Need help with roll bar

[JDSfastGN]

I'm considering a roll bar now that I'm solidly in the 11s and the track doesn't like it very much. After doing searches on the board, I still have a few questions. Does the Bar have to have the cross bar that goes across the back seat making it next to impossible to get people in there? My car is a driver, i drive it to and from the track and drive with 4 people in the car all the time and I really don't want to give that up. I know it has to be welded, along with being a 5 point cage. I would defiantly opt for the removable side bar as well. If I wanna keep my back seat am I just gonna have to start running the 1/8 mile?

 

[zam70]

As far as I know - yes, the cross bar is needed...cage is kinda worthless with out it (strength). You don't have to have the center kickers though.

If you're running that fast in the 1/4, you'll need a bar in for the 1/8th as well.

Let's not forget the safety factor...I know it's nice to have rear seat access but, safety should come first.

 

[JDSfastGN]

well crap, i understand the saftey factor but im not sure how willing I am to give up being able to carry more than one passenger. Does anybody have some pics, ive seen a few but does anybody have a bar that keeps the back seat livable?

 

[J Banning]

Cross bar is required. Has to be welded to the main hoop, can't be bolted (although I've seen some like this). There are specs as well as to where the bar is placed in relation to the main hoop. If you go by the rules, it WILL be hard to get people back there. It can be done (with a younger person), but your parents won't want to try it.

Hope that helps.

 

[JToups386]

C'mon now JD, we all know you're asking this question, just to rub in the fact that you're solidly in the 11's...
And a big congrats to you for having done so!

As for running in the 1/8 mile, ie our track at Sealy, "NO", they won't require you to have a cage. They are so lienient there, that they only require us to turn in a tech card, w/o the car even being looked at, as long as it's not a monster race car, dragster, etc.

However, as we both know, our 1/4 track in Baytown really picks on these old sedans, (yet while turning a blind eye to the LS1 Corvettes and F-Bodies running the same). Keep in mind though, their inspection also has a relative amount of grace. If the old woman at the Timeslip booth sees a cage in the car, she's not going to look to see if the rear hoop bar is welded. Whether right or wrong, she (and others) don't look that maticulously, unless you go rip off sub-11 second ET's with high mph.

If/when I put a cage in mine, I plan on bolting the rear hoop bar in, using proper strength bolts (grade 8 or better), and if somewhere down the line I get scolded for it, I'll address it then. I'm like you, in that, I don't want to give up the back seat usage either, and I don't want it to only exist for smurf-size people.

Let's discuss this in person next time we grab a bite, and I'll try to give you some names you can talk with locally that have faced this dilema, and how they got around it.

 

[JDSfastGN]

thanks Jason, that would be cool, it would be a while before I have the money for one, but I'd like a nice one that looks like it belongs there.