Cage my RS
 

As speed increase on track I became more aware of the need for added safety. I already have a roll bar but now it's time for a full cage for better sense of security. The best option for any cage is a custom made weld in cage for maximum structural rigidity and protection but I am not ready to chop up my RS. The next best option is a bolt on cage. There are several options for 997 GT3/RS and I have looked far and wide and settle with OEM cage. The reason why I chose the Porsche factory cage was

• Build quality
• Weight - it is light!
• Fit and finish
• Powder black and no need to paint
• OEM look ... just fantastic!

Here is a detail description of the factory cage from acquisition to install:

OK, first of all, there are several sources ... only two I trust to get the factory cage. You can get it through FVD Brombacher or Carnewal. Since these are Porsche motorsport parts I was told you get what they send you and no return even if they send you the wrong parts!? Best to choice a supplier that can provide additional insurance incase Porsche motorsport screw you over ... we know that never happen right? 997 factory cage now comes in two flavors - the original version with one door bar or the newest version with two door bars.

Well, here is my front and rear section from FVD. I chose to get the newer version with two door bars ....

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WHAT! I got the older single door bar front section!? Man! that was really irritating. It's not like I can just put a stamp on the box and ship it back to Germany for an exchange. FVD contacted Porsche motorsport and their response was "tough! Your bad luck" in heavy German accent :mad:

Luckily FVD back up their product and refund the difference for the older version. I can make an additional door bar if there is a need in the future

Here is my rear cage section and it has two tabs on the main hoop for the newer two door bar cage

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On thing I noticed right away is that they are really light. I was expecting some 150 lbs worth of steel but not so.

Front section including all hardware: 41 lbs
Rear section with all hardware: 39 lbs
Mounting plates and hardware: 4 lbs
Total: 84 lbs! WOW, that is light. I suspect the factory roll cage is made out of light weight high carbon steel aka chromoly.

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OK, let's get busy and strip the interior (always disconnect the battery) in preparation to install the cage. First thing that need to come out is the seats and shift console. Here is a link to the DIY under my 996 Cup cable mod: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...cable-fix.html

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Now let's remove the rear section carpet. First you need to remove the rear "door" panels by removing a retaining screw at the front next to the seat belt opening then gently pull the panel out

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There are few insulation material behind the rear panel which you can remove if desire. I did not remove the tape on insulation

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I elected to remove the seat belt assembly since I do not use them. First carefully unclip the plastic height adjuster then remove the height adjuster assembly

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Remove the base of the seat belt assembly and unclip the pyro electric connector

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These seat belt assembly are pretty heavy. Both sides add up to 10 lbs

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Now remove the rest of the rear carpet covering

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OK, let's work on the front carpets. First, remove the accelerator pedal by removing the Philip retaining screw.

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Gently pull up and out the pedal and disconnect the wire connector - it's a funny wire connector with gray retaining taps at the end

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Remove the fuse box and foot rest

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Release the Velcro strap behind the center console

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Remove the door sill cover on each side. There is a small strip of carpet under the shift and parking assembly that connect the carpet. You can either remove the shifter and parking assembly or carefully cut along the edge to separate them

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Carefully peel back on the carpet (it's weakly glue down on the passenger side) and remove from cabin

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OK, so far all the carpet pieces removed add up to 20 lbs. Now you are left with an all business cabin ... I LOVE IT!

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Prepping the interior was the easy part. Now comes roll cage install.

Cage install

It's pretty straight forward much like a jigsaw puzzle. Start assembling from the rear section and avoid scratching the powder coat especially the small connecting pieces. DO NOT tighten until all cage pieces are assembled.

First disconnect the rear shock wire

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Build up the rear section

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Remove the sun visor in preparation for the front section

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I had some problem with the connecting piece that link the front A pillar bars. It was too wide by about 0.2 mm and I had to grind it down slightly to fit

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I also had difficulty fitting the diagonal roof cross bar. It took alot of elbow grease and some WD-40 with few gently tap to fit

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Make sure the A pillar bar do not contact the A pillar cover or it will squeak like mad while driving ... ask me how I know lol. Now mark the location of the mounting plates on the tub and get ready to drill. If you have a lift and welding machine you can do the next step yourself. Well, I have neither so Mike at Tolle Fabrication took over the final assembly.

We took a close look at the Porsche factory mounting plates and realize the three holes for the front plates were stamped reversed. OMG! ... what will it take for Porsche motorsport to get things right?

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We had to fabricate two new front mounting plates

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OK, time to drill ....

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The two front mounting stud plats come in contact with the horizontal beam of the tub so you need to trim off the edge to fit

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The plastic under body panels that cover the front mounting stud plate have an inward projection that comes in contact with the tub. The top of this projection need to be trimmed off since it comes in contact with the stud plate.

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Here are the location of the rear mounting stud plats

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Generous spray the stud plates and surround with paint to prevent rust

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Now tighten everything down and double check all connections. Reinstall the shift console and you are good to go. It's a good idea to install impact padding on the driver side to protect your head

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Driving impression: RS is already pretty solid and this addition makes it ROCK solid. No rattling noise at all even on the track and no problem getting in and out of the car. I love the black powder coat and match interior perfectly and minimize sun reflection.

Here is the weight breakdown:

Factory cage: +84 lbs

Weight reduction items:
Seat belts: -10 lbs
Sun visors: -2 lbs
Driver seat and front passenger air bags: -10 lbs
Passenger seat: -35 lbs
OMP steering wheel: -3 lbs
carpets: -20 lbs

Net gain: 4 lbs

My RS now weigh 3080 lbs 1/2 tank gas without driver and move like no one's business on the track :)

Post pics at completion too. Wanna see the finish. And IF you get everything back together.

Are those Renline pedals?

Great work as always!

Yes, they are rennline pedals

Thanks

Are you putting the carpet back in?

Very cool!

Jason

Very well done! Looks like a lot of hard work - makes me appreciate what is involved with an the integrated roll cage in a RT12.

great job mikymu!

what type of paint/primer did you use for that backing plate?

Chromoly is the way to go. ;) Does anybody make their bolt in bars using chromoly? GMG, etc. etc.?

Great post! very informative. Thank you.

Very nice build and write up. Thank you for sharing.

Our bars are made of chromoly and are tig welded and have been normalized after the weld process.

More info can be found on our website.

http://gmgracing.com/porsche_interior.shtml