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How to get a rollcage


Munkvy

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As a result of a few people mentioning having difficulty getting through all the guff on the MSNZ site and understanding the rules, I have written out the following to help guide people.

I am speaking from personal experience as both a MSNZ licensed Scrutineer and as someone who owns and competes in his own caged car. I have tried to make this as easy to read as possible, but expect that I will manage to confuse people. Feel free to PM me if your not sure about anything etc.

Step One - Club membership and Clubsport License Your first step to getting through the process is to join an MSNZ affiliated car club in your area, this then allows you to apply for a Clubsport license - which allows you to attend most low level motorsport events (Track days, hillclimbs, sprints, autocrosses, motorkhanas etc). Without club membership you cannot get a Clubsport license or attend events - as being a member of an affiliated club is checked when you enter most events.

You need the Clubsport license to be able to compete, but also to allow you to get an Authority Card to be able to drive the car on the road (more on Authority Cards later).

MSNZ affiliated car clubs are all over NZ and you can find a list of them here: http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Contacts/memberclubs.pdf From there your best bet is to go along to a club night and meet some of the people and then join the club.

Step Two - getting the cage and Rollcage Homologation Once you have that sorted you can enter events, but that doesnt help you get a cage and get it legal. With the cage, the first step is to talk to the builder, find out price, what they can do and how long it will take. Also, make sure they will do the MSNZ paperwork for you. This is the "Rollcage Homologation" form (http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Pdf/T004.pdf). Ideally if you can, get them to take the pictures of the cage and attach them with the form. Most cage builders have no issue doing the paperwork, as it basically describes the structure and confirms that the person who built it knows what they are doing.

Then when you get the car back from the cage builder, you will have the form filled out with the details of the weld etc as well as the pictures. Some cage builders wont want to waste time doing pictures, so you may have to do this yourself. However you can provide MSNZ a CD with photos, you dont have to provide actual photos on photo paper etc. The details of what pictures to take (ie of what joins/bars) are in the form. The most important thing to remember however is DO NOT PAINT THE CAGE YET! You have to leave it bare so MSNZ can look at it to make sure its done properly.

Step Three - Logbook At the same time as getting the car back, you want to fill out the "Application for Vehicle Logbook" (http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Pdf/T004.pdf) this form basically gives you a record of the cars competition history, as well as when it has been scrutineered - think of it as similar to a service history and receipts, it outlines whats happened to the car and when. And most importantly - its where the details of your rollcage go after MSNZ homologate it - so you can prove to the world your cage is legal.

I would suggest sending this form in at the same time as your rollcage homologation paperwork - so it all gets sorted at the same time.

Provided MSNZ are happy with the pictures of the cage - you will then get a letter in the mail with your logbook, your homolgation sticker (blue sticker you put on the cage with the homologation number) and a letter from MSNZ about it all. At this stage you can paint the cage. Provided the guy doing your cage does them for a living, you should have no issue reaching this point as MSNZ will recognise his work and should have no problems with the pictures you have taken.

Step Four - competing and the Authority Card Now this means your car is safe to compete in at events. So in you can start going to events. However, there is a couple of caveats. First you are going to get scrutineered at your first event with the cage installed - this is just to make sure everything is setup correctly in the car. Its for your own benefit.

Now that you have the cage, you also have to have fixed back seats (they dont have to be FIA approved unless you have removed the factory occupant restraint system - ie airbags) and a minimum of 4 point harnesses. I would recommend getting a 6 point (and always camlock, not lever lock) as they are very cheap these days and worth the extra money! The other thing is you need to cover the parts of the rollcage that you could hit your head on with rollcage padding. This is cheap and worth getting more than you need, as it will scuff over time as you use the car. Basically you need to pad the side intrusion bar and the bars that go in front and to the side of your head.

If the car previously had airbags, these must be removed too and a sticker put on the car where it is visible to driver and any passenger, to warn users that there is no longer a "manufacturer fitted occupant restraint device".

