Another new product from Air RideTechnologies

[41565 chevelle]

How about us 65 Chevelle owners???

[CarlC]

I would be very concerned with head injuries in an accident, and in some cases spirited driving. When you combine the proximity of the hoop, clamps, and aluminum headrests to the craniums in the front seat, the likely result would be ugly.

[darren@ridetech]

How about us 65 Chevelle owners???

Well, we don't have a 65 Chevelle. We do have a 66 Chevelle, so we'll have to see how close it will be to fitting.

[bret]

Obviously there are several items to address with the TigerCage between prototype stage and production. The main interest, as we had assumed, would be NHRA/SCCA certification. This has NOT been addressed yet, but will be persued when actual production components are ready. There would be little point in taking a prototype product to a santioning body for certification knowing that component changes are inevitable. As someone mentioned earlier, the door bars would certainly require changes to be agreeable for NHRA, as may the shoulder harness location. that is why we may offer options in those areas to allow the customer to configure his cage for his particular application. Padding will also have to be used...we will likely offer this as an option as well.
I expect great resistance in the certification process from NHRA and SCCA. The idea of a bolt-in suspension/chassis component has not historically pleased those groups. My goal is to demonstrate that this connector system system is comparable with all the features of a welded joint, with the added benefits of easy installation, removability, premium finish, and configuration choices. Will we be successful? Hard to say at this point, but as I have said before...if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
As for the TigerCage being a "show" or "bling" piece...given the limited exposure that most of you have had to the product it would be easy to dismiss it on those terms. We will have to work hard to prove its true performance benefits. I think that can happen through autocrosses, track days, and other dynamic performance events. Kind of like we did with air suspension.

[motorheadmike]

Um... yeah.

I'll reserve comment until approval/rejection occurs from any/all sanctioning bodies.

But, it does look pretty.

PS. Fix your harness already. ;)

[ironworks]

If memory serves correct, the cage does not have to meet any certain material standards until you go 9.99. My buddy has an original gasser from the 60's with an arc welded cage and they said he was fine as long as he does not go 9.99 or better. Now the Stainless tubing could be an issue, but the hardware to bolt it is going to be important. I believe Wolf racing makes an NHRA leagal bolt in cage for the C5-C6 vette. But then again I believe that is only go to 9.99. Door bar placement and harness bar heights may not matter either until you go that fast and I doubt the intended customer for this cage is going to ever get close to that speed.

[vanzuuk1]

I am very interested in this cage,it looks great and I think with the harness bar mounted correctly its worth looking into.

If I was buildng a track only car from a shell I would weld in a steel cage, but I think this will work great in my car.

You could also weld all the joints at a later date, yes?

[Yelcamino]

I am very interested in this cage,it looks great and I think with the harness bar mounted correctly its worth looking into.

If I was buildng a track only car from a shell I would weld in a steel cage, but I think this will work great in my car.

You could also weld all the joints at a later date, yes?

There's a possible option for those that want a permanent setup... offer the cage in a weldable configuration and different materials. Since the clamps would be left out it could be less expensive.

[bret]

To answer a few of the more popular questions for about the TigerCage:

1. All fasteners will be grade 8 or better. We are working with ARP to get what we need in this area. The bolts you currently see in the pictures came from the bolt store. [had to start somewhere]
2. The production TigerCage will have the shoulder harness mounting bar mounted in the more technically correct position at slightly below shoulder height. It will be removeable via the clamp collar pivot fasteners or via pit pins. We will also offer the option of a lower mounted harness bar in front of the rear seat bottom with the appropriate information supplied about proper harness mounting vs. convienience.
3. An "NHRA" style straight door bar will be offered as an option.
4. The clamp collar hardware will all be 304 stainless. These components can be readily welded into position if desired/mandated. 5. As far as NHRA/SCCA/SFI certification...It is being persued, and will likely succed, but will take some time. In the meantime I will have to suffer the label of "bling" until I can prove that a bolted joint is at least as good as a welded joint in this application.
6. We will be offering SFI approved harnesses as an option for the TigerCage. [hope everyone likes black!]
7. We are also working on a padding kit option for the cage. Most sanctioning bodies that I can think of require padding of the cage area in proximity to the driver. It is also common sense.
8. We will be doing a G body application this winter. Jason at our shop has a 82 Monte Carlo that we will likely use as the prototype victim.
9. The TigerClamps will be available individually. There will also be an OEM program for application developers. [imports? off road?]

Thanks for the interest...keep the queations and comments coming. Don't be afraid to offend...we can take it.

Thanks!

Bret Voelkel
air ride Technologies

[megaladon6]

well i'd have to make you have to hack up one of your own cars. how about this, i offer my car for sacrifice.

[Rick Dorion]

What about convertible applicability?

[Damn True]

Sure is pretty.

Here is the bar for the shoulder harness. We kept it low for rear seat access.

Seriously?

[Crazy Carl]

If memory serves correct, the cage does not have to meet any certain material standards until you go 9.99. My buddy has an original gasser from the 60's with an arc welded cage and they said he was fine as long as he does not go 9.99 or better.

Actually, it still has to meet spec, but the thing is, they don't sonic test the tubing until you're go faster than 10.Oh. It's one of those weird, typical NHRA with their heads up their (whistle) things.

I have no doubt that if Bret wants to get this thing certified he can do it, it's just a matter of getting them to see the light. Bolt in parts can be stronger than welded ones, plus there's less chance of installation error.

[wblanton]

Guess we need more people asking to get an answer I have seen three already....

[darren@ridetech]

Guess we need more people asking to get an answer I have seen three already....

We hear ya.....
It definitely a possibility. It's gonna take some time to get through this first list of cars tho. Just one vehicle takes weeks of R&D.

[Rick Dorion]

Any news to share?

[darren@ridetech]

We we will officially be debuting the TigerCage at SEMA. We will have Velocity in our booth on display as well as the 70 SuperNova in the Good Guys booth and an RCR 69 Camaro in the Street & Performance booth, all of which have TigerCages installed. There will also be an assembled TigerCage displayed on the floor in our booth.

Here a link to the TigerCage page.
http://www.ridetech.com/tigercage/

One other really cool new product that we will have on display at SEMA is a new height sensor for the LevelPro control systems. It is an infrared sensor that will be mounted inside the Shockwave. I'll post up some pics next week.

[DJW32]

Darren,
I can't wait for sema! The tigercage looks great.

[DarkoNova]

We we will officially be debuting the TigerCage at SEMA. We will have Velocity in our booth on display as well as the 70 SuperNova in the Good Guys booth and an RCR 69 Camaro in the Street & Performance booth, all of which have TigerCages installed. There will also be an assembled TigerCage displayed on the floor in our booth.

Here a link to the TigerCage page.
http://www.ridetech.com/tigercage/

One other really cool new product that we will have on display at SEMA is a new height sensor for the LevelPro control systems. It is an infrared sensor that will be mounted inside the Shockwave. I'll post up some pics next week.

I guess it'll be a while before I can afford this thing at $2500. Still, looks bitchin, and I'm hoping it gets certified.

No… you got us there. You need to find a talented chassis build

Matt

[67goatman455]

you have 66-67 chevelle, now since the 66-67 GTOs are pretty much the same cars, do you think it could work in a GTO?? i know its a little early still but just curious.

also wondering....