For all the people that wheel the Xterra the community has been very lucky that no one has been hurt or killed in rollovers. Unique Concepts of TX is now offering a modular roll cage for the Xterra. You can choose to do either the hoop behind the driver’s seat the rear, the front or all three and you can get it powder coated to match the color of your vehicle! Prices start at $400.00 and this has been designed as a bolt together so that it can be installed by the do it yourselfer in only a couple of hours. This truck will be at the SWXC annual meeting on the 15th if you are interested in taking a closer look or e-mail if you want more details.

Keep the shiny side up!

More Pics

Holly cow! :eek:

Well I guess it was just a matter of time. So how does it "bolt on" to the frame? I'm sure people would be interested in a little bit more info.

You had to paint it yellow didn't you? Now Rick is going to have to buy one. ;)

Forgot the url www.uniqueconceptsoftx.com

While you are posting, why don't you contact Coolerman about the CIBS kit he sent you?

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33323

Have you tested this with tall drivers? Looks like I'd be smacking my head in that bar.

Edit: Uhhhh nevermind. My eyes'R playing tricks on me.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wqbang
[B]While you are posting, why don't you contact Coolerman about the CIBS kit he sent you?


Already did - thanks

If you hear from him ask him to e-mail me

Originally posted by superjens
Have you tested this with tall drivers? Looks like I'd be smacking my head in that bar.

Edit: Uhhhh nevermind. My eyes'R playing tricks on me.

The bar is actually behind your head so it won't conk you if you hit a big bump

The bar behind the back seat is also far enough back that rear passengers will not have any problem hitting their heads on it. I do plan to add padding to mine on the spreaders hat run from the front bar to the back bar so if I ever get T-boned nobody in the back seat gets brained by it

How does just the hoop behind the drivers seat support it'self if you don't get the rear bars? Are there two bars at the bottom to keep it from bending at the attachment point?

Got any weights for these things?

Originally posted by Schludwiller
Holly cow! :eek:

Well I guess it was just a matter of time. So how does it "bolt on" to the frame? I'm sure people would be interested in a little bit more info.

You had to paint it yellow didn't you? Now Rick is going to have to buy one. ;)

This one mounts straight to the body through holes drilled right next to the body to frame mount and has a reinforcing plate on both the top and bottom of the floor to ensure it is rigid enough to handle a rollover. As for the color I love solar yellow but if you choose to buy one you can get it in just plain black, primed or powder coated to match you vehicle. One of the guys I work with is getting it installed in a shock blue 2002 SC Xterra...very cool.

Originally posted by Schludwiller
How does just the hoop behind the drivers seat support it'self if you don't get the rear bars? Are there two bars at the bottom to keep it from bending at the attachment point?

Got any weights for these things?

I will call the shop and see if I can get weights and the specs for the tubing for you. No one has ordered the single front hoop yet as far as I know (kinda all or nothing like me) but I believe the mount itself as beefy as it is in combination with the grab rail bar at the bottom of the seats it will prevent the bars from bending in if you flop the truck over.

so where did you get the seats from and did you have to make custom brackets to fit them in there?

Also, can you get some pics of where it mounts and bolts in?

I'm not worried about them bending in, but forward or back if you just get the bar behind the front seats. I'm with Synchro, pictures of the mounts would be appreciated.

also I wonder if you can get the roll cage without their logo all over it. yikes, it would be staring you in the rear view mirror every time you looked.

Also, I don't necessarily want those seats in particular as I don't think they would fit my body well, but I am interested in getting new seats in my x at some point and if someone makes ones that fit in correctly, I would atleast like to investigate. So whatever information you can provide is appreciated.

Thanks!

Originally posted by Synchro
also I wonder if you can get the roll cage without their logo all over it. yikes, it would be staring you in the rear view mirror every time you looked.

Also, I don't necessarily want those seats in particular as I don't think they would fit my body well, but I am interested in getting new seats in my x at some point and if someone makes ones that fit in correctly, I would atleast like to investigate. So whatever information you can provide is appreciated.

Thanks!

All the aftermarket seats I sat in were too narrow and hurt like hell to sit in. Of course I'm a bit wider in the ass than most but you'd think someone would make a seat to fit!

The bars are interesting but tell us about the seats.

Were new tracks fabricated or or the seats
adapted to the stock tracks.

If fabricated tracks, I would be interested in
knowing the price of same.

What make/model are the seats?
(I'm obviously not up-to-date on seats.)

Toy Man

And I also would be interested in the single
drivers roll bar price.

Anyone else notice that it is a bolt together rather than a welded and mandrel bent tube frame? I would suspect that the strength is not nearly of the highest quality.

More information would be needed before I would even consider something like this to protect my life in a roll over.

