Roll cages

[btcc93]

At the beginning of the month I had a 6 point cage fitted to my car by one of the cage manufacturers in The Blue Book, I'm told by a scrut that they should have drilled a marked inspection hole in it somewhere to determine the thickness of the tube. I took this as gospel but having read through the safety regs section several times I cannot find any reference to this inspection hole or it's required location and size. The comment I got back from the maker when I emailed them was "I can’t remember the last time a srutineer wanted a hole." . Help would be much appreciated.

[jo white]

Originally Posted by btcc93

At the beginning of the month I had a 6 point cage fitted to my car by one of the cage manufacturers in The Blue Book, I'm told by a scrut that they should have drilled a marked inspection hole in it somewhere to determine the thickness of the tube. I took this as gospel but having read through the safety regs section several times I cannot find any reference to this inspection hole or it's required location and size. The comment I got back from the maker when I emailed them was "I can’t remember the last time a srutineer wanted a hole." . Help would be much appreciated.

It was in last years regs so i am assuming its in the 09 regs, if its got bolt in door bars you could always take one out for them to inspect, ( thats how i figured i would do it if hassled)

[btcc93]

I tried the doorbars thing, I was told it needed to be in the main hoop.

[windy]

Never been asked on mine. I'd be very wary about drilling holes in roll cages.

My advice would be to take them your cage certificate & details of the installer. Also make sure they've put a tag on your cage with the approval number.

[btcc93]

It's a one off cage on a vehicle which is a slightly unusual one to have a rollcage, I have a specification document from the maker who also installed the cage, It is is not as if it was something I had bent up myself from a bit of old tubing

[redturner37]

There doesn't appear to be anything in the current regs to indicate that an inspection hole is required. However, it certainly was a requirement on a structure which was home made and the hole had to be 1/8". A certified manufacturer should fit a tag to the cage and issue a conformity certificate. If the scrut insists a hole is required, just ask him to show you where in the blue book it says so, then there is no argument.

[judgie]

i have never been asked to drill holes in any of the cages i have built. i issuse a certificate of conformity for the tube that i have used. a makers tag only has to be fitted if the cage is homolagated, this is what i was told by the msa tech guy when i rang and asked about making cages. have been making drag cages for a while and each one gets tech tagged at the first meeting you do with the cage by a tech inspector.
cheers rob

[grahamb]

Even if a hole were present, it wouldn't guarantee that the same wall thickness was used on every section. Pointless.

Dont worry about it. I got asked where my "cockpit ventilation" was at an event last year (Croft), so I simply opened the sunroof.

Its all about interpretation at the end of the day.

If you're going for a logbook, get the right scrute, make him a nice cuppa, make sure the garage isn't freezing cold, and if the standard of preparation and attention to detail prevails, you wont have any issues.

[btcc93]

I spoke to the tech guys at the MSA today and they were confused but did email me back the following:-

Hello,



In response to your query today regarding a wall thickness inspection hole in a roll cage. I can confirm that there was a requirement in the 2008 regulations [C(c)]39 for a 6mm inspection hole, this regulation has however been removed from the 2009 regulations. It is therefore no longer a requirement to have a 6mm inspection hole in a roll cage.



Best Regards



Michael Duncan



Technical Administrator

The Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association Limited

DDI 01753 765037

www.msauk.org