16 replies to this topic

[Colby Scott]

So, im about to begin the process of building a spec car and was thinking about going with a cage from miatacage.com. However, before i went this route for sure i was wondering if anyone had any experience with these cages,i.e. instilation, quality, ext. Also, I was wondering if these cages met SCCA and NASA cage regulatons. Any advice would be helpful due to the fact that I have little experience with miata cages.

[chris haldeman]

they are very nice kits with good instructions and a great reputation.they are scca and nasa approved with proper installation.quite possably the cage that all others are compared too

[Armando Ramirez]

they are very nice kits with good instructions and a great reputation.they are scca and nasa approved with proper installation.quite possably the cage that all others are compared too

+1

[JayF]

Agreed. I used one in my SM build and am very happy with the kit.

[Jim Drago]

So, im about to begin the process of building a spec car and was thinking about going with a cage from miatacage.com. However, before i went this route for sure i was wondering if anyone had any experience with these cages,i.e. instilation, quality, ext. Also, I was wondering if these cages met SCCA and NASA cage regulatons. Any advice would be helpful due to the fact that I have little experience with miata cages.

We use our own cages as they are a personality of sorts of the car, each builder has their own likes and dislikes. I have put in several Miatacages, very good kits,, very good product. If we didn't use our own, I would be using theirs. ( No we do not sell cage kits )
Jim

[Caveman-kwebb99]

Nice cages, good step by step instructions with pictures, awesome price on the cage and shipping. Not to mention Sean the owner is very helful and a SM'er himself! If I was going to build another cage myself I would not hesitate to buy MIATACAGE.COM again!

[Chris70]

Agree 100% Very good kit.

[Dudley]

have the beta miata cage in jim's car. very happy and definately recommend. sean is extemely helpful and a great person in our sm group.

[Kyle Keenan]

The miatacage.com kit is, by far, the best "out of the box" cage kit there is. Tons of room inside the car, super safe, and the fact that Sean continues to update it says a lot about his products. Just don't go cheap on installing the cage, make sure it's done right and installed by a professional.

[Colby Scott]

thanks for all the help guys. But is there anything in the SCCA GCR about adding cross braces in the rear down tubes? One of my close friends who races a 1.6 car has a cage that has x down tubes in the back, but I know that the rules were altered after this car was built so it's grandfathered in. Are there any new rules against this?

[Tom Hampton]

Those are still legal. As long as the landings doesn't exceed 8, and the other rules are followed, you can have as many tubes connecting between tubes as you like.

That's my read, anyway.

[davew]

thanks for all the help guys. But is there anything in the SCCA GCR about adding cross braces in the rear down tubes? One of my close friends who races a 1.6 car has a cage that has x down tubes in the back, but I know that the rules were altered after this car was built so it's grandfathered in. Are there any new rules against this?

I seem to remember that JUST an X in the back was determined to be non compliant. That you had to have the 2 rear supports going straight back.

An addition of additional bars in the rear supports is fine, and I include a diagonal bar and a trunk crossbar in my cage kit.

dave

[Tom Hampton]

I seem to remember that JUST an X in the back was determined to be non compliant. That you had to have the 2 rear supports going straight back.

An addition of additional bars in the rear supports is fine, and I include a diagonal bar and a trunk crossbar in my cage kit.

dave

I thought so, too. I went to the latest GCR to cut and paste the rule...and I can't find one. At least not one that is unambiguous. Nevertheless, maybe its the interpretation of 9.4.B.2.c:

Cars must have 2 braces extending to the rear from the main hoop and
attaching to the frame or chassis. Braces must be attached as near as possible
to the top of the main hoop (not more than 6 inches below the top), and at an
included angle of at least 30 degrees.

Maybe the interpretation is that "2" means do not intersect at a common point. In other words, where the X crosses effectively makes it a SINGLE brace---at every point along the cross section of the rear bracing there must be two separate tubes.

Here's the other rule related to additional bracing:

9.4.G.6:

Any number of additional tube elements is permitted within the boundaries of
the cage structure. Such tube elements may pass through any mandatory or
optional bulkhead or panel separating the driver/passenger compartment from the
trunk/ cargo area/fuel tank/fuel cell area provided the bulkhead is sealed
around such tube elements.

<P dir=ltr>provided that 9.4.E.1 is not violated:

Improved Touring, Showroom Stock, Spec Miata, AND Touring classes–The roll
cage must attach to the vehicle structure (floor pan/ rocker boxes/ sills)
within the passenger compartment in a minimum of 6 points and a maximum of 8
points as specified in these rules.

[Colby Scott]

Ok, that's what I thought but I wasn't completely sure and i don't currently have a copy of the GCR. I probably will be adding x braces between my two rear down tubes and maybe even some others in different spots around the cage. As we all know, you can build a lot of stability into a car with the cage and anything that makes the car handle better is a plus, just as long as the weight doesn't become an issue.

[dstevens]

Colby, before you do or buy anything go download the GCR. Tells you all you need to know.

http://cms.scca.com/...ted version.pdf

Were I getting a cage kit it would be either the Miata Cage or the Advanced Autosports kit. I'll ASSume you're in Mt Vernon, WA and not George Washington's old house. Look up Bruce Wilson, he's your regional SM director, go down to PDX and check out a race and look at the cars. If you are in Arlington, VA check out Meathead Racing at Summit Point. Mike Collins is the guy.

[Colby Scott]

Colby, before you do or buy anything go download the GCR. Tells you all you need to know.

http://cms.scca.com/...ted version.pdf

Were I getting a cage kit it would be either the Miata Cage or the Advanced Autosports kit. I'll ASSume you're in Mt Vernon, WA and not George Washington's old house. Look up Bruce Wilson, he's your regional SM director, go down to PDX and check out a race and look at the cars. If you are in Arlington, VA check out Meathead Racing at Summit Point. Mike Collins is the guy.

Actually, Im in Mt. Vernon, Tx which puts me in the Texas region. I've been around the races a lot being part of a SM crew so I'm used to the atmosphere and the cars, but have only recently decided to get behind the wheel myself. I realise that in the long run it would be cheaper to buy a car already speced, but being a poor college kid i'm going to have to piece it together a little at the time. My current goal for the car is to get the safty stuff installed this summer, go through super school in Dec. at TMS, and run ITA to get experience while I finish fully specing the car.

[dstevens]

Didn't know there was a Mt Vernon in TX. Nothing wrong with building a car. I started to build a down and dirty get on the track quick car and once I got into it I went the other way and started a tub up build. It will always take more time and money but that's true with any production based race car. Read your GCR and the NASA CCR if you are going to do those as well. Without a doubt the best 20 bucks I've spent is on Dave Wheeler's SM book. Some nice tidbits that even if you've worked on or built cars before you'll find some Miata specific stuff to save time or give ideas for the build.

http://www.advanced-...&products_id=42

Tom Hampton has made copies of the factory workshop manual available for download, http://www.tomhampton.info/downloads/ .

The old specmiata.com site is good as well. I Google it by typing "my search term site:specmiata.com" (no quotes) into the Google toolbar and search it that way.

There is a lot of good info on some questions you've already asked.