When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
These are first photos of the pre-production unit. Its only tack welded at the moment as we played with it for a very long time. We finalized the design today. The final bar will be powder coated black.
The bar is built to meet SCCA Solo I spec. The biggest hurdle was trying to locate the fore/aft bracing while maintaining the appearance and the functionality of the soft top. We are determined to make the bar presentable by retaining all the trim and we limited the triming of the interior to a minimum.
As you can see below, the fore/aft brace required VERY careful attention to positioning. The red tap on the stock hoop below denotes the angle at which one will need to trim some of the plastic on the main hoop.
The fore/aft bracing requires scalloping and we experimented with many angles until we were able to clear the mechanism as you can see below, its very tight and the jig will need to be checked and rechecked. Roll bars will required verifications of their dimensions prior to packaging to decrease the chance of poor fitment.
The main hoop will support a removable diagonal brace as shown below.
The square section harness bar shown below will be removable, allowing one to access to the upper shortage unit. The diagonal brace and the harness bar should only be installed when at the track so one can recline the seats as far as possible.
The main hoop clears the soft top mechanism. We tried several radius and after so many tries we managed to make it all work. The main hoop not only had to clear the soft top mechanism but it had to meet the fore/aft brace at the only angle the fore/aft brace would clear the flange for the seat belt bolt that's on the main hoop.
The clearance inside, with the top up is JUST clearing the soft top.
The seat travel is unaffected, only the recline is affected, you lose the last 2 clicks on the recline. There is about 1/2\" above the bar and the soft top, we plan to include all the following with the bar:
1. Grade 8 hardware
2. DVD instructional video
3. backing plates
4. Sockets and wrenches required
5. Drill bits
6. Foam padding
Optional: Willans 4 point harness (or 6 point for those running racing buckets).
We have to use standard hardware as SCCA specifies it, I will ask if we can substitute them for metric hardware if possible.
The bar is intended to be installed while keeping the stock hoops. There is the liability issue for us to consider, but mainly we prefer the added protection and the cleaner appearance.
For those leasing their S2000, we priced out replacement hoops, and full retail is $160/each, making it affordable to replace to return to stock appearance.
Please explain me something: the seat still goes back to the fullest extent, but it does not recline as much as before?
Did I got it correctly? If I'll do that I won't see at all the rpms.
Is there a way to keep the seat position to maximum travel back and (in the same time) maximum reclined position? I don't care if I have to remove the factory roll hoops - as long as they can be installed back later on.
Looks similar to what Triple-H (Doug) had custom-made for his car. His was much more expensive than what you're talking about. Doug, any comments about similarities/differences?