Which roll bar????

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:31 am

be proactive - if you want one now & can't get one elsewhere, then make it easy for the seller to sell to you. contact seller & tell them you will organise shipping, so that it's similar to someone doing a local pickup, except it'll be week day businness hours, but pickup from work might be an option. then use www.e-go.com.au or similar to ship it, but get an online quote first so you can decide if you're happy with what it's going to cost on top of the roll bar.

buz 138 · Postby **buz 138** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:19 pm

sorry for the hi-jack...
i was just about to start a thread on almost the same thing so thought i might as well ask here (if thats ok?)
im 99% sure im going to get a steel brown davis bar for my na6. should i get the na or nb bar and where is best to purchase from? ($750+$60 postage from ebay.. $765 direct from brown davis.....any other ideas??)

thanks

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:29 pm

buz138 BD are in Bayswater- why not buy direct from them. Not sure how you get on with warranties via e bay. The usual routine with a warranty is that the item bought is returned thru the retailer- fat chance of that happening from some source that probably offers no service at all. If you go to BD you make a contact, get a receipt and they will recognise you as a customer If you have any questions you pick up the phone refer the invoice and get some assistance. Also as BD are the makers and designers they will be able to answer questions about their product pre purchase.

cshaks · Postby **cshaks** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:08 am

buz 138 wrote:sorry for the hi-jack...
i was just about to start a thread on almost the same thing so thought i might as well ask here (if thats ok?)
im 99% sure im going to get a steel brown davis bar for my na6. should i get the na or nb bar and where is best to purchase from? ($750+$60 postage from ebay.. $765 direct from brown davis.....any other ideas??)

thanks

Hi buz138, as stated previously in the thread, I went for an NB Brown Davis bar fitted to my NA. I did this so that I could later on fit a new NB (glass window) roof skin to my 5.
The difference between the two is that the diagonal leg on the NA bar attaches to the rear lower mount, whereas the NB version has the diagonal running directly between the main hoop. (If that makes any sense.....)
I bought directly from Brown Davis in Bayswater, and had it fitted there as well.
Fitting cost me around $150 on top of the purchase price, and took them around a couple of hours. They did an excellent job, and were very easy to deal with.
Besides the obvious benefits of dealing directly with the manufacturer, I believe that you can only gain a CAMS certification of the bar if it is installed by Brown Davis, (or by a licensed installer) and that only the steel version (not the alloy one) is certifiable.
It looks like the prices have remained static since I bought mine in Feb '08, so I would suggest saving the $60 you would spend on freight, and putting that towards getting it installed, as I understand it is not a particularly easy job if you haven't done one before.
They also have some pretty good prices on other gear out there in their shop, and I picked up a couple of fire extinguishers while I was there for around $20-$25 each.
Hope this helps

Chris

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:27 am

does yours rub on the hard top?

cshaks · Postby **cshaks** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:37 am

StanTheMan wrote:does yours rub on the hard top?

Do you mean me? If so, I don't have a hard top, so I'm not sure! I must get around to trying RobH's hard top one day and have a look.

Cheers
Chris

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:45 am

cshaks wrote:
StanTheMan wrote:does yours rub on the hard top?

Do you mean me? If so, I don't have a hard top, so I'm not sure! I must get around to trying RobH's hard top one day and have a look.

Cheers
Chris

sorry yes i did :oops:

did they install it over the carpet or remove the carpet?

cshaks · Postby **cshaks** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:59 am

Stan, they actually gave me the option, so I asked for it to be installed under the carpet.
They mounted it over the top of the underlay and under the carpet, and all I had to do was cut a couple of small holes to match the harness eyebolt points.
I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago to install the new roof, and forgot to put the underlay back in, so I'll have to take it out again soon.
Once installed its only about a 30 minute job.

Chris

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:01 pm

how much thickness do you feel the carpet adds to the height?

cshaks · Postby **cshaks** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:27 pm

StanTheMan wrote:how much thickness do you feel the carpet adds to the height?

This is just a guess Stan, but I would think maybe 5mm or so? The carpet is not thick, and mine only has the underlay underneath the rollbar. Also as the bolts go through the parcelshelf and are tensioned using a plate from underneath, there is a lot of compression involved on whatever is between the bar and the shelf.
I'm not really sure on it as I haven't tried it like that!

Chris

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:42 pm

the reason I ask is I've just helped 2 punters to install NB BD roll bars on NA8's
they both rub. One quite badly.
theroretically speaking the if you recon the carpes adds 5mm it might be enough to stop it from rubbing. They were both installed on top of the carpet.

however if it means the bar will lean back futher this would mean that it would get worse. :frown:

would it be better to actuly raise the back?

would it be safer to install a plate all the way across, underneath the existing plate or would it be ok to just install a 3 or 4mm plate underneath the points where it bolted down?

my own bling bar is an NA6 version & does not rub.

t

broady · Postby **broady** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:52 pm

My NB bar on my NA8 fits fine, no rubbing. It sits on top of the carpet.

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:17 pm

when did you get yours broady?

cshaks · Postby **cshaks** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:25 pm

OK, for a start, take these comments with a grain of salt, as I am not an engineer by any stretch of the imagination.

however if it means the bar will lean back futher this would mean that it would get worse.

I can't really see how removing the carpet from under the bar would make any difference to the mounting angle. You are removing a constant from under each point of contact, so theoretically it will lower by the same amount at each point.

would it be better to actuly raise the back?

Personally speaking, I would be hesitant to change anything regarding the angle of installation.
It has been designed to sit upright taking into account the angle of the parcel shelf. By adding a spacer of some type under the bar and between it and the parcel shelf (and I presume this is what you mean) you would be lifting the load bearing surface and concentrating a lot more of the pressure on a couple of smaller areas. you would also run the risk of bending (and weakening) the mounting plate on the bottom of the bar.

Both of these outcomes could possibly contribute to a failure in an accident situation.

Also by using any kind of plate between the bar and the parcel shelf, you would probably negate any kind of gain from removing the carpet.

Once again, I am not skilled in engineering at all, these are just my thoughts ( or brain farts...)
Feel free to shoot me down in flames!!!

Chris

PS sorry for the thread hijack......

broady · Postby **broady** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:38 pm

StanTheMan wrote:when did you get yours broady?

21/11/09 - installed bd bar and gv lip

off my build thread

but.... it came 2nd hand off a race car boags bought. so no idea when the bar itself was manufactured.