I guess my point was not clear. The OP asked if adding a CAPS system to a 172 would be a cost/safety beneficial add on. I was merely pointing out, in case he didn’t know, that the Cirrus has a CAPS system not only for life saving protection available in case of midair collisions, but also because the FAA allowed Cirrus to forego spin/recovery testing:
“Dating back to the first conception of the Cirrus SR20, the aircraft was intended to come equipped with CAPS. Because of this, Cirrus designed a special kind of “spin resistant” wing (or leading edge cuff), which makes it more difficult for the plane to enter a spin, and thus, more difficult to recover from one. The FAA accepted the parachute as a sufficient mode of spin recovery and complete spin testing was not required. However, in 2004, Cirrus completed a limited series of spin recovery tests to meet European Safety Agency requirements, and no unusual characteristics were found.”
I was simply pointing out that one of the, if not the most important reason that a Cirrus has a CAPS system is because it is mandatory. I wouldn’t recommend putting one on a 172, when there are many more useful places to use that money in an early model 172. The BRS system for the 172 costs approx $15k plus installation, which I understand is 40+ hours. Spending $20,000+ on a 172 worth $35k to $50k is not going to get you the most safety bang for your buck, IMHO