually, and you probably wont be allowed to run at your chosen track at ALL until you get it done.

think about it this way. Our cars (and others makes of course) have pretty much redefined what a street car can do. 10 years ago, a 10 second street car was about as easy to find as a .50 cent hooker. Few and far between!
But NOWDAYS, cars have gotten fast. REALLY fast. And a mid 11 second car is MORE than enough power to really hurt yourself if something breaks. Try to imagine for a moment what it would be like to be heading down the track in your low 11's street car on ET Streets, and then just as you start to hit some good RPM in 2nd and the MPH gets somewhere north of 60 mph or so, an AXLE snaps. Well, your not going to know it until the car veers HARD to the wall or the ditch (one wheels still workin ya know!). You think you can hold onto it? Yeah? Think again.

Bottom line is this: If you wanna make your car fast, then go for it for sure, but don't lose sight of the fact that you have but ONE life. Don't risk making your kids orphans over a stupid piece of roll-bar stock. It just aint worth it folks.

Really..

Dave C.

Injuneer

You might want to check the 2005 NHRA Rule Book. The chart at the back (page 276) that shows the ET breaks for various tech requirements has been changed to indicate "C/13.49" for "Roll Bar". The 2004 book indicated "C" in the box for ET's to 13.99.

Additionally, Section 1A for ET cars running slower than 7.50 indicates:

"FRAME: 4

ROLL BAR
"Roll bar mandatory in cars (including T-tops) running 11.00 to 11.49, in convertibles running 11.00 to 13.49, and in all dune-buggy........"

In the 2004 book, it said:

"....convertibles running 11.00 to 13.99"

I read that as dropping the roll bar requirement for convertibles to 13.49. Similarly, the requirement for a roll bar in coupes has been reduced to 11.49

Maybe I'm reading it wrong... so I'm open to being educated

CCCCCYA

I swear I read that in recent copy of Dragster about the changes applying to unmodded cars (specifically to get the Z06, Viper, and Blown Cobras into the show legally), but I'll have to go back through some issues and see if I can find it. In the meantime, here's the actual verbage of the rule changes for 05 (as they apply to us that is).

Adjustment to E.T. requirements
In a move designed to encourage more street vehicles to compete on the quarter-mile, NHRA has revised its requirements for roll bars, SFI Spec clutches, driveshaft loops, driver restraints, and certain protective clothing.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2005, a roll bar and an SFI 16.1 driver-restraint system will be mandatory on any vehicle running 11.49 or quicker and for convertibles running 13.49 or quicker. An SFI 3.2A/1 jacket will be mandatory for all drivers in vehicles running between 10.00 to 11.49 seconds. On any car running 11.49 or quicker, a flywheel and clutch meeting SFI Spec 1.1 or 1.2 and a flywheel shield meeting SFI Spec 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, or 9.1 will be mandatory. A driveshaft loop will be required on all cars running 13.99 or quicker and utilizing slicks, except vehicles equipped with street tires running 11.49 or slower.

ref. http://www.nhra.com/2004/news/November/110102.html

I've got a lot of issues to look through! lol

Dave C.

CCCCCYA

OK, here's what I had seen. Got the two mixed up. One is for all ET classes, and the other (this one) is for Pure Stock class.

http://www.nhra.com/2004/news/june/062202.html

Dave C.