I have done many search on this website that have helped out. Yet, still need more info.

My problem - I am 6'4" and my helmet is already rubbing on the roof of the car when I drive. My seat is pushed all the way back, yet I don't lean the seat back at all. I would like to get a 5 point seat belt installed and want the safety of a roll bar also.
Does anyone have a recommendation on a roll bar/cage that would work with me?
Do I have to make other mods to make it work for me (i.e. new lower seat, spacers under the roll bar,...)?

 

The rollbar should already be in full contact with the roof, so you can not raise it.

The option is to lower the seat itself. If you want to keep the Stock seats I would look for low profile sliders.

If you don't want to keep the stock seats there a quite a few options available.

 

If you want a cage and your 6' 4'' like myself , get a custom cage. The fit will be better, they can be made to spec, and you can still have room. Just find a proven builder in you area tell them what you want. I could'nt fit in a kirk or autopower cage, this is prolly your only option. I'll post some pics later if you need.

 

Pictures would be great. I kind of figured that I couldn't fit in the Kirk or Autopower from the pictures.

 

Do you have any options on the low profile sliders since I really like my stock seats?

 

Where are you located?

 

Southwestern Georgia - close to the Florida/Alabama/Georgia boarder.

 

If you want to drive to Raleigh NC, I can recomend Chris Schemmel as a cage builder, but I bet there are some in Atlanta and Savannah though.

 

I'm 6'5" and have some of the same issues that you do. I have a racing seat with the brackets mounted to the floor and a custom cage.

Check out http://www.rollcageguy.com/ and click on gallery and Nissan to get some ideas of what others have done. The owner of the site, Mark McMahon is located in Arkon and has done at least 3 350Z cages.

Good luck!

-Rob

 

Thanks Rob - I think the roll cage is a little more than I need right now. The cage doesn't look like it gives any more head or leg room than the Kirk model? I guess I will be getting a custom seat with my roll bar.

 

you can try something like this:
http://storesense.megawebservers.com...rior+%2F+Seats

 

A custom cage may give you another inch or so extra head room, but it really depends on how hard your kirk cage is pressed up against the roof. The other advantage is that you can move the main hoop bars back as far as physically possible. The disadvantages of a custom cage are the cost and that they are more difficult to deal with on a daily basis.

I think that a new seat and seat mount will probably make the biggest difference for you.

-Rob

 

I am also just touching the headliner with my helmet. My custom rollbar is pushed back slightly farther than say a kirk bar. I also put a 'slight' bend in the middle of the bar so it touches the center of the roof (techically illegal because it is an extra bend). Basically it follows the pillar up to the roof.
The only complaint with this design is that the top of the bar limits rear visibilty. A lower seat would remedy this.
I'd also like to know if anyone has lowered their stock seat??

Edit: Merlot350Z makes a great point. My bar is welded in via a pad that far exceed SCCA standards. If I were to buy a kirk bar, I would immediately have a cage builder make a bigger pad.

I'll look for some pictures, but you can go to tcdesignfab.com and see his full 350Z cage. Mine is similar except that the hoop sits an inch or two further back in the car.

 

Keep in mind that the Kirk cage is a bolt-in unit and a professionally cage is welded in with excellent floor plates or boxes. My son Rob didn't mention that is cage roof bars are so tight that you cant get a radio cable between the roll cage hoop bar and the roof. His cage meets and exceeds SCCA requirements and was designed with chasis stiffness in mind. We have used a similar cage design on our Camaro that we raced the last few years. Mark McMahon is a full time cage builder and has an excellent reputation which is why we are willing to trailer the car to him when hes a days drive away. If you are going to track the car you have to decide what you safety is worth.
bobhines

 

I have the Kirk roll bar and I am also 6'4" tall. Forget the stock seat with this setup - I lost 4 inches of seat travel with the bar installed. I ended up installing a Corbeau FX-1 seat and custom making some seat mounts (easier than it sounds) to get the seat down and back further. Now, I don't hit my head on the headliner even with a helmet on.

 

Could you post pic's of the roll bar with seats?
Can you also describe the seat mounts.

I talked with Kirk racing yesturday - they mentioned that if I try to push it back it will not be a legal roll bar. I guess if I want safety I am going to have to give up my stock seats! (and my a** heaters)

 

I'll try to get some pics this weekend. My usual digital camera is not very good (only 640x480 resolution), so it won't show detail and doesn't take close-ups.

Yep, you will definitely need to dump your stock seats if you want the roll bar!

 

[IMG]C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator\My Documents\My Pictures\2005-07 (Jul)[/IMG]


finally got around to posting this pic. You can see the line the main hoop follows, is completly out of my long frame.

 

that was a goof hold on.

 

Unless you have a Webserver on you local machine, you will not be able to link to the picture.