Roll Bar?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,954
Likes: 2
From: Obama=death for America
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 5,713
Likes: 105
From: Manassas VA
Depending on how picky the track wants to be, most of these bars will not pass a NHRA inspection. First off, the 5th bar has to be on the drivers side. The main hoop is to be extended to the floor. Your main hoop is to be at least 3in above the top of your helmet. That alone about makes using factory seats impossible unless you are 4ft 6in. tall.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 4,564
Likes: 109
From: Austin Texas
Depending on how picky the track wants to be, most of these bars will not pass a NHRA inspection. First off, the 5th bar has to be on the drivers side. The main hoop is to be extended to the floor. Your main hoop is to be at least 3in above the top of your helmet. That alone about makes using factory seats impossible unless you are 4ft 6in. tall.
With the seat on the floor and my helmet on I BARELY have 1" clearance between the helmet and the top. My bar is 2"-3" lower than that...and in the correct place that NHRA require it to be.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 5,713
Likes: 105
From: Manassas VA
If your bar is the 4 point bar you described earlier, NHRA does not even recognize it. They start at 5 points min. Here is a link for your reading. http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...legal_Roll_Bar
As Willie said earlier, get the rulebook for the racing you plan to do and see what their requirements are. No one bar covers all kinds of racing.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 4,564
Likes: 109
From: Austin Texas
If your bar is the 4 point bar you described earlier, NHRA does not even recognize it. They start at 5 points min. Here is a link for your reading. http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...legal_Roll_Bar
As Willie said earlier, get the rulebook for the racing you plan to do and see what their requirements are. No one bar covers all kinds of racing.
In ALL sporting regulations, the main roll hoop MUST be within so many inches of the seat. This locates the main hoop in a C4 UNDER the halo/main hoop of the chassis. If NHRA requires the hoop to be 3" above the drivers head (as you've indicated) then you must be about 5'5" to be within those NHRA rules, because without cutting the roof and raising it...you're NOT going to get there!
As I said...the top of my helmet is 2" (or more) ABOVE the hoop. I ALMOST touch the roof panel...and that's with the seat completely lowered.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 5,713
Likes: 105
From: Manassas VA
AND...I THINK you missed the point...
In ALL sporting regulations, the main roll hoop MUST be within so many inches of the seat. This locates the main hoop in a C4 UNDER the halo/main hoop of the chassis. If NHRA requires the hoop to be 3" above the drivers head (as you've indicated) then you must be about 5'5" to be within those NHRA rules, because without cutting the roof and raising it...you're NOT going to get there!
.
In ALL sporting regulations, the main roll hoop MUST be within so many inches of the seat. This locates the main hoop in a C4 UNDER the halo/main hoop of the chassis. If NHRA requires the hoop to be 3" above the drivers head (as you've indicated) then you must be about 5'5" to be within those NHRA rules, because without cutting the roof and raising it...you're NOT going to get there!
.
No, again, what I am saying is, IF the track inspector gets picky and goes exactly by the rules, the shown bars will not pass. Again, by the NHRA rules, I agree, it is about inpossible to build a c4 to meet them, and keep it as a street car. At the very least you will have to go with a race seat such as Kirky, and put it on the floor. If it offends you that I say your autopower bar does not meet NHRA specs., well you will just have to get over it.
I suspect you did not take time to look at the link I posted above, so I will copy and paste the part with the 3in. clearance I mentioned.
All roll bars must be within 6" of the rear, or side, of the driver's head, extend in height at least 3" above the driver's helmet with driver in normal driving position and be at least as wide as the driver's shoulders or within 1" of the driver's door."
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,698
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
AND...I THINK you missed the point...
In ALL sporting regulations, the main roll hoop MUST be within so many inches of the seat. This locates the main hoop in a C4 UNDER the halo/main hoop of the chassis. If NHRA requires the hoop to be 3" above the drivers head (as you've indicated) then you must be about 5'5" to be within those NHRA rules, because without cutting the roof and raising it...you're NOT going to get there!
As I said...the top of my helmet is 2" (or more) ABOVE the hoop. I ALMOST touch the roof panel...and that's with the seat completely lowered.
In ALL sporting regulations, the main roll hoop MUST be within so many inches of the seat. This locates the main hoop in a C4 UNDER the halo/main hoop of the chassis. If NHRA requires the hoop to be 3" above the drivers head (as you've indicated) then you must be about 5'5" to be within those NHRA rules, because without cutting the roof and raising it...you're NOT going to get there!