Provided you have done all of the above, you should have no issues with scrutineering and competing at events. However, you will also need a fire extinguisher fitted for most events, so worth doing this at the same time (basic rule for extinguishers is within reach of user from drivers seat, 900g minimum weight and secured with metal bracket using minimum of 2x 6mm bolts with washers and lock nuts).

However... And there is always a however! This will not allow you to drive the car on the road!

To do that, you need to complete an "Authority Card Application Form" (http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Pdf/T002.pdf). This form allows you to get certain Motorsport things legal for on the road, ie it covers things that a Cert and Wof dont. Specifically:

Full Harness belts (ie 4 point or higher)

Rollcage

Hydraulic Handbrake

Braided brake lines

Plastic glazing (ie Lexan windows)

Competition seats (FIA approved ones only)

Removal of occupant protection system (removal of airbags)

Obviously with the cage, you are going to need this to allow you to drive the car on the road with the cage and harnesses. This you have to do last, as you have to send your logbook in with it.

Step Five - Getting the car examined for Authority Card This is the part where its not just fill out a form. You also need to get an "A Grade Scrutineer" to examine the car. The car club you joined should be able to tell you who to talk to do this, as there will normally be someone in the club who can, or they can tell you who to see. This shouldnt cost anything either.

The A Grade Scrutineer will examine your car to make sure the cage is good, the padding is in the right places, the seats and belts are installed correctly etc. Basically a once over to make sure you have done it right. They will then sign the application and you can send it in.

Once MSNZ process this they will send you out a card with the details of the cage, harnesses etc printed on it. You need to keep this with the car, as police or WOF people can ask to sight it at any time - this basically verifies your car is safe to be on the road with these Motorsport specific mods. Once you have this, you are free and legal and should not have any problems getting WOFs (well not in relation to the cage anyway!).

To summarize the process:

Join MSNZ affiliated car club

Get Clubsport License

Get rollcage and get builder to fill out paperwork

Fill out logbook application and send in with homologation paperwork

Pad cage, fit seats and harnesses, paint cage and apply homologation sticker to cage

Complete Authority Card application and have car checked by MSNZ A Grade Scrutineer

Start entering events - remembering car will be scrutineered at first event

So thats the process in a nutshell. Any questions dont hesitate to ask me. I will also outline some general tips below that will help with the process and generally making people happy.

Delivering car to the builder Take everything possible out, this includes all interior trim where cage will go, including dashboard, roof lining, seats, seat belts. Basically everything possible - otherwise they will charge you to do it themselves.

Cage design Although there are many options in design and your free to do what you like, remember to get the builder to include a harness bar (ideally at an angle of 45 degrees or less from the seat) so you have somewhere to mount your harness to.

Cage pictures Take more than you need, too many is much better for MSNZ than too few, otherwise you might find you get a letter or call asking for more details

DONT PAINT YOUR CAGE UNTIL YOU GET YOUR CAGE HOMOLOGATION BACK FROM MSNZ Otherwise you might have to strip that paint off to take more pictures

Rollcage padding Fit more than you need, too much is better than too little!

Cage pictures (again) If you provide MSNZ the pictures of the cage on CD they will actually print them out and put them in your logbook as part of the homologation paperwork, this makes it easier for a scrutineer to compare it to your car.

Harnesses Although lever latch harnesses are very cheap, its always worth spending the little bit extra and getting a cam lock one - not only are they quicker to do up, but you can get out of them when there is pressure on them (ie you flip the car and are hanging upside down in the harness), as you cant undo a lever lock latch if there is a persons weight on them.

Harnesses (again) While a 4 point harness is technically sufficient, getting a 6 point is preferable as it will stop submarineing - where in an accident you slip down and under the belts around your waist. A 6 point is preferable over a 5 point as it more evenly distributes the weight between two points rather than one.

Logbook You can get this before you have a cage, you can get it for any car thats used in competition (so that could be your daily driver) and it means that when you compete you are only scrutineered every three events, whereas without a logbook you get checked every event. Once you have a cage however the logbook is compulsory.

Cage padding (again) When you put your padding in, examine how you get in and out of the car and where your body drags - as you will find you will quickly scuff the padding in that area, so its worth putting some tape over those parts of the padding to protect it.

