Roll bars that bolt into a 911 coupe

[tmctguer]

does anyone know the name of MFG's of roll bars that bolt into a 911 coupe? i'm looking to add a roll bar and don't want to weld it in.

any websites of the same would also be appreciated.

[orbmedia]

The OG Racing rollbar bolts in but you need to weld in some plates for the bar to bolt onto. Not a big deal.

www.ogracing.com

[Bob Benson]

Give Frank a call at Driver's Edge Autosport in Vancouver. He's the Canadian distributor of OMP. He has a couple for 911's, cheap too, what with the Canadian dollar in the tank again. His number is 604 298 5575 or www.DriversEdgeAutosport.com

[gchappel]

Look up a bar called Das Sport.
I don't have the link available right now, but let me know and I can find it. It is truely a bolt in bar- connects to the seat belt mounting points. No cutting, welding or anything. I installed mine about 2 years ago- took less than 45 min once the seats were out.
Gary

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

I can only hope you guys are adding rollbars purely for track use. Nothing more dangerous than a big fat rollbar right next to your head for street driving (unless you customarily wear a helmet on the street). You can get yourself some lovely vegetative head trauma from a five-mph mall-parking-lot collision with a "street" rollbar in there. Padding will do some good, as long as it's the super-expensive NASA-developed kind and not foam-rubber waterpipe insulation. I have a DAS rollbar, and the nice thing is that yeah, it indeed takes only 45 minutes to put it in once the seats are out, but then I figure on another 45 minutes to take it back out before I drive the car home from the track. (Obviously I'm not talking about serious racing but the occasional DE and local-club stuff.)

Stephan

[makaio]

Autopower! That's what I have. great bar. But so is the DAS.

[dtfastbear]

The link for the DAS bar is http://www.das-sport.com/

This is a great, but pricey, roll bar. It does indeed bolt right in. I think Performance Products (formerly Automotion) sells these bars and they are having one of their 20% off sales right now. That would save you a lot of money!

I've had the DAS bar in my '86 911 Cab for two years, now. I love it. It is a high quality piece of equipment.

If you have any specific questions about this bar, feel free to email me directly at dtfastbear@yahoo.com

Good luck,

Dean

[turbo dave]

My Autopower isn't too close to the head, but I added foam padding just to be sure (from a race shop, not Home Depot! The real stuff is much denser than insulation, but still pretty cheap). You have to drill through the floorboard & rear upholstery (behind the seats), so it's not really a 'unbolt' part.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

I assume by pretty cheap you mean about $18 for a three-foot length, which is roughly what approved racecar padding should cost. Anything else is simply cosmetic. And beware of thinking, "the rollbar isn't close to my head..." As an EMS ambulance driver in my spare time, I see some pretty wierd things happen inside cars under impact.

Stephan

[304065]

Some comments on the DAS bar:

1. Build quality and fit are excellent, but the bar comes unfinished, you will have to paint it or have it powdercoated. They can weld on harness loops at additional cost which I recommend.

2. It bolts directly to the factory hard points for the seatbelts in front and the emergency seat backs in the rear. The backs for the emergency seats will have to be removed.

3. The main hoop is a few inches behind the stock seats, but I second the opinion of those who said buy SFI- approved roll bar padding-- this feels a lot firmer than the open-cell foam pipe insulation type stuff, but that's what makes it so good at absorbing impact g's. It typically comes in a half-round shape in three foot lengths.

4. Ability to clean your rear window, as well as the ability to haul large items, goes away with the bar.

5. Rear window visibility is limited-- if you have the high-mounted third brake light, the bar blocks your view of that. It's easy to adapt to using the side mirrors, or hunching down to get a better view out the rear glass.

Good luck!

John

'71 E
'88 Carrera

[spinner]

I have an Autopower bar in my Carrera. Bought it used. Relatively easy to install. If I have to do it over, I'll get a Safety Devices rollbar. It mounts to the sills (stronger) and closer to the body. Both can be expanded to full cage. Like others have said, good pading is a must. My head isn't as hard as it used to be.

Paul
87 Carrera

[Howard Nelson]

Not sure if this appies to you, but the DAS bar is bolt-in only for '74 and later cars. The earlier 911s do not have the front seatbelt mounting bosses that this bar uses. For '73 and earlier DAS offers a bar that bolts to brackets welded to the box sections.

[thomas]

Just a note about roll bar safety:
If you are tracking the car w/ a R.B. you really should examine closely the way in which it mounts to the car. I have an Autopower bar and in my research and talking to other racers it was pointed out to me that the AP bar mounts to the pan at the front.If you think about a roll over condition with this set up ie:16 ga. pan supporting rollover loads,its not to comforting,and easy to picture the 2 front legs of the RB puncturing the pan.The widely accepted fix is to weld in a 3/16"
plate,tying in the pan and the adjasent verticals at the sill and jump seat front then mount the bar to that.And of course using all provided back-up plates and grade 8 hardware.
The better ($$$) bars and cages all mount to the sills.(DAS etc.)
Also,I tend to think that removing and re-installing a bar for track events is a bit much.
Once you put one in you realize there is no F-in way youre gonna fight this thing every time...

