Rollbar fit under hardtop?

[FergO2k]

wea re still on rollbars aren't we? (sorry, just kidding, discusion is good and doesn't have to be linear)
Go back and check out Todd Osborne's rollbar again. He recommended to me to mount it offset towards the driver side, so that the seat has more rear travel. Alvin's pic captures the offset it exactly. This, along with a 3rd brake light (possibly on a welded on bracket, cuz I want to make it more 'period', with a chrome surround, like something similar to a motorcycle blinker) is my future plan. Fergus O

[Redtail]

Hmmm....much interesting information here. So my roll bar will do nothing even with brackets welded to the frame...crappy....

thank god I fit into the "90%" male bracket... the seatbelts might hold me. but they are old...

bringing me to - anyone hear of an actual case where someone has been killed by the death spear? I'm sure rolling over roadsters has to be somewhat common, but what about just normal street driving? chances?

still safer than a motorcycle though eh? and I gotta think a miata is damn similar...

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[Redtail]

nice picture. yeah, it looks like the guy's head still hit the ground. I wonder if the guy survived or not...

[SLOroadster]

Joaquin,
My roll bar that fits a low windshield car mesured 25 inches from the cargo shelf to the middle of the bar.

Will

[spl310]

How many of you have actually seen a 2 seat sports car (Roadster or otherwise) upside down on the street? It takes a monumental effort to do that - you almost have to be trying to do something stupid. That Miata looks like it is at a race track. There it is much more common to see cars rolled.

Not throwing stones, just curious. All of the cars that I have seen turned over have been top heavy, or the person was doing something stupid. How about y'all?

[SLOroadster]

Sid,
I have to agree with you, to put a roadster on its top would take way more effort than rolling any SUV. Those things are scary! I havent drivin one anymore than just around the block, but that was scary enough to not want to ride let alone drive one. One can spin a roadster/miata out fairly easily, but to roll it, you really have to try.

just my $.02

Will

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[Redtail]

What if you get hit by another car or a truck? Could that cause a roll, or is it mostly cornering at absurd speeds?

[spl310]

If a car hits you hard enough to roll the roadster, the roll is not going to be the big issue. The car coming through and squashing you in place. If it hits you and you slide with great force into a curb, it could tip, but man, you would have to be MOVING!

[Redtail]

Well, based on all this good info I removed my roll bar last night. I figure there's a greater chance of getting hurt by wacking my head on the bar when I'm rear ended then rolling the beast. I'll hang onto it incase I want to put it back in later.

[nomadtrash]

The roadster has a limited amount of stick. The tires are pretty small. It will slide and spin before it would flip. Here in Dallas there are a couple of cars on thier tops every rush hour. They are usually SUV's and they generally have hit the center concrete divider. The center dividers are designed in a triangular shape so that when you hit them a portion of the impact is absorbed by the vehicle climbing up the side. It then forces the vehicle back away from oncoming traffic. If you hit it at the right angle or with a top heavy vehicle it will flip you over. In almost all cases it keeps you from crossing over into oncoming traffic. In general it takes some sort of obstruction to flip a car. If you are sliding sideways in the dirt eventually you will build up enough of a burm to stop your sliding motion and flip you over. It is very hard to flip a roadster because of the low center of gravity. Even with my massive racing slicks I rarely pick more than one tire off the ground during cornering.