Those who track Verts

[Rotzs99]

Any of you run a light bar on the street? I know you need rollover protection in a vert which i hear the 4pt cage from MM will do.

Does that 4pt cage require drilling? and can you switch from roll bar to light bar fairly easily? Not sure i want to sacrifice the good looks of the light bar on the street, but i would like to track the car someday.

 

[gcassidy]

A friend of mine has a vert with a lightbar and is trying to get his rollbar custom built to fit around it. Maybe he'll chime in.

I just put in an Autopower soon after I bought the car.

 

[racebronco2]

Any of you run a light bar on the street? I know you need rollover protection in a vert which i hear the 4pt cage from MM will do.

Does that 4pt cage require drilling? and can you switch from roll bar to light bar fairly easily? Not sure i want to sacrifice the good looks of the light bar on the street, but i would like to track the car someday.

The roll bar requires welding plates behind the rear seats. Switching back and forth wouldn't take more then an hour or so. I thought about the same thing when i had my 03 gt vert.

 

[David Hester]

Yes to the drilling. You will need 3 holes x 4 foot plates bolted to 4 backing plates.

BTW, you can get ERW (electric resistence weld) just for looks, but the DOM (drawn over mandel) is more likely to stay together in a roll over. SCCA and NASA require DOM. Metal is just more uniform with less chance of a weak spot.

 

[sunburned]

A friend of mine has a vert with a lightbar and is trying to get his rollbar custom built to fit around it. Maybe he'll chime in.

Of course, I'm always browsing this forum. op:

I was going to say the light bar isn't interchangable, but I guess technically it is. It is bolted to the car by the rear door jambs, but behind the rear trim panels. If you install it like CDC says and drill holes in the panels, it only takes a few minutes to take out the 4 bolts holding it in. You'll also have to unplug the wiring to the LED brake light, so I guess you can figure that out somehow. You will have big holes in your interior when the LB is out, but if its only out for the track, who cares?

They do make plenty of bolt in 4 point roll bars, so taking that in and out shouldn't be much of a problem.

With my situation, I'm never taking out my light bar, so I hope to get a 4 point cage made to fit around it. There are at least 2 guys that I know of in the local cobra club that have roll bars where the rear downtubes go under the light bar. I initially wanted to go over the light bar, but its not NHRA or SCCA legal to do that. I'm not sure if the MM or Autopower roll bars fit under the light bar, but I'd rather just get a custom piece built in and spend a tad extra for it to look pimp.

 

[gcassidy]

Look pimp? Oh Dale

 

[Rotzs99]

Thanks for the info everyone. It sounds doable, but it also sounds like the backing plates might be hard to hide. Maybe if someone could take a picture? I know im asking a lot. I think i might just have to wait and get a coupe later.

 

[racerat]

There are at least 2 guys that I know of in the local cobra club that have roll bars where the rear downtubes go under the light bar. I initially wanted to go over the light bar, but its not NHRA or SCCA legal to do that. I'm not sure if the MM or Autopower roll bars fit under the light bar, but I'd rather just get a custom piece built in and spend a tad extra for it to look pimp.

I don't see how you can get the bars to go under the light bar. I'd like to see pics of that.

I'm in the process of installing a Maximum Motorsports 6point right now for drag racing. I have a custom painted light bar and custom two piece tonneau. The light bar is going to have to come out.

 

[gcassidy]

Dale, is one of the guys you're thinking of Rayzcar?
This is one of our MACA members that has a custom bar alongside/under his light bar.
I've been looking for a pic of it, but no luck.

 

[sunburned]

The roll hoop sits just a tad lower than the top of the light bar, and the rear down tubes go from the hoop to the corners of the seats where the bottom meets the seatback.

Here is a crappy angled picture of what I'm talking about, I'll look for more. This is pretty much exactly how I want mine.

Here is a link with a few pics of carlos' car.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415413

 

[sunburned]

I'm an idiot. Dp.

 

[racerat]

Is that rollbar NHRA approved?
The MM one I have sits about two inches above the light bar.

 

[03roush]

Check this out...

Is there a front view of that

 

[Rotzs99]

anyone have a picture of their roll cages at the bolting points?

 

[David Hester]

um. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have the rollbar higher than your helmet?
If you sit in your car with your helmet on and the light bar is even or just above, you REALLY don't want a bar UNDER it.
Thinking if you go to the expense of putting in a rollbar, you want IT against or as close as possible to the liner.

 

[brkntrxn]

To echo that, don't most rule books mandate that the roll bar be higher than your helmet?

I put the roll bar in our vert with the intent of pulling it out after events. That was over a year ago and my wife is still bugging me to take it out. I don't feel like fighting with the back seats.

 

[David Hester]

Yep, for SCCA it's 2 inches above.
Closed cars it is "as close as possible to roof".
http://www.scca.org/documents/Club Rules/GCR2008.pdf
Page 93

 

[SVTmojo]

Is there a front view of that

I have beeen dealing with this issue for months, do I want to pull out the light bar for every track event, or do I want to get a custom bent one???????

I have to have more pics of that white cobra!!!!!!! I was thinking along the lines of this (thanks young guns), but i might like the white one better

 

[gcassidy]

I gotta admit I don't completely get the desire to keep a light bar and rollbar. :shrug:
I like the styling look of a light bar on a convertible, but IMO adding a rollbar detracts enough that it isn't worth it. And I'm doing so much to the car before and after every track event, I can't see swapping out a rollbar for a light bar, unless you only track the car once or twice a year.
But I'm lazy.

Here's one where the rollbar is standard height.

 

[David Hester]

If I can interject, when shopping for a rollbar, be sure you aren't going to do more damage than good. Cross bar should put your belts at shoulder level- give or take a few degrees. Routing them up and over the seat slots can cause the belts to fail. You want them to go around, well round, not square, flat, etc. You can cut belts with carbon fiber, aluminum, or fiberglass, covered or not.
Read the directions with the belts.
http://www.simpsonraceproducts.com/safety/safety.aspx?page=restinfo_seating
http://www.sparcousa.com/resourceFiles/16.pdf
I'm not real keen on fiberglass seats. Carbon Fiber, either. We had a Miata driver get beat up by his car a couple of years ago at Road Atlanta. His FIA seat flexed..never broke.. enough to let his helmet hit a couple of places in the car. Petty bar and forward bar of cage. Hit hard enough to push his helmet into his face. Corner workers said there was blood ALL over the car. They expected to see body parts (driver body parts) laying around the interior. "Just" busted his lips and nose.