Just my 2 bits.
T-

[MikeB]

This is a good and important thread. I have a DAS bar in my coupe, a daily driver. After reading the first few posts, I went out to the car to see just how close the bar is to the back of my head. With the seat back as far as it can go (the bar limits seat travel), it looks like my head is about 6 inches in front of the bar. I am not sure that the high back seats would serve to cushion my head from the bar in a high G impact, especially as elastic as the body can be in a violent collision. I will be putting in my new Recaro SRD's this weekend and I guess I can only hope for some cushion and shielding from the seats. I would like to hear some opinions from others on this...

[tmctguer]

i purchased a racing seat and harness today, and spoke to the shop owner about autopower vs. DAS bars. he gave both high marks. he mentioned the affordability of the autopower bar, and said that if safety was TRULY compromised by a bolt in vs. a weld in, the bolt in bar would have been exposed by now as an unsafe device. he had nothing bad to say about other bars.

i'm still torn between saving the bucks by buying an autopower bar vs. a DAS bar. i contacted autopower today and was a little disappointed in the lack of documentation about the bar. there were no pictures or spec sheets that could be faxed to me, no web site, etc..

quite honestly, it left me a little disturbed about having that product between me and getting my head crushed. however, i was put a little at ease by the dialogue i had with the shop owner.

still up in the air --- weld-in or bolt-in?

[gchappel]

I had the same questions and thoughts between the weld-in and bolt in bars. I actually had an autothority bar sitting in the garage. It was cheaper than the Das Sport, but the installation-including welding raised the cost to the same as the DasSport--no installation costs on the bolt in bar. Both bars seemed to be well constructed, no complaints on either one. They both required painting-which I did in the garage with a couple of rattle cans. Bar came out looking fine, and has held up for over 2 years. I liked the idea that the bolt in bar could be removed without a trace- like when my mom comes to visit or if I ever sell the car. I can also switch it into another 911, as I am looking for a second one. I have seen no downsides to the bolt in bar- but thank goodness I haven't had to test it. Probably no wrong or right decision here- one decision is more permanent than the other.

[GeorgeM]

Everyone has a budget, but where safety is concerned, consider going the extra mile. It's like buying more house than you can afford at signing, you'll be glad you did.

I went with the OG and am glad I did. It fits well and I can use my stock seat belts on the street. The 20% off sale at Performance Products gets the DAS bar a little below the OG, so that is tempting. The seat belt issue is one to consider though if laws in your state require inertia reel belts for cars that came with them.

The weld-in/bolt-in wasn't a big deal, and will be concealed with carpet should the next owner not want the bar (not that I'm selling anytime soon).

The OG bar also came painted black, all hardware included.

I'll be happy to post photos of the intallation if anyone is interested.

Good Luck.

[StuttgartDavid]

Thomas: Many people worry about the floor pan attachment of the Autopower. Yes, sill mounting is stronger, especially in the secondary benefit of stiffening the chassis. However, I don't think floor pan mounting ala' Autopower is much of an issue with regard to safety.

I've asked all my mechanical engineer buddies this same question, and they swear up and down that:

1) The mounting footprint of the Autopower bar is so large that there is no way that it will punch through the sheet metal locally.

2) Structurally, that area is much stronger than you may think. Even though the bar bolts to the floor pan, not the sill, the fact that the sill is very close, is continually welded to the pan, and curves near the bar's mounting point makes that area very strong indeed.

I have visited the Autopower Factory (it's in my old hometown of San Diego, no I don't have any connection with them) and they are a pretty squared away operation. Not rocket science, but they have been making rollbars for literally hundreds of types of cars for over 30 years - they know what they are doing. Lastly, the bar is SCCA certified, which means something to me.

For the record, I have a Safety Devices cage in my 914, which I absolutely love, but I will be going with the Autopower for my '68 vintage racer for its combination of low cost and easy installation. The heating of the car's structural metal that is required for a weld-in cage can warp it and bite you if done wrong. I'm going to keep this next project simple.

Hope it helps

David

[GeorgeM]

Here's the OG Rollbar installed in my '89 coupe. Saved the stock side panels for reinstallation if necessary. Custom made rear side panels and carpet (gotta love Pep Boys) covering the wheel wells, along with shelf replacing now useless rear seats. Note that the stock belts fit, but very little clearance for inertia reels.

[tobluforu]

I have the A.P. bar in my 72. With the corbeau seat that I have, there is no way my head Could hit the bar. Well, maybe there is a way. I guess there's almost always a way. What's cool about the A.P. bar is one: The cost and two: you can remove the cross bar and seat restraint if need be.
I also added wider plates to the underside of the car where the bar bolts for better strength.