Installation questions - MX5 PLUS Roll Bar

[Earlybird]

Don't forget the side impact too.

Yes, I've heard of people being T boned and rolled over.

Here's another thing I can do with the BD that I haven't seen done with the MX5 plus ones http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=18875

[orx626]

Here's another thing I can do with the BD that I haven't seen done with the MX5 plus ones http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=18875

NB. This arrangement does not work with the "Tall Boy" roll bars.

Cheers,
Danny

[sailaholic]

Hi Danny are those brackets available?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[de Bounce]

Hi Danny are those brackets available?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

+1 on the brackets if available

[Earlybird]

Hi Danny are those brackets available?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

They look like the original windblocker brackets to me, just swapped around.

Unfortunately, I'm 6ft tall and it looks like this conversion would put my seat about 3" further forward which makes it a bit cramped for me personally.

Great mod though Danny and thanks for sharing, am sure others will benefit from this!

Out of curiosity though, can you tell me how much clearance you have between your top edge of glass window and the bar in the down position? I have an aftermarket Robbins soft top which I fear may come to close to the mx5+ torque bar anyway.

My clearance from the top edge of the glass to the rear of the middle stud in parcel shelf carpet is 8cm.

[orx626]

Hi Danny are those brackets available?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

They look like the original windblocker brackets to me, just swapped around.

Unfortunately, I'm 6ft tall and it looks like this conversion would put my seat about 3" further forward which makes it a bit cramped for me personally.

Great mod though Danny and thanks for sharing, am sure others will benefit from this!

Yes you are spot on Earlybird. They are the original brackets modified to work in the new arrangement. It was something that I did for a customer way back when!

You actually have to remove the studs from one bracket and turn them around (or use a bolt as I did). I also trimmed the brackets to fit on the roll bar and added mounting holes. The roll bar also needs to be drilled and tapped as well. So there is a bit of work (labour) to fit it. It was only ever done as a one off due to the compromise that you highlighted. Another issue is that you can't flip the top of the windblocker. FWIW, the owner of the car was very happy with the result.

Out of curiosity though, can you tell me how much clearance you have between your top edge of glass window and the bar in the down position? I have an aftermarket Robbins soft top which I fear may come to close to the mx5+ torque bar anyway.

My clearance from the top edge of the glass to the rear of the middle stud in parcel shelf carpet is 8cm.

Here is a photo of an NB (with factory glass soft top) in the down position. Hope this helps.



Cheers,
Danny

[zephyrus17]

I just finished the install moments ago (after 8 hours..). A few notes, comments for those looking to install in the future:

1. The seat belt bolt needs an 18mm hex, and the bolts that they provide to install the roll bar need a 16mm hex. I thought I had to go to the nearby repco until I realised that had the 16mm spark plug socket.
2. Sikaflexing the underside mounting bolt on the left of the car wasn't very effective. When I wanted to do my final install, it dropped the moment I inserted the long bolt. I had to re-sikaflex 2 times, and the try with silicone until it worked.
3. Even though they tell you to drill the 8x 12mm diameter holes at the back, the holes in the roll bar were weirdly not 12mm diameter. So it was frustrating that I had to expand the roll bar holes there. It would be better to pre-expand the holes before I got to that step.
4. The big spacers ((5) in the manual) are uneven. One was about 3mm longer, and I had to cut that down.
5. I bought the single diagonal one, and the rear-mirror visibility was around 80-90%. Plenty good enough.
6. When the front 4 bolts were hand tightened, the rear 2 pads of the roll bar didn't align with bulkhead, and it was floating a bit the in air. I couldn't get one of the bolts to go into the right pre-existing hole because it didn't line up.
7. I had to use the 90deg drill adapter. Even though it was 10mm max, the 12mm drill had a 10mm end, so it just fit.

[SalonRacing]

I just finished the install moments ago (after 8 hours..). A few notes, comments for those looking to install in the future:

3. Even though they tell you to drill the 8x 12mm diameter holes at the back, the holes in the roll bar were weirdly not 12mm diameter. So it was frustrating that I had to expand the roll bar holes there. It would be better to pre-expand the holes before I got to that step.
6. When the front 4 bolts were hand tightened, the rear 2 pads of the roll bar didn't align with bulkhead, and it was floating a bit the in air. I couldn't get one of the bolts to go into the right pre-existing hole because it didn't line up.

3. I think I used a 15/32" ~11.9mm so it would have been close, always a good idea to check while it's out.

6. This happens if the spacers are too long, you should grind them down until the pads sit flat when you are trial fitting. With the plastics off you can get everything to sit flat and then measure how long the spacer needs to be. Shouldn't matter too much if it was just a little though.

[zephyrus17]

It was just a bit, and it was hard enough to cut one spacer with just a saw... Anyway, it feels strong enough

[aka_juffa]

Out of curiosity though, can you tell me how much clearance you have between your top edge of glass window and the bar in the down position? I have an aftermarket Robbins soft top which I fear may come to close to the mx5+ torque bar anyway.

My clearance from the top edge of the glass to the rear of the middle stud in parcel shelf carpet is 8cm.

I had a Robbins glass window soft top in my NA (refer to previous photo in this thread) with the twin hoop bar. It fitted with no clearance issues.

J.

[zephyrus17]

I have a completely stock top, and it clears easily with about 1+ cm to spare.. I also read that there would be a loss of seat travel, but when I installed mine, the horizontal travel wasn't affected at all. Only lean-back was limited at the very extreme end.

[deviant]

I have a completely stock top, and it clears easily with about 1+ cm to spare.. I also read that there would be a loss of seat travel, but when I installed mine, the horizontal travel wasn't affected at all. Only lean-back was limited at the very extreme end.

I think that is the 'tall boy' bars only.

[Shambler]

4. The big spacers ((5) in the manual) are uneven. One was about 3mm longer, and I had to cut that down.

As far as I understand it they deliberately did that due to one side being fractionally higher than the other ( that is if I'm thinking of the right part!)

I called mx5plus a few times during the install to make sure I was doing the right thing, there was definitely a few steps that weren't elaborated on in the manual that needed it!

[deviant]

4. The big spacers ((5) in the manual) are uneven. One was about 3mm longer, and I had to cut that down.

As far as I understand it they deliberately did that due to one side being fractionally higher than the other ( that is if I'm thinking of the right part!)

I called mx5plus a few times during the install to make sure I was doing the right thing, there was definitely a few steps that weren't elaborated on in the manual that needed it!

I had to trim both down on my NB. I guess it is to allow for variations in models and production tolerances.

[zephyrus17]

I have a completely stock top, and it clears easily with about 1+ cm to spare.. I also read that there would be a loss of seat travel, but when I installed mine, the horizontal travel wasn't affected at all. Only lean-back was limited at the very extreme end.

I think that is the 'tall boy' bars only.

Yeah.. If my Tall Boy fits with 1+cm extra space, the normal bars should all be fine