As I said...the top of my helmet is 2" (or more) ABOVE the hoop. I ALMOST touch the roof panel...and that's with the seat completely lowered.
http://www.nhra.com/UserFiles/file/G...egulations.pdf
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 4,564
Likes: 109
From: Austin Texas
NHRA has no requirement stating that the rollbar needs to be within "so many inches of the seat". Section 20 of the NHRA rulebook below spells out the exact rollbar requirments.
http://www.nhra.com/UserFiles/file/G...egulations.pdf
http://www.nhra.com/UserFiles/file/G...egulations.pdf
4:10 ROLL BAR
All roll bars must be within 6 inches of the rear, or side, of the driver’s head, extend in height at least 3 inches above the driver’s helmet with driver in normal driving position or be within 1 inch of the roof/headliner in the area above the driver's helmet, and be at least as wide as the driver's shoulders or within 1 inch of the driver's door.
All roll bars must be within 6 inches of the rear, or side, of the driver’s head, extend in height at least 3 inches above the driver’s helmet with driver in normal driving position or be within 1 inch of the roof/headliner in the area above the driver's helmet, and be at least as wide as the driver's shoulders or within 1 inch of the driver's door.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 4,564
Likes: 109
From: Austin Texas
No, again, what I am saying is, IF the track inspector gets picky and goes exactly by the rules, the shown bars will not pass. Again, by the NHRA rules, I agree, it is about inpossible to build a c4 to meet them, and keep it as a street car. At the very least you will have to go with a race seat such as Kirky, and put it on the floor. If it offends you that I say your autopower bar does not meet NHRA specs., well you will just have to get over it.
I suspect you did not take time to look at the link I posted above, so I will copy and paste the part with the 3in. clearance I mentioned.
All roll bars must be within 6" of the rear, or side, of the driver's head, extend in height at least 3" above the driver's helmet with driver in normal driving position and be at least as wide as the driver's shoulders or within 1" of the driver's door."
And you obviously mistake me for someone who gives a crap about an NHRA requirement. I don't drag race. Period. I go fast and turn left AND right...
All I'm saying...is even with a seat on the floor of my C4, there is NO WAY the main roll hoop on my Autopower rollbar is 3" above the top of my head with my helmet on. And so...since I'm 6'2" tall...that means IF you are any taller than about 5'8 or 5'9" you would not conform to NHRA safety specs and couldn't race a C4 down the strip...IF they strictly stood by their rules.
And so...they must be fudging it for C4 owners, because you can't magically make the halo hoop on the car any taller and you can't make the floor any lower. The dimensions are pretty much set in fiberglass. Short of raising the roof or lowering the floor, tall people won't conform to the NHRA regs. in a C4.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,698
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
When you originally stated that the rollbar had to be within x "number of inches from the seat", I interpreted it as the distance between the rollbar and the seat meaning where the butt sits.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,022
Likes: 3
From: Chandler Arizona
This has been an educational conversation, and also one that helps clarify the restrictions some owners are going to run into. I was concerned that no , "off the shelf", roll bar would pass inspection.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 25,366
Likes: 2,732
I believe everyone has "overlooked" the actual content for the roll bar, it does state the mentioned heights but there is a big OR I believe.
Here's the content and as long as the roll bar meets the OR aspect of the specification I believe all should be well.
4:10 ROLL BAR
All roll bars must be within 6 inches of the rear, or side, of the
driver’s head, extend in height at least 3 inches above the driver’s
helmet with driver in normal driving position OR be within 1 inch of the roof/headliner in the area above the driver's helmet, and be at least as wide as the driver's shoulders or within 1 inch of the
driver's door.
I didn't feel the balance of the content needed displayed - it's all in the link provided by "383vett" earlier in the thread.
I see that "1991Z07" mentioned it also but it seems it was maybe overlooked as he went on to say:
All I'm saying...is even with a seat on the floor of my C4, there is NO WAY the main roll hoop on my Autopower rollbar is 3" above the top of my head with my helmet on. And so...since I'm 6'2" tall...that means IF you are any taller than about 5'8 or 5'9" you would not conform to NHRA safety specs and couldn't race a C4 down the strip...IF they strictly stood by their rules.
And so...they must be fudging it for C4 owners, because you can't magically make the halo hoop on the car any taller and you can't make the floor any lower. The dimensions are pretty much set in fiberglass. Short of raising the roof or lowering the floor, tall people won't conform to the NHRA regs. in a C4.
