Which roll bar????

[buz 138]

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

thanks for that info. so the na cross bar is more "corner to corner" and the nb is "flatter"?? pics of both?
yeah i will more than likely buy from BD but was just curious of price as the ebay one is cheaper and thought other places might stock them cheaper (im guessing cheaper because of buying power?)
how hard to fit? im pretty mechanically minded and have most tools.
oh can the bar be installed with soft top in place still?

[93_Clubman]

here's a BD NA rollbar:
download/file.php?id=2466&mode=view
the BD NB rollbar's cross brace still goes corner to corner, but just not to the rear passenger side corner, it goes to the front passenger side corner.

[cshaks]

thanks for that info. so the na cross bar is more "corner to corner" and the nb is "flatter"?? pics of both?
yeah i will more than likely buy from BD but was just curious of price as the ebay one is cheaper and thought other places might stock them cheaper (im guessing cheaper because of buying power?)
how hard to fit? im pretty mechanically minded and have most tools.
oh can the bar be installed with soft top in place still?

Yeah that's basically it.
Ebay is only cheaper by $15, so I would go with BD personally, as far as fitting goes, you should be able to do it yourself, there are a few good guides floating around on here. Just remember it won't be certifiable.
MX5 mania's website picture is an NB bar if I remember rightly.
My soft top was not removed to install the bar.

Chris

[buz 138]

i got my bd bar today ended up going for the steel nb model. i'll probably install it on the w/end.
cant wait!!!!

[cshaks]

Nice one Buz, have fun fitting it up!

[RobH]

My BD is installed over the carpet on the parcel shelf and I have no issues with rubbing on the soft top or the hard top. I have also added roll cage padding to the bar and been able to use both roofs with no issue.

I have heard of the BD bars rubbing and can not work out why some rub and some don't. There must be either a difference in the height of the actual bars being made or difference in geometry the roofs on the cars in question.