Roll Bars For Street Use

[jaudette3]

My '67 had a rollbar installed when I bought it. Since I use it for casual track use, I have just gone ahead and left it in there. I use the car much more on the street (back roads of Oregon, actually ) than I do on the track, and I've never thought much about the rollbar for that use, except to assume it adds a degree of safety.

It occurs to me that I may be wrong.

Perhaps it's just for legal disclaimer reasons, but I notice that most folks who make and sell rollbars always add the disclaimer, "For Track Use Only". Does that indicate that rollbars are not safe on the street? Maybe because you're not wearing a helmet and it prvovides a good target for your head to impact with?

What are the pro's and con's of using a rollbar in a street car?

Thanks,
John

P.S. Here's a picture of my car - BTW, the shoulder harnesses are now anchored lower in the back (Thanks, Mark).

[southbay356]

Track use only is to get out of legal problems....

But I have always heard that a rollbar will kill you more by having a hard place to crack your head open , not a problem on the track , but would be on the street.

yours looks pretty solid , but will your head hit it in an impact or rollover ?

Dave

[jaudette3]

...will your head hit it in an impact or rollover ?
Dave

The 5-point harness should keep me away from the rollbar -- unless I'm not using it.

Does the padding that is available for rollbars provide any real help?

Thanks,
John

[Richard]

Roll bars for the street are window dressing. First, the chances of someone rolling their old 911 in street driving are rare. But more importantly, roll bars are dangerous for street use....unless they have the correct roll bar padding...and unless the driver is a wearing a helmet.

Here's the situation. If you are racing and your roll bar has roll bar padding it's there to save the roof from caving in if you roll the car. It is necessary and serves it's purpose. But, if you drive your car mainly on the street and have a steel roll bar but don't wear a helmut each time you drive, what happens when your head hits the roll bar (in an accident, off road excursion, or other unentended event...like the Soccer Mom hitting you from behind)? Picture a watermelon and a baseball bat (the example used in SCCA Race school). The watermelon is your head and the roll bar is the baseball bat. Guess what happens.

So...bottem line. Go racing. Get a roll bar. Pad it with roll bar padding and wear a helmet. But drive on the street...with a roll bar without padding and your head without a helmet... Well, your head is the water melon...and the roll bar is the baseball bat.

My two cents...if you want to go racing get the right stuff. If you drive mainly on the street...a roll bar is dangerous...especially one without rollbar padding.
R.

[a911s]

John, you might want to add some roll bar padding to the bar wherever you or your passenger's head could stretch and make contact in the event of a rollover/accident even with harnesses on. The 1 1/2" foam padding will provide more cushioning than the dash or a non-collapsible steering wheel..

[Chuck Miller]

John,

I've been agonizing about this for a few years......

- YES, roll bars ARE indeed dangerous if you, and particularly, your head is not restrained.
- Yes there is PROPER roll bar padding ... BTW- it's NOT what lots of people think. It's VERY dense foam with a pretty hard shell 'coating' on it. It doesn't look anything like pipe insulation foam or those kids pool toys.

- YES, I run a roll bar on the street with mostly lap-belt restraint ... and YES I know I'm REALLY at risk.

The reason for the bar is my 2.7 rebuild pushed me over into a POC time trial class that requires it... and it's a super pain in the ass to take it out between events.

YES, I had NO problem diving and tracking the car for 15 years before putting a bar in...

What I need to do is get the right type of padding, put it in, ... and stop bitching about it...

Cheers

[jaudette3]

Thanks to everyone for the informed input -- is this a great group or what?

It *is* a pain to remove and install my roll bar, plus my bar provides the head-restraints as my seats don't have any. So I think I'm going to go ahead and follow Chuck and Randy's advice and pad the bar with the proper stuff.

Anyone have a link to the proper padding that they are referring to? Is it THIS?

Thanks again,
JohnA

[Chuck Miller]

That's-da-stuff John....

Cheers

[boxster03]

Or you could just wear one of these

[cosley]

I believe you want the roll bar padding anywhere your head or hands could hit. This would be the top & lower rails that tie into a A pillar rails, the A pillar rails, and the horizontal bar that runs below the dash.
What bothers me about John's bar is the shoulder belts look like they are mounted too high, and there is nothing from keeping the belts from sliding on the bar (like from a side impact). I typically see U brackets welded to the bar to keep the belts from sliding.