I don't believe it requires any "fudging". The content of the rule seems to take into consideration the "confines of a stock bodied" vehicle but doesn't mention it specifically.
Here's the content and as long as the roll bar meets the OR aspect of the specification I believe all should be well.
4:10 ROLL BAR
All roll bars must be within 6 inches of the rear, or side, of the
driver’s head, extend in height at least 3 inches above the driver’s
helmet with driver in normal driving position OR be within 1 inch of the roof/headliner in the area above the driver's helmet, and be at least as wide as the driver's shoulders or within 1 inch of the
driver's door.
I didn't feel the balance of the content needed displayed - it's all in the link provided by "383vett" earlier in the thread.
I see that "1991Z07" mentioned it also but it seems it was maybe overlooked as he went on to say:
All I'm saying...is even with a seat on the floor of my C4, there is NO WAY the main roll hoop on my Autopower rollbar is 3" above the top of my head with my helmet on. And so...since I'm 6'2" tall...that means IF you are any taller than about 5'8 or 5'9" you would not conform to NHRA safety specs and couldn't race a C4 down the strip...IF they strictly stood by their rules.
And so...they must be fudging it for C4 owners, because you can't magically make the halo hoop on the car any taller and you can't make the floor any lower. The dimensions are pretty much set in fiberglass. Short of raising the roof or lowering the floor, tall people won't conform to the NHRA regs. in a C4.
Last edited by WVZR-1; Jan 17, 2014 at 04:47 AM.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
I want to clarify a few things about how inspection/certification works in the drag racing world.
A 4 pt roll bar is good to 11.50 ET in the 1/4 mile for NHRA and IHRA. The Auto Power, DRM and EM are all good for this. BTW just having a 4pt roll bar does not make the car good for 11.50... there are other saftey devices you need to bring and the car needs to have installed for this.... helmet, drive shaft loop, ect.
There is no "Certification" on any roll bar or roll cage below 8.50 ET. There are different "point counts" for roll cages from 11.49 to 9.99 ET. As well as different levels of required saftey equipment for the driver and the car.
Cars that run below 8.50 ET get whats called a "Tech Inspection" and that is performed at the track by the track Tech Inspector before you race. The Track Inspector looks your car over to see that it has the required equipment for the ET that YOU tell them it runs.... if you don't know he will tell you what your car is safe to run.
Now if you go out on track and exceed the ET you have been inspected as safe to run - The track may let it slide, may let you run more but ask you to shut down early or they may just boot you out.
On cars that run between 9.99 and 8.50 you need an 8.50 Chassis Certification where a liscensed NHRA/IHRA Chassis Inspector comes out (or you bring car to him) and inspects the roll cage/chassis and places an NHRA/IHRA certification sticker on the main hoop. It is good for 3 yrs and the car must be Re-Certified after that.
On cars that run 8.49 and faster you get into SFI Chassis Certifications.. commonly known as the 25.X certifications. Again a liscensed Chassis Inspector must inspect the car for bar size, placement, tubing thickness, ect and then place an SFI Certification sticker on the main hoop.
Here is a general list for the required Saftey Equipment and the ET that it is required.
13.99 Drive shaft loop (slicks)
13.99 Helmet (Snell K98+)
13.49 5-pt harness (convertible) 16.1
13.49 Approved rollbar (convertible)
13.49 (IHRA) Drive shaft loop (slicks)
11.49 Drive shaft loop (street tires)
11.49 Approved flywheel & clutch (manual transmission) 1.1, 1.2
11.49 Approved protective jacket 3.2A/1
11.49 Approved roll bar for all vehicles
11.49 Approved 5-pt harness 16.1
11.49 Approved flywheel shield (manual transmission) 6.1, 6.2
11.49 (IHRA) Approved mounted fire extinguisher
11.49 (IHRA) Approved flywheel shield (automatic transmission) 4.1
10.99* Approved roll cage (convertible)
10.99 Approved harmonic balancer 18.1
10.99 Approved aftermarket axles
10.99* Approved transmission shield (automatic transmission) 4.1
10.99 (IHRA) Competition License* Class D
9.99 Approved flexplate & shield (automatic transmission) 29.1, 30.1
9.99 Approved roll cage & window net* 27.1
9.99 Master cutoff switch
9.99 Competition License Class 4, Cat. C
9.99 Chassis Certification
9.99 Approved jacket/pants/neck collar/gloves* 3.2A/5, 3.3, 3.3/1
9.00 (IHRA) Roll cage & window net
8.99 (IHRA) Competition License Class C
8.49 On-board fire system
8.49 to 7.50 Chassis certification 25.4/25.5 (3600#)
7.99 (IHRA) Competition license Class B
7.49 & quicker Chassis certification 25.1E (2800#)
7.50 & slower Chassis certification 25.2 (3200#)
7.49 Competition license Class 3, Cat. C
IHRA Pro Stock Competition license Class A
150mph + Parachute required
200 mph + Head & Neck Restraint required
This is from a 2010 NHRA tech book I have. They have relaxed some of these standards for FACTORY STOCK 2012 and newer cars but 2012/newer and FACTORY STOCK cars only.