EDITED TO ADD:
I notice that there is no lateral support i.e. no braces that go from the top of one side to the bottom of the other. So in a severe roll overthere would be no support from sideways forces (it is easier to roll over a box than it is a triangle)


But aside from the structural concerns... it looks nice..

So Brendan..

Because you are going to be at the meeting, are you planning or renewing your membership in the SWXC? According to the club records your membership lapsed back around August and you used your discount at Courtesy for parts just recently.

On another note.. I guess you are not going to SEMA this year?

Originally posted by Synchro
so where did you get the seats from and did you have to make custom brackets to fit them in there?

Also, can you get some pics of where it mounts and bolts in?

Kirk..

He got the seats from Sparko (insert free) and the custom brackets for them were made by Fabritron (insert free again)

Unfortunately due to work I personally did not go this year but we are represented. Carlton...Jennifer and I are going to renew with the SWXC now that our leagal issues are resolved with you. FYI I did not use the club card as it had expired. I printed out the price from the web and they will honour it.

Look forward o getting mail from you this week - e-mail me please.

Originally posted by cmxterra
Anyone else notice that it is a bolt together rather than a welded and mandrel bent tube frame? I would suspect that the strength is not nearly of the highest quality.

More information would be needed before I would even consider something like this to protect my life in a roll over.

EDITED TO ADD:
I notice that there is no lateral support i.e. no braces that go from the top of one side to the bottom of the other. So in a severe roll overthere would be no support from sideways forces (it is easier to roll over a box than it is a triangle)


But aside from the structural concerns... it looks nice..




The guys who built this cage have similar ones on about a dozen Jeeps and 4runners that have actually rolled over and done just fine. Personally I am going to try not to test it but you are welcome to :-) Look at the site and you can see their cages in action www.uniqueconceptsoftx.com. I will post more pics of the mounts and stuff later today when I find out what disk I have them on.

Kirk,
I will get som pics to you later today I used the stock tracks but custom brackets were made to mount them to the floor. That was the hard part as every corner is a different height. The sparcos are nice but you need to be fairly narrow to fit in them...I hear Recaros are nice too.

Brendan

Can the front seats still extend to the back with that cross bar there? For those of us that sleep in the X's while wheeling, that cross bar would keep the rear seats from folding flat (I think)...

Can you post a pic of your rear seats folded down with the seat cushion removed?

Originally posted by cmxterra


Kirk..

He got the seats from Sparko (insert free) and the custom brackets for them were made by Fabritron (insert free again)

I would like to put an end to all the "he got it free" crap that is going around. We exchanged exposure in the game, on the box, in our ads, and on the the truck itself for parts for the project vehicle. We have 150000 copies of the Gamecube version alone right now on store shelves with company logos all over it and full page ads running in 18 publications beween now and Christmas. These ads cost between 10k and 20k each/month so we feel strongly that the manufactures that partnered with us have been treated properly and the names are getting out there.

I will get off my soap box now but I thought everyone should know the whole story so they can form their own opinion.

Here are the full page print ads

and finally the truck too

Thank you for clearing that up..

BTW.. who owns the truck? You or TRI?


Originally posted by cdnav8tr


I would like to put an end to all the "he got it free" crap that is going around. We exchanged exposure in the game, on the box, in our ads, and on the the truck itself for parts for the project vehicle. We have 150000 copies of the Gamecube version alone right now on store shelves with company logos all over it and full page ads running in 18 publications beween now and Christmas. These ads cost between 10k and 20k each/month so we feel strongly that the manufactures that partnered with us have been treated properly and the names are getting out there.

I will get off my soap box now but I thought everyone should know the whole story so they can form their own opinion.

Originally posted by ToeJam
Can the front seats still extend to the back with that cross bar there? For those of us that sleep in the X's while wheeling, that cross bar would keep the rear seats from folding flat (I think)...

Can you post a pic of your rear seats folded down with the seat cushion removed?

Yes the rear seats will still fold down flat. I will get some pics of that to you but I will need to get my truck back first. I can post those late next week.

Prices start around $400, how much for the full setup shown?

Any plans for something ahead of the B-pillars?

Brent

$1000 for as it sits (driver seats back) and there are plans for the front but we ran out of time. Hopefully I can have it in for the annual SWXC meeting. The goal has been to make it as unobtrusive as possible but still ensuring strength. There are a bunch of options for it you just need to let Unique Concepts know what you want. I have the bar across behind the seats so I can mount the 5 point harness on it. They will do weld in if you prefer but the idea was to creat a cage that you could install yourself.

Body mounted cages offer limited protection. Better than nothing? Probably, assuming the cage does not come a part and act like the blades of a blender while you're rolling down the side of a mountain. Here are a few cage requirements for the EROCC and UROC. After reading this you will see why the "roll cage" listed above may be little more than a death trap in an actual roll. The fact that it is "bolt together" and mounts only to the body of the Xterra are bad things. We still do not know whatt material it is made from so we can only guess that it is of inferior tubing seeing as the rest of the construction is not of the highest standard.

Happy trails!!

EROCC Cage Requirements from 2002
-------------------------------------Roll bars/Cages
a. Six (6) point mounting cages covering the driver constructed of round steel tubing are required for the basic roll cage using .120 minimum wall tubing for the main bars. Roll bar construction must be welded. Roll Cage padding is required on all roll cage bars that may come in contact with the driver's or spotter?s helmet while riding in the vehicle. Connection positions of the roll cage must tie in to the frame of the vehicle. [/b]Body mounts are considered a tie in point. The front-most position must be no farther toward the rear of the vehicle than fifteen (15) inches behind the throttle and brake pedals. The Cage must have at least three spreader bars between the front main bar and rear main bar no less than 12" to the right and left of the center line of the driver's seat. Main bars must be constructed from a continuous length of tubing. Roll cage main hoops, spreader bars and legs must have a minimum diameter of 1.5 inches. Gussets no less than 3" long and 2" wide must be welded at the upper connecting point and bending point of the main bars and spreader bars. Tube gussets are acceptable. Under no conditions will exhaust tubing be acceptable for any part of the roll cage.

Clarification: The Cage must have at least three spreader bars between the front main bar and rear main bar. The cage must be constructed so that at least two spreaders are located above the driver's seat, if two spreaders do not cover the driver's seat, sheet or expanded metal must be welded to the cage to protect the driver.
------------------------------------

UROC 2003 Cage Rules...
-----------------------------
15. Roll Bars/Cages/Tube Frames

15.1 Six (6) point mounting cages covering the driver and spotter constructed of round mild steel tubing are required for the basic roll cage using .120 minimum wall tubing for the main bars (chromoly alloy steel (A 519 grade 4130) may be .090 minimum wall). Roll cage main hoops, spreader bars and legs must have a minimum diameter of 1.5 inches. Main bars must be constructed from a continuous length of tubing with gussets, no less than 3" long and 2" wide welded at the upper connecting point and bending point of the main bars and spreader bars. Tube gussets are also acceptable (1" OD x .120 wall minimum). Square tubing, grade A 500 or A 513, 1.5" minimum cross section with .120" minimum wall is also acceptable.

15.2 The front-most position must be no farther toward the rear of the vehicle than fifteen (15) inches behind the throttle and brake pedals. The Cage must have at least three spreader bars between the front main bar and rear main bar no less than 12" to the right and left of the center line of the driver's or and spotters seat. The cage must be constructed so that at least two spreaders are located above the driver and spotter's seat, if two spreaders do not cover this area, sheet or expanded metal must be welded to the cage to protect the driver. UROC strongly recommends covering the top of any roll cage with metal to protect the driver & spotter from injury.

15.3 Roll Bar construction must be welded and connection points of the roll cage must tie in to the frame of the vehicle. Body mounts are considered a tie in point.

15.4 Roll Cage padding is required on all roll cage bars that may come in contact with the driver or spotters's head or helmet.
--------------------------------------------

RCAA Rules for CAges...
---------------------------------
Roll bars/Cages
ARCA considers the cage as the safety bars surrounding the driver. Designed to protect the occupant in the event of a rollover.

The following are approved for competition:
Six (6) point mounting cages covering the driver.
Round steel seamless tubing with a minimum outside diameter measurement of 1.5" and a minimum wall thickness of .120 is compulsory for the basic roll cage.
Aluminum and /or soft metals are not permitted. Roll bar construction must be welded.
Roll Cage padding is required on all roll cage bars that may come in contact with the driver's helmet.
Connection positions of the roll cage must tie in to the frame of the vehicle at the four points surrounding the driver. Body mounts are considered a tie in point.
The front most position must be no farther toward the rear of the vehicle than fifteen (15) inches behind the throttle and brake pedals.
The Cage must have a total of two spreader bars between the front main bar and rear main bar or halo bar.
Gussets must be welded in the four corners of the "halo" around the driver.
Magnetic, flattened expanded sheet metal, 1/8" sheet metal or 1/8" aluminum must cover area immediately over the driver seat and be welded or bolted to the four tubes surrounding the driver. Additional tubing may be used in place of plate steel or aluminum.
ARCA recommends a spreader bar to be mounted under the dash area to the right and left side of the front main bar.
Any variance of the above rules must be approved by and ARCA official inspector.
A "periscope bar" may be no longer than 12" above the "halo" bar. This may be used as an attaching position for tow straps. It may not be positioned over the driver nor mounted on plate material (tubing only).
----------------------------------

Originally posted by Cliff on NOR.

Very interesting read Carlton however SCCA permits bolt together cages on all autocross and rallycross vehicles provided they meet spec (tube size 1 7/8 to 2 " etc) so obviously a bolt together cage properly built is not a "death trap". We race 2 Miatas and a Civic SI that all have approved bolt together cages and we are about to build an NSX with one. If you want it weld in they can do that too - the idea of bolt together is to make it so you can install it yourself. I am sure it will not save you if you crash at 150 mph racing offroad but that is not what it is built for. The company that builds this cage also competes in rockcrawling professionally and they used the same material and design philosophy when building one for the Xterra. As I said if you have doubts call them yourself or visit their site www.uniqueconceptsoftx.com. If you are in Texas go ahead and get the weld in cage - I agree it is better but it is also overkill. You are making an attack on something you have not seen in person nor do you have any real detailed information on it (assuming that it is inferior material???). Why don't you reserve your judgement until you have enough relevent info rather than making what is apparently a personal attack because it is in this vehicle. If you don't like it don't buy one - really simple. It is available, it is safe and everyone is welcome to talk to the people who built it and see their history of fabrication and proven offroad performance.

Originally posted by cdnav8tr
Very interesting read Carlton however SCCA permits bolt together cages on all autocross and rallycross vehicles provided they meet spec (tube size 1 7/8 to 2 " etc) so obviously a bolt together cage properly built is not a "death trap". We race 2 Miatas and a Civic SI that all have approved bolt together cages and we are about to build an NSX with one. If you want it weld in they can do that too - the idea of bolt together is to make it so you can install it yourself. I am sure it will not save you if you crash at 150 mph racing offroad but that is not what it is built for. The company that builds this cage also competes in rockcrawling professionally and they used the same material and design philosophy when building one for the Xterra.

Generally speaking an autocross vehicle does not weigh nearly as much as an off-road vehicle with a steel frame. So perhaps a bolt together mounted on a uni-body is o.k. for a 1500# car but I personally would not want nor trust a bolt together on a 5000# truck that is not mounted to the frame.

I am sure that this company does make a cage that is safe for competition but I would be willing to bet that it is an all weld design with spreader bars and is mounted to the frame. Not what you see here.

The bar we see here has no lateral support (spreader bars) and is unknown tube quality. Plus the whole bolt together and body mounted issue.

But hey.. it does look nice.

I think that we tend to over analyze and over build things in general. Keeping things in there simplest of terms, will this cage benefit the occupants or cause them harm. I think it will benefit them due to it assisting in keeping the structural integrity of the body. Does this mean that it can't be broke? No.

Face it, very few of us will see a 100mph rollover. How would this cage perform, I don't know. However when crawling around on rocks, like a lot of us do, if I was to flop my truck over or roll it a full revolution, do I think this cage would help? Yes I do. The fact that it is bolted together doesn't completely diminish it's ability to do it's job. Where the cage is bolted one tube slips over another tube, thus the bolt would need to sheer for the cage to collapse. Otherwise it's putting its stresses on the welded stub that the outer tube is slipping over.

First of all it's not the ONLY thing protecting you like in a jeep. You still have the full roof and its safety design features.

I don't know how many people on here ACTUALLY design or fabricate for themselves or are knowledgeable enough to even comment on it without talking out of their arse. Everyone has an opinion, unfortunately most opinions are like arses and better unheard.

I for one would consider this cage in the future and If I have any reservations about it, would weld it up myself after installing it. Regardless if it's not frame mounted, if it keeps the cabin from crushing in like a soda can, then it could save someones life. As for it coming apart like blades in a blender, that's just ridiculous.

Just MHO and my .02.

Flame away.

I totally agree with you Craig!

I think it has to be painted bright blue for people to accept a new product before it's seen real world action. ;) Yeah, I have some reservations, like how it's mounted to the body, but I would be interested in a manufacturer making a support for behind the rear seats. If these guys have gotten this far, maybe the kinks can be worked out to get something people would trust in a roll over.

From what I have read, mounting a roll cage to the body is acceptable if you sandwich the top and bottom of the body at the mounting point with plates of steel of different sizes. It is important not to use sandwiching plates that are the same size because they will cut through the sheet metal like a pair of tin snips in a roll over.

Welp, it sure is purdy, but has it been tested, or is this just another piece of jagged steel to be floating around when the truck goes ass over teacups down the ravine?

I wanna see the crashtests.:)

I don't think it went anywhere. I never heard of anyone putting it in. It's bolt on, so there might be some structural strength issues.

To do it proper you need DOM tubing and all the junctions welded together and the the frame tied into the cage. I think I will do an exoskeleton when the truck is paid off!