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What roll bar do you suggest?

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Old Dec 18, 2006 | 11:14 AM
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Default What roll bar do you suggest?

All,

Interested in forced induction for later this year. Will be getting into a Sparco harness setup and have some reservations about going full on roll bar. Thought about the BK harness bar but that would not let me run NCCC Class 3 stuff. Don't want to be out of Class 1 but the blower would blow it!

What bar do you big boys run? I want something as 'nice' as possible in the car. Not looking to tub it, its a beautiful car and I want this to accent, not dominate the interior look.

What do you suggest? Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

Cassidy
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Old Dec 18, 2006 | 11:53 AM
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Three companies come to mind. Go to the web sites of Wolfe, Neverlift, and ECS to view their bars and kits. This will give you an idea of what's out there.
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Old Dec 18, 2006 | 12:24 PM
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You, sir, deserve a

Thanks man, will go check them out. I did not even know where to begin!

C
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Old Dec 18, 2006 | 05:36 PM
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Wolfe has a 20% off sale going on now for all of their stuff.

20% off sale for all their stuff..............

Last edited by FreddyG; Dec 18, 2006 at 05:39 PM.
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Old Dec 18, 2006 | 08:55 PM
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It depends on what type of bar/cage you are looking for. The R-D racing 4 point cross braced bar offers a lot of protection at a reasonable price. http://www.r-dracing.com/stframe1.htm I installed mine in about 7 hours. You can either bolt in or weld. It is a very well constructed unit - powder coated and it fits !! Worth looking into for comparison.
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Old Dec 18, 2006 | 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted by CHJ In Virginia
It depends on what type of bar/cage you are looking for. The R-D racing 4 point cross braced bar offers a lot of protection at a reasonable price. http://www.r-dracing.com/stframe1.htm I installed mine in about 7 hours. You can either bolt in or weld. It is a very well constructed unit - powder coated and it fits !! Worth looking into for comparison.
I saw the instructions but have never seen a picture of the bar installed. Do the front legs just sit on the lip behind the seats or do they go through it to something solid? Also did you install with the nutserts or get it welded in? How is the rear view mirror visibility?

I'm also looking at AutoPower and Kirk Racing 4 points roll bars.
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 09:18 AM
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So I am guessing it has to be welded in to be legal for NCCC events? Was planning to go that route.


If you had the choice of mild steel or chromoly which would you go for? One is more expensive of course but is it safer? This is one of those "you only need it once" kinda parts that REALLY matters when you need it. Does it pay to get the extra dollar item?

Is one able to allow the seat full range of motion too? Sorry for the questions. I appreciate the input.


Cassidy
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 09:29 AM
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if any roll bar is not bolted to a strong frame piece, what good will it do?
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 10:03 AM
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Since you live in Northern VA (me too). I highly recommend you talk to Mitch Piper at Piper Motorsports at 44264 Mercure Circle, Unit 130 Sterling, VA 703.996.0353. He makes race approved custom Roll Bars and Cages. He installed my 6-pt Wolfe Race Craft Roll Bar and made me a custom 4-pt Roll Bar for my Celica GT.

If I had to do it all over again - I would have had Mitch install one of his custom Roll Bars in my C5 (but I learned about his shop after I made my purchase). Piper Motorsports has an excellent reputation within the racing community for quality work at a fair price. He's also a race car driver.
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 12:22 PM
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Aloha,

Dig the pic of you in front of turn 7 at Jefferson

Thanks, will do. I will see what he has. I was planning on doing the carpet mod portion myself as I think the word **** might describe my detail level. If its not exactly like I want it I'll go nuts.

Seems there are some that think the bolt method is equal to welding? I can't see how it could be as strong. Interested on thoughts with that too.

Cassidy
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 06:25 PM
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Originally Posted by C4B4the04
If you had the choice of mild steel or chromoly which would you go for? One is more expensive of course but is it safer? This is one of those "you only need it once" kinda parts that REALLY matters when you need it. Does it pay to get the extra dollar item?

Cassidy

The advantage of Chrome Moly over a regular carbon steel roll bar is that the moly lets you run a smaller schedule (thickness) on the pipe, which will save some weight to get the same (or better) strength. It's a little bit different to weld, but a good chassis shop could easily handle it. I'd ask if they TIG it in or MIG it. I don't even know if a MIG welded bar is legal, but I'd ask anyway just to make sure. If it were my car and butt on the line, I'd spring for the moly one, but it's easy for me to spend your money!
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 07:22 PM
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Originally Posted by C4B4the04
Aloha,

Dig the pic of you in front of turn 7 at Jefferson

Thanks, will do. I will see what he has. I was planning on doing the carpet mod portion myself as I think the word **** might describe my detail level. If its not exactly like I want it I'll go nuts.

Seems there are some that think the bolt method is equal to welding? I can't see how it could be as strong. Interested on thoughts with that too.

Cassidy
I can only speak to the C5/Z06 that the bolt method is not as good as the weld-in method based on the attachment points used by the bolt-on roll bars, but provides sufficient protection. Steel plates are used beneath the car to bolt the roll bars to the frame, which is not as secure as welding them to the actual frame. Wolfe Race Craft sells both the bolt and weld models for our cars. When you visit Piper Motorsports - you will see a few race cars in various stages of prep and varying types of roll bars/cages. I'm also very **** re: attention to detail and can appreciate your perspective. You will be very happy with their results.

The benefit of the bolt-in roll bar is that its easy to remove when you're ready to sell your car. I have the 6-point black Chrome Moly bolt-in with removable door bars and sleeves from Wolfe and am thinking about getting a weld-in roll cage fabricated by Piper since I will eventually transform my C5 to a race car. Wolfe has a 20% sale, which equates to $800 (reg. $1000) plus shipping, I can sell you mine for $700 (no shipping required), if you're interested.

Mike

Last edited by Gray Ghost GS; Dec 19, 2006 at 07:37 PM.
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 09:12 PM
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Some sanctions don't allow bolt-in roll bars. You might want to check with the one that you're racing in.

Of course, the weld-in one is like VISA, it's accepted everywhere. I agree whole heartedly in that if you're going to do it, do it right the first time! It's MUCH cheaper in the end.

Good Luck!
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