cams and roll bars and drifting :(

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Cal]

I'm fairly certain you would be fine in a Sparco seat bolted to the floor with a Brown Davis. Cheapest easiest solution.

Cal.

[PeterB]

I was rejected by scrutineers at Wakefield Park on Sunday (state round supersprint) as I could not comply with the ruling (I am 6').

I had entered my road registered NA with Brown Davis roll-bar, standard seat, and factory hardtop fitted. It has been engineered in the ACT and is road legal. Having a factory hardtop fitted makes no difference to the ruling.

I and several friends tried the car and none of us can meet the CAMS requirement in a road legal car that can have the roof fitted.

The only option for me is to have a special bar made and fit only for CAMS events (may be tricky to get CAMS compliance on the bar), use a thin fibreglass seat bolted straight to the floor (not road legal and impractical to drive) or trade the MX5 in on a sedan which is easily made compliant.

Mike was very helpful (thanks Mike) but the scrutineers hands were tied.

The various clubs are discussing with CAMS, but for now I cannot make my road legal car compliant for CAMS events.

Luckily I have \"Diet Fanta\" - (half the car it used to be) in preparation and will use that for future events, but it is an issue for any sports car owner who wants to keep a car road legal, but still run CAMS events.

[bigdog]

Guys, having taken on the might of CAMS on two occasions in the past and won I would suggest that what is required is a petition from eeach state club with as many signatures as possible asking CAMS to reword their manual to specifically exclude road registered sports cars from the roll bar 2\" height clearance ruling, perhaps substituting words to the effect -
\"For all speed events except circuit racing, in the case of road registered sports cars the ROPS must be constructed to maximum height available whilst still enabling the orignal soft or hard top to clear the structure, with each driver to sign a disclaimer prior to competition acknowledging the increased risk of injury this may present.\"
This should be submitted to the CEO and each of the state motor racing panels with a request for an immediate change to the rule, and the alternative of a state wide supersprint championship run under AASA permits should also be widely discussed and considered. I am unaware of any accident occasioning harm to any MX5 driver engaged in lower level motor sport as a result of their ROPS - and if this is the case that should be pointed out to CAMS in the strongest terms possible.
You can beat these bastards, but you have to tough and organised to do it.
Here endeth the lesson....

[Li7hium]

I was at the Supersprints at Wakefield yesterday when the rules concerned affected two participants.

The first, driving a road registered red NA from Canberra, was unable to participate, despite having a roll bar, because of the 2\" rule. He simply was too tall. It seemed like such a shame for him.

The second, driving a road registered BRG NB, was able to take advantage of some apparent recent decision of CAMS that the 2\" was from top of head to roll bar and not top of helmet to roll bar.

Finally I caught up with AIrwin83 who passed on another nasty rumour of further proposed CAMS changes so that the helmet has to also be 2\" from the vertical portions of the roll bar. Given the dimensions of our cars and wanting to keep the softop or use a hardtop on our road registered MX5s, it seems likely that it will be impossible to install a roll bar which will meet all of these criteria and remain road registrable.

The death of the road registered CAMS approved MX5?

Matt

[CT]

The exception clause means nothing in a legal sense which is why CAMS make us build cars to their specs etc etc to mitigate the risk. The scrutineers are the insurance for the insurance - if you get my drift? (poor pun)

Now, the only simple solution I see at the moment if it can accommodate you, is to use a bolt in seat for competition. I certainly did this for the year I won my class in the supersprints and it gives an easy 3-4 inch drop from the stock seat. Especially if you bolt it to the floor without runners - side mounts work best, and get a seat with removable padding. The ADRs around seats are actually very liberal and any FIA spec seat is OK in NSW regstration wise last time I checked. So, if plod does crack a nana - he's stuffed. And let's face it, if you are on the way to a sprint with R-tyres on, race seat and harness fitted, you'd be deadset unlucky to come across an RTA inspection station for hoons - unless you go via Sans Souci perhaps....

NA owners can fit a flat bottom steering wheel and angle the seat back - that might get some extra height as well. Or, save up for my race car - on sale later this year.

[Okibi]

ORRRR ..

Brown Davis make a larger CAMs approved roll bar (2 1/2\" over the roof line to be safe) and another company designs a hard top that fits over this higher roll bar.

[bigdog]

Chris' solution will work for under 6 foot brigade, but I doubt it will work for those over that - I sat in Nick & Matilda's car at Mania the other day and no way would I pass with a helmet on. I now have a race seat that I fit into and will fit this the car shortly and see how it measures up as far as roll bar height goes, but I have real doubts that it will be enough to pass scrutineering for a CAMS event (not that I intend too anyway...).

My concern is that once again CAMS are ruining motorsport for the grass roots competitor in the name of 'safety' when there is no problem evident - where are the statisitics that prove we should ban MX5s from competition unless they are pupose built race cars?? I suspect they are stored with a variety of chicken's teeth, rocking horse excrement and airborn people!