Will
A 4 pt roll bar is good to 11.50 ET in the 1/4 mile for NHRA and IHRA. The Auto Power, DRM and EM are all good for this. BTW just having a 4pt roll bar does not make the car good for 11.50... there are other saftey devices you need to bring and the car needs to have installed for this.... helmet, drive shaft loop, ect.
There is no "Certification" on any roll bar or roll cage below 8.50 ET. There are different "point counts" for roll cages from 11.49 to 9.99 ET. As well as different levels of required saftey equipment for the driver and the car.
Cars that run below 8.50 ET get whats called a "Tech Inspection" and that is performed at the track by the track Tech Inspector before you race. The Track Inspector looks your car over to see that it has the required equipment for the ET that YOU tell them it runs.... if you don't know he will tell you what your car is safe to run.
Now if you go out on track and exceed the ET you have been inspected as safe to run - The track may let it slide, may let you run more but ask you to shut down early or they may just boot you out.
On cars that run between 9.99 and 8.50 you need an 8.50 Chassis Certification where a liscensed NHRA/IHRA Chassis Inspector comes out (or you bring car to him) and inspects the roll cage/chassis and places an NHRA/IHRA certification sticker on the main hoop. It is good for 3 yrs and the car must be Re-Certified after that.
On cars that run 8.49 and faster you get into SFI Chassis Certifications.. commonly known as the 25.X certifications. Again a liscensed Chassis Inspector must inspect the car for bar size, placement, tubing thickness, ect and then place an SFI Certification sticker on the main hoop.
Here is a general list for the required Saftey Equipment and the ET that it is required.
13.99 Drive shaft loop (slicks)
13.99 Helmet (Snell K98+)
13.49 5-pt harness (convertible) 16.1
13.49 Approved rollbar (convertible)
13.49 (IHRA) Drive shaft loop (slicks)
11.49 Drive shaft loop (street tires)
11.49 Approved flywheel & clutch (manual transmission) 1.1, 1.2
11.49 Approved protective jacket 3.2A/1
11.49 Approved roll bar for all vehicles
11.49 Approved 5-pt harness 16.1
11.49 Approved flywheel shield (manual transmission) 6.1, 6.2
11.49 (IHRA) Approved mounted fire extinguisher
11.49 (IHRA) Approved flywheel shield (automatic transmission) 4.1
10.99* Approved roll cage (convertible)
10.99 Approved harmonic balancer 18.1
10.99 Approved aftermarket axles
10.99* Approved transmission shield (automatic transmission) 4.1
10.99 (IHRA) Competition License* Class D
9.99 Approved flexplate & shield (automatic transmission) 29.1, 30.1
9.99 Approved roll cage & window net* 27.1
9.99 Master cutoff switch
9.99 Competition License Class 4, Cat. C
9.99 Chassis Certification
9.99 Approved jacket/pants/neck collar/gloves* 3.2A/5, 3.3, 3.3/1
9.00 (IHRA) Roll cage & window net
8.99 (IHRA) Competition License Class C
8.49 On-board fire system
8.49 to 7.50 Chassis certification 25.4/25.5 (3600#)
7.99 (IHRA) Competition license Class B
7.49 & quicker Chassis certification 25.1E (2800#)
7.50 & slower Chassis certification 25.2 (3200#)
7.49 Competition license Class 3, Cat. C
IHRA Pro Stock Competition license Class A
150mph + Parachute required
200 mph + Head & Neck Restraint required
This is from a 2010 NHRA tech book I have. They have relaxed some of these standards for FACTORY STOCK 2012 and newer cars but 2012/newer and FACTORY STOCK cars only.
Will
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,698
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,698
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
