THSCC Forums

I've been pondering this dilemma, and have come up with yet another question.

Given that the factory hoops are strong enough to serve as seatbelt mounting points, can the case be made that the factory hoops are "good enough" as a result?

I think I know the answer already, and I'm guessing it's "no," but I'm asking anyway.

_________________
Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

I've asked an acquaintance of mine if he'd let us drill the holes to measure his Cusco bar. If he says yes - and I doubt he will, but I've got my fingers crossed - we'll have our answer, once and for all. My fingers are crossed.

_________________
Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

The main problem I have with the Cusco bars are the bolt-to-tab mounts for the harness bar and rear supports. That's a fail right there if I'm not mistaken, no matter the wall thickness. I'm pretty sure (please correct me if I'm wrong) that any bolt-together bar must use at least two bolts (on either side of the joint) bolted through a larger diameter piece of tubing as a sleeve around the main tubing... like this:

_________________
Stacy King
Midlife Crisis Participant

For the record - if you guys want to just close the thread, that's fine. But for the moment, I'll keep talking, because maybe it'll help someone else. Sounds like Jason's got a solution, and I've decided that I just don't want to put a roll bar in this particular car. I don't like the compromises I'd have to make for some of them. And the one that would clearly work - the Hard Dog - involves cutting up the car irreversibly. If someone else wants to do that, that's fine, but I'm not. Not on this particular one, at least.

The reality is that, if you live on the east coast, and want to do track events, an S2000 is the wrong car to buy. Out west, people run them without roll bars all the time. I've never understood why they can, and we can't, but as long as we can't, it probably doesn't matter.



Mark told me, over the phone, that he was fine with them. We were both looking at the same pictures, the ones in this thread.

_________________
Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

Yeah, its always been like that as far as I can tell ... but even so, you can take your S2000 to any NASA event as far as I know... at least if you have a hard top for it. VIR allows them for member days too I think.



For DE maybe... I would question us allowing it for TT. That one at least looks a little beefier than the ones I've seen for the 350Z

_________________
Stacy King
Midlife Crisis Participant

For whatever it's worth, I've taken my S2000 to VIR, when I helped at the Hillsborough Police Department driver training thing that Eric does each year. There were two of us there in convertibles without roll bars - me, and Kenny Keel (NC Miata). I'm not sure who it was directed at, but "one of us" was directed, by VIR staff, to stop driving our cars on the track, because of the rollbar issue. This at an event where we had features on the track to slow speeds down.

As to NASA, I haven't asked in a while, but about a year ago, I asked the question, and was told no, I can't play. Maybe they've changed their minds.



I should clarify that Mark told me "fine for the DE, but probably not for time trials."

_________________
Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

FWIW, I talked with Tom Beroth at Hard Dog yesterday. He is currently designing a SCCA-legal bar for the new Miata. Part of the fitment MAY be a modification of the rag-top frame that will allow a different folding configuration, whereby the front section flops backward somehow instead of completing the "Z" as is now the case. He's not really sure if it will work yet.

Also on the drawing board is a Mazda3 Bolt-together 4-point Time Trial bar.

Both are a ways off, though, I think...

_________________
Brad