cams and roll bars and drifting :(

[bpt4w]

k he's the low down last week i was told not to come back to drifting unless i get a roll cage that complies with 2 inch above your helmet rule , this was due to the rules that CAMS had finally made for drifting had just kicked in and i didn't comply to those rules, now i want my car to stay road driveable and be able to have the top on or off for days at the track , but even if i remove the seat alltogether and sit on the carpet i won't be able to comply to the 2 inch rule (i do have a b&d cams spec roll bar already).I do here they may be making a exception for mx5's and other topless production cars but it looks like going 60kph round a corner with a bit of sliding is just to dangerous for the likes of cams, compared to maybe 200kph down a straight at track days which is not dangerous at all?.

new drifting rules say all topless cars must have cams approved roll bars (this is even for normal open public drifting days so no more just turning up and having a go) , if said roll bar is installed it must be 2 inches above drivers head ect ect , the usual rules that currently run in racing , but what really gets my goat is that if i have a tin top or buy a fibreglass roof and install it (little to no protection) i do not have to have any form of rollover protection ? , but if i remove my half a millimeter of fibreglass roof im suddenly a danger to myself , what tha .

[Okibi]

Bummer...

CAMs have also done a deal to stay that any Street Registered car will not be able to pass scruitineering if it has a Yellow \"Work Order\" sticker.

(I don't know if this is just in W.A. only or not)

I would expect that a roll bay that doesn't allow the softtop to shut would not comply to ADR standards.

An interesting note is that in the US of A; a lot of race tracks won’t let you do a driver training day unless you have a proper approved roll cage. They also have the 2\" above helmet rule.

I think it's all a plot to keep tall people out of motorsport.

[EGG80X]

Lower your seat is on solution

[Okibi]

Lower your seat is on solution

.. but even if i remove the seat alltogether and sit on the carpet i won't be able to comply to the 2 inch rule (i do have a b&d cams spec roll bar already)....

[rodent]

I think it's all a plot to keep tall people out of motorsport.

Sometimes it's good to be a shorty!

jonno.

[bpt4w]

hmmm well its a plot from the tin top side of the sport , we were getting to much of an advantage from having fresh air in the cabin so we are forced to put tops on our cars , its such a shame since this will kill many a would be mx5 driver from maybe turning up to races. I do understand that cams has to maintain a safety standard but i find it rediculas that if you cover the driver with a cover he is automatically safe, hmmm when i rang up i also mentioned the bubble tops that i saw on the bullet supercars (they have 2 bulges where helmets can fit under the top) and they said that this was fine as well ? , so if i go out with my soft top up with my helmet bulging through the fabric am i safe as well

[bpt4w]

rant mode off

[Okibi]

I wonder if there's ANY WAY a \"bolt\" on extention could be designed and pass CAMs specs.

[Cal]

There is nothing new about this rule. It may be new to drifting, but anyone wanting to compete in a CAMS race event in an MX5 has always had to comply. You must be bloody tall. I'm a shade under 6 foot and just clear the 2\" rule with a Sparco Sprint bolted to 8mm alloy plate, with the runners removed. This is with a cage that will still allow enough room for a hardtop to be fitted. However, I'm also told that to be street legal, the seat must remain adustable. Opps forgot that bit.

Cal.

[namster]

just buy a hard top, and have both.
motorsports are always dangerous.

[bpt4w]

oh i will buy a hardtop ( i may have to modify it to fit helmets) and yes im a long body 6'1 , hmm might be able to adjust the hight of the bar by a bit as well by spacing the base plates and get a thinner helmet as well.

k the reason i had this rant was that at the cams drift meets (practise sessions and general fun days)you do not require a roll bar for full roof cars at all (it is recomended but not compulsory) were as if you have a open top car you must have a full cams bar with compliance ect, now considering most open top cars have there A pillars strengthened specifically for roll over protection i can't see the diffrence between the two , the only thing i can see is that it contains the drivers arms during a roll over or something.

Ha till these rules kicked in i wasn't required to have a bar , but if i had a bar on the car i had to be fully compliant , so i could go drifting as long as i took the safety feature off the car , go figure that one out .

[runovr]

you can get away with a bolt in cage at the moment as it is clssed as a low speed event; so i,ve been told

[bpt4w]

sorry but if you want to drift in a open top car you require a roll cage period and since most of the events are cams approved you must have compliance to there rules , its a catch 22 if you have a bar it has to be cams compliance specs and rules , but if you didn't have a bar it didn't matter ?, but since all open top cars must have a roll bar now , its a do it or go with out thing.

[Okibi]

Sounds like there’s a market for a “bolt in” CAMs approved cage with mounting points secured at parcel shelf level and the top bar and supports bolt in “on the day” to reach well above the drivers head, then unbolted during the week so your roof/hard top will fit.

[bpt4w]

hmm yeah it does doesn't it , wonder if thats cams legal would make it a lot easier on us tallies.