Roll Bar tips

Jimmynb · Postby **Jimmynb** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:25 pm

If i dont get a race seat and i have a head on i run the risk of being brain dead due to hitting the bar with my head. This is all such a hard decision :L But Safety is essential to me

Trackphotos · Postby **Trackphotos** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 11:35 pm

Jimmynb wrote:If i dont get a race seat and i have a head on i run the risk of being brain dead due to hitting the bar with my head. This is all such a hard decision :L But Safety is essential to me

Getting rearended would push your head back toward the bar too, or rather the bar will move toward your head.

If it's a daily driver with no plans to go on track, do nothing. No seat, no rollbar. Sure you don't have protection in the event of a rollover, but that's almost certainly not going to happen even if you do get in a crash. You increase risk of head injury in most crashes by decreasing risk of crush injury in a miniscule percentage of crashes.

If you're going to be tracking it, there's really not a lot of choice if you value your life. A-pillars do bend in when these cars roll, and the faster you're going when it happens, the more they will crush. A bucket seat is a good idea if you're tracking it, whether it's going to be in every day or just swapped in for track days. It provides a certain amount of protection for your head, and it will hold you in place more tightly through corners etc, and if you do get involved in a crash. If it's a weekend car, you can probably justify putting both in and dealing with the awkwardness getting in and out of the car. If it's your only way of getting around, maybe not.

Basically you own a dual-purpose car, but you need to compromise somewhere. You bought the wrong car if safety is your biggest priority, unfortunately.

greenltd · Postby **greenltd** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 5:33 am

My NBB has an Automotive plus single hoop bar and factory (highback) seat that has had a foamectomy. There is no way my head can hit the rollbar unless i come out of my seat or the seat breaks. The bar does have foam padding to keep CAMS happy at motorkhanas. The foamectomy improves the side bolsters holding effect from the base. If i need to be held in olace extra tight, i use a GB seat belt lock (thanks Taminga16) or can attach the harness.

Jeo · Postby **Jeo** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:18 am

Jimmynb wrote:If i dont get a race seat and i have a head on i run the risk of being brain dead due to hitting the bar with my head.

Where'd that theory come from?

Snowmotion · Postby **Snowmotion** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:23 am

Jeo wrote:
Jimmynb wrote:If i dont get a race seat and i have a head on i run the risk of being brain dead due to hitting the bar with my head.

Where'd that theory come from?

I think the Head On crash may be a bigger problem than a roll bar.

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:29 am

The "what if" scenarios are getting silly. "Ooh...I better not buy an aluminium framed mountain bike because aluminium corrodes...and I don't want the frame to collapse on me when I land a jump".

Get a roll bar if it makes you feel better, just make sure you have plenty of clearance from the roll bar.

Trackphotos · Postby **Trackphotos** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 11:25 am

greenltd wrote:My NBB has an Automotive plus single hoop bar and factory (highback) seat that has had a foamectomy. There is no way my head can hit the rollbar unless i come out of my seat or the seat breaks.

You aren't considering the fact that seat belts stretch. They aren't designed to be 100% taut, they are supposed to stretch a certain amount to slow the deceleration of your body without letting you fly through the windscreen. In major crashes, standard belts stretch multiple inches, more than enough for you to lift out of your seat. If you've done the foamectomy and happen to also be quite short, maybe it's impossible. The movement within the belts is where the danger lies.

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 6:48 pm

Trackphotos wrote:
greenltd wrote:My NBB has an Automotive plus single hoop bar and factory (highback) seat that has had a foamectomy. There is no way my head can hit the rollbar unless i come out of my seat or the seat breaks.

You aren't considering the fact that seat belts stretch. They aren't designed to be 100% taut, they are supposed to stretch a certain amount to slow the deceleration of your body without letting you fly through the windscreen. In major crashes, standard belts stretch multiple inches, more than enough for you to lift out of your seat. If you've done the foamectomy and happen to also be quite short, maybe it's impossible. The movement within the belts is where the danger lies.

Correct. And if in doubt about what happens to heads and arms and things in a shunt, youtube is your friend. Well, maybe not, it is pretty scary stuff.

Data point: I have done over 300,000kms in the GM, probably 90% with an unpadded BD, including Club trackdays, State supersprint series, regularity at Bathurst, track days at PI etc etc... . I am still here, unbrain dead and the car hasn't had a scratch. YMMV.

:mrgreen:

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Sat Mar 21, 2015 10:06 am

This is the real reason for a rollbar, with padding.

Rolley · Postby **Rolley** » Sat Mar 21, 2015 8:36 pm

http://www.revlimiter.net/miata/bonk.html

This always worries me about the factory seats. The base of my skull is virtually level with the top of the seat. So roll bar or not a good tap in the rear and things would be nasty.

speed · Postby **speed** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:55 am

manga_blue wrote:This is the real reason for a rollbar, with padding.

Haha and if you remove the boot lid, you have a ute

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:46 am

Haha, I've already got a ute. But honestly if I'm going into town to get building materials and it's anything under 9ft and not too bulky then I'll take the MX5. With the rollbar it's often easier than the ute to load and tie down, plus the MX5 is a helluva lot better drive than a ute.

OurCognitiveSurplus · Postby **OurCognitiveSurplus** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:31 pm

I would assume that in most instances padding would mean the roof will be blocked. The bars are already designed to be very close to the roof.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:02 pm

In my pics you can just make out the thick soft padding I have on the bar supporting the kayak. I used to have that padding wrapping the whole rollbar and could still close the roof with it. In fact it tightened up the roof nicely.

mattyredlocks · Postby **mattyredlocks** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:55 pm

OurCognitiveSurplus wrote:I would assume that in most instances padding would mean the roof will be blocked. The bars are already designed to be very close to the roof.

I've got the tall boy twin diag that Auto+ makes - you can certainly get the hard/soft top on even if the bar is padded.

It all depends on how tough the foam is, how much you push down when you put the roof on, and if you've padded the entire bar or just the half near your head.

Mine has a fair amount of room *above* the bar before the hard top, but the bar just touches the hard top at the *back* of the bar.