Competition seats and FIA approval Competition seats does not mean all seats, only seats that have been approved by the FIA are classed as competition seats, so if you dont have FIA approved seats they wont get put on the Authority Card application, which is not an issue. However whatever seats you use they must have a fixed back, no ability to recline.

Seat mounting You can use the factory mount points for your seats, and in most cases seats can be fitted this way using adapting rails - which the seat manufacturer can provide you. However, if you have the ability to move the seat forwards and backwards (ie horizontally - not rake), you must have double locking rails - ie both sides have a locking mechanism, not just one. This is to reduce the chance of the seat moving in an accident.

Thanks,

Vivian

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 Old Skool Subbie said:

What do you do if you buy a older rally / race car that has a old cadge in it.

lets say it hasnt raced for 10 plus years.

Do you need to get a new cage installed?

how old does all the safety equipment have to be before you legally have to replace it?

The answers depend on quite a few different factors, but I dont have time to write out some answers just yet. I will write something after work tonight if I have time.

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  • General Member

technically yes - BUT there are ways.. - or if the cage was previously certed and you bought he logbook with it, there is no problem AFAIK

Safety gear - belts expire

Seats - up to Scrutineer?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Does it have to be a registered cage builder?

Say this time next year I'm a qualified mech engineer. Could I design a cage then get my mate with a couple of dozen different welding tickets to weld it up?

Would MANZ be happy?

Because for the most part, I'd feel alot happier trusting my own (and my friends) abilities to save my life than someone I don't know.

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Guest boostcut

you cant realy design the cage... the manz tech book thing has pics of where the bars etc have to be placed

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Guest loren

you can design the cage, there are many different rollcage designs that fit

within the regulations. No you do not need to be registered as far as I know, but

let viv answer that.

It's MSNZ now not MANZ.

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Good article.

My 2 cents.......

If this is going to be your first racecar or cage build. Best advise is to befriend a noted cage builder.

These guys have done loads of cages and know the tricks and pitfalls with lots of different makes and models of cars.

They also know from experience where and how to mount the cage to help with not only safety but also structural stiffness.

I have a case to prove my concern.

A guy living across the street from me deciced he was going to build himself a cage for his car.

He got his plans all sorted and bought the tubing. he and a mate got to work and spent weeks of nights building it.

It wasnt till he went to get it checked for the homoligation a problem was found.

Hoping to get the cage as close as possible to the roof line they could not weld the tops of the joins because they were to tight to get into.

Also the bends did not pass spec.

Long story short....

The cage was junk.

In the end they had to pull out the entire cage and he spent a lot more to get one built by a pro.

He lost quite a lot money on the purchase of the materials and tube benders etc etc etc..

Not to mention the time lost building and removing the cage..

Just a warning.

Doing it yourself does not always work out cheaper.

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Guest loren

+1... and the cage is there to hopefully keep you alive and out of a wheel chair, so why take ANY risks at all.

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 JoKer said:

technically yes - BUT there are ways.. - or if the cage was previously certed and you bought he logbook with it, there is no problem AFAIK

Safety gear - belts expire

Seats - up to Scrutineer?

Not all belts expire. Belts that carry the AS/NZS or E standard do not have an expiry date but must be replaced if worn or damaged.

and harnesses that have an FIA standard may now be used up to 5 years after the validity date if not worn or damaged.

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But then some people could sensibly rate their skills higher than any found in the yellow pages.

My motivation would be the best cage, not the cheapest cage.

I just find it hard to trust some people, it's hard to find genuine craftsmen unless you already know them and in my case I do.

I do see where it's coming from and appreciate the legislation in place to stop cowboys. Cages are like helmets. You need one but hope you never have to use it

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Guest loren
 cpt kernow said:

But then some people could sensibly rate their skills higher than any found in the yellow pages.

That's why you ask people in the know... I wouldn't use the yellow pages either.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • General Member

No - one and the same

there is no set configuration either

Rally you may choose/request builder to have extra roll protection (somehow) or for race - side protection (again not sure how but somehow)

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  • 3 months later...

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