Cab Roll Bar

[widebody911]

I installed my Racer Xcessories roll bar today. I hadto modify it slightly to get good driver's seat travel. I'm 6' 2", and to have the seat back far enough to be comfy meant the roll bad to go go back a bit, and he'd added "harness bar" cross pieces to it for me. This doesn't affect the basic structure of the bar, as I only modified the harness cross-piece, and the harness doesn't actually mount to this, but rather to the stock belt locations. I'm thinking of adding the same sort of bent section to the passenger side, since I like to date tall women.

[carnut169]

LOL-- You just put your targa bar back on!

[Moses]

What have you done?????

Sell that cab and get a REAL targa. You are WAY too funny. ( You did that with photoshop, right?)

I'm kidding Thom, but it looks to me like you are loving your car to death.

[widebody911]

I thought it would be funny to modify the original roll bar to bolt onto the cab mount, so I could swap the targa bar back on, maybe with a soft window... It's technically feasible (anything is when you have a welder...) But getting the cab top on and aligned is such a royal b*tch...

[claptrap]

Nice welding.

[claptrap]

Nice welding.

[5axis]

I have a question for you open toppers. I was looking at my PCA regions safety requirements and I saw arm restraints mentioned if you wanted to run a open car. Has anyone had any experience with these things? The whole point in having a cab is to be without the dang top. Sometime in the future I plan on upgrading the driver by doing a DE or two and want to enjoy my car to fullest. A full on the boost turbo cab, top down is a hell of a lot of fun! I would like to be able to take that feeling to a track.

david 89turbo cab

[carnut169]

PCA will not let you participate in a cab w/o a roll bar. I say it is a load of crap...

[bell]

actually ANY open car on a track without a cage is in my opinion idiotic, we do track events to learn, when you learn you sometimes make a mistake, when you make a mistake you sometimes hit things, and when you hit things there is always the possibility of a rollover.........that being said, rollbars are for saving your ass when you screw up, it's not worth the risk to not have one with a cab.
my .02

ps.....nice welding

[Brian993]

I hope you know what you're doing. I think the car has half a chance, but that tail looks ridiculous.

[carnut169]

Bell- On one hand I agree w/ you- roll bars are safer. On the other hand, if I own a cab, and want to take it to the track, the risk should be mine to take. Porsche thought of things like wrecks when they designed the cabriolet- the windshield offers protection, and the frame is reinforced. I know it is not as safe as a cab w/ a rollbar.... but if I were allowed I would not push the car like I might push a car w/ a roll bar.

Track-quest allows cabriolets w/o a roll bar- just sign your life away (same as any event).

Point is- the law provides rules like speed limits to protect you from other drivers (and vise- versa Widebody) while out on public streets. Track rules are there to protect the drivers from each other as well- I don't think that they should mandate things that involve your own personal safety. If I want to be an idiot and not wear a helmet or a harness that should be my choice.

I guess I am not just a fan of smaller government, but also prefer to be responsible to make my own decisions when it comes to things that effect me.

[Chuck Moreland]

I have taken a cab on the track w/o rollbar, a few clubs allow this. However, I would not recommend it and don't do it anymore.

If you have a competitive nature you will not be able "take it easy" because you have cab. Once you get out there you will be pushing it. What's more rollovers can happen for surprising reasons without an impact.

Who recalls the video posted here awhile back showing the subaru rollover. It was caused by unweighting the car coming over a hill and trying to turn off line.

Did a search but couldn't locate the thread.

The windshield offers zero rollover protection.

[bell]

i know what you're saying porsche building extra stregnth into the cab, but the cab was designed for street use (convertable=street car) and track events although "safer", can be more prone to mistakes causing heavier off axis impacts. if you hit a tire wall at 60+ it can rip most cars apart.
although it's "your" head, it's the insurance companies who pretty make up the saftey rules, without insurance we couldn't even touch these tracks, unfortunately some of the rules don't appeal to everyone.
i just think from a safety standpoint taking a cab w/o bar to the track is just asking for something to happen, i've been involved with scca regionals/nationals for years and have seen very simple mistakes turn into rollovers/collisions. we need track events to fully understand our beasts and at those speeds you are always learning, when you learn you make mistakes.
this is my story and i'm sticking to it

[widebody911]

My C2 setup should be here next week.

Originally posted by BigBpainta
I hope you know what you're doing. I think the car has half a chance, but that tail looks ridiculous.

[widebody911]

A lot of tracks will not let open cars run without roll bars, irrespective of the rules of the organization that is running the event. I think it's just a good idea for an open car that's being driven in a sprited manner to have one.

Yes, it detracts from the look of the car. Not much you can do about that. The roll bar I just installed is a bolt-in. With my impact gun, I could probably get the bar out in 5 minutes or less. If I welded the reinforcement plates to make alignment easier, and used an impact gun, I could probably get it installed in 5 minutes as well. Would 5-10 minutes before the event and 5-10 minutes after be all that bad?

FWIW, I'm just going to leave it in all the time. Personally, I like the look of the roll bar. But what do I know - I liked the look of the tail, too...