Here are some pictures from jeepforum of a TJ with a bolt in cage.
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Yeah flop was not the right word, not sure what happen here with this Jeep, but your insight is exactly what I was looking for. So in this case, a tube through the dash have helped to keep the passenger area better protected, based on how most react when bracing for a rollover. You’re right, it never crossed my mind to tuck the legs in the event of a rollover.
My Jeep came with the rock hard bolt in cage and those bent angle stanchions just mount to the firewall with the three dash mounting bolts. I’ve been wanting to change it out for something safer and more structurally sound. A through the dash sport cage is what I am thinking.
A quick search yielded this as what I think is a good starting foundation.
https://swracecars.com/product/10-point-cage-conversion-dom-jeep-tj-1-3-4/
Obviously it will need tweaks and have to be notched and welded in.
At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter much. In order to protect the passenger compartment, it will take more than a tube A pillar. The object is to prevent the firewall from moving closer to the B pillar. You want to stop lateral dislocation of the corners of the windshield opening. The only way to do that is with an X through the area below the door bar as a start. We aren't going to do that so the rest is just a "hope it doesn't land on the part we didn't brace" answer.
I think we have different definitions of what a flop is. You can sorta derive a few things from those pics though. A grill hoop to protect the radiator wouldn't have fared very well. The collapse of the right side dash lower shows why you need very good support there and a bent angle stanchion isn't that. If the impact would have been focused at the top of the windshield instead of the grill and front of the rig, the passenger compartment would have been a bunch more compromised.
The single picture that is the most compelling case for why bent angle stanchions are a bad idea is the last one with the blue roll.
If you were in that seat, the way you would brace yourself once the roll started is to shove your feet hard into the floorboard and back into the seat. No one has the sense or wherewithal to pull their legs up so they can brace themselves for impact. Sadly our legs don't bend very well in the direction that lower part of the dash would have forced them to.
that's a bad example even by stanchion standards seeing it appears a good foot short of the floor. i'm not seeing a tear but instead what appears to be 2 nicely rounded corners. if that is indeed the case it had no chance of doing much of anything and actually could have contributed to the dash being moved. with no foot the A bar just pushed on the dash frame.
am i seeing that wrong?
The point is would a piece of 3/16" thick bent angle with 1 1/4" legs have done much to slow it down?
the tub bent in half is witness to the energy of that impact.look at the crinkle just past the lower front of the door
Sorta, the optimist believes he can predict the future, the pessimist knows you can't.the hard part is finding that just enough line. an optimist might be happy as is, while a pessimist could end up top heavy.
Recently swapped out my factory roll bar for a poison spyder fully welded cage. I was impressed on how well it fit. i will admit I was a little nervous, but it fit perfect. No tweaking needed. It is a big PITA though. I checked for fit, then pulled it out to rattle can it. reinstalled using factory seat belts. I bought some rear speaker pods for 03 and up, but they would not fit at all.
I was able to trim up my existing rear speaker bar and it actually fit fairly well. I will say the new cage is rock solid.
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I am looking at these as well. Only thing I am curious about is if you would have to remove the whole cage in order to remove the dash (i Just had to do a heater core) and imagine at some point will have to do it again. Is it fairly simple to remove as a welded part without marking up all the dash panels etc? Can you get to your front speaker panel screws?
His pics show the defrost grill trapped by the dash bar. The cage is coming out to pull the dash.
Aftermarket. Is PS good enough to take a roll or two?
Can you predict which type of roll you plan to subject it to?
Never. More so looking for your specific overall opinion on Value of the PSC protection for the cost. Is it worth the money or no? I live in colorado. Lots of stepbacks and some tough trails. Nothing is going to stop rolling down a cliff. Lets say for the majority of falls you would see in Moab. Or a "flop" Is there a different one you would recommend over this one
I have no way to make that decision for you.