Be careful out there....Deathkart
- Thread starter BaltimoreHokie
- Start date
Briann1177
Goblin Guru
Short of not wearing a harness, I wonder how he was ejected.
Karter2026
Goblin Guru
Basically it looks like he cut up a Civic and welded some bars to it. I wonder what went wrong?
dperkins
Well-Known Member
I saw this story about 4 days ago, I'm pretty sure he was going about 35 or 40. I looked at his instagram and the car was very sketchy. If you don't want to wear a HANS everyday, a helmet support collar does wonders for not much trouble or inconvenience everytime you want to drive.
k.rollin
Goblin Guru
Sketchy is an understatement, that cage and those welds would never pass tech inspection. Couple that with an attitude of willful ignorance and it's not surprising to me that the story ended the way it did. It's unfortunate, but sometimes that's the way of things.
Hell, even when a cage passes tech, that's not a guarantee that it will hold. I remember racing Baja SAE in college and in turn one of the first lap of the endurance event on the last day of competition, Cornell's cage failed where the A pillar meets the roof bar. The following year, all cars required either a continuous tube from the main hoop, over the driver and into the A pillar, or a gusset of specific area between the roof and A pillar. The rule book didn't name the gusset, but many teams just called it Cornell.
Hell, even when a cage passes tech, that's not a guarantee that it will hold. I remember racing Baja SAE in college and in turn one of the first lap of the endurance event on the last day of competition, Cornell's cage failed where the A pillar meets the roof bar. The following year, all cars required either a continuous tube from the main hoop, over the driver and into the A pillar, or a gusset of specific area between the roof and A pillar. The rule book didn't name the gusset, but many teams just called it Cornell.
Andy
Well-Known Member
Welding strong tube to sheet metal would never hold in a crash even if it was welded perfectly the sheet metal will tear out. Major gusseting would be required with secondary backing plates. Tube chassis are not great in crashes between 2 cars not enough energy absorption. You might be in one piece but internals can be jellified for lack of a better word. Using the 5 point harnesses complicated the problem even more without the other safety gear typically used in racing. Street seat belts are designed to stretch to absorb energy and increase the time of the crash to reduce the overall force. 5 point harnesses are much stiffer and don't have the same effect. That being said I use them still because they look cool but I know the risks.
JSATX
Goblin Guru
That has been discussed at length all over the web. The tubing was thin wall pipe. The welds look like they were made by Ray Charles with his feet.
His harness was attached to sheat metal which is why they ripped out and he was ejected.
It’s sobering. But I don’t think it’s really even applicable or comparable to what we do.
His harness was attached to sheat metal which is why they ripped out and he was ejected.
It’s sobering. But I don’t think it’s really even applicable or comparable to what we do.
BAR-AIR
Well-Known Member
Let’s kind of put this in perspective. All of our cars are sketchy and unsafe in the minds of the law and the general public. While his may not have been one of our more shining examples. These vehicles are just one step above a motorcycle. And should be operated as such.
KJP
Well-Known Member
Agreed I ride a motorcycle a few days a week. I know the risk and it's worth it to me. I don't see this as any different.
That said I wouldn't have set foot into that deathkart. It looked a bit too sketchy for me
No vehicle is 100% safe. When I was ordering my frame, a friend said I should get the track version because it's safer. I told them that I don't have a roll cage on my motorcycle and been in two accidents on that (one my fault, the other another persons).... And yea, the welds and structure of that is horrible. What is funny is that my friend brought up this article when I told him about the DF Goblin also, told him it's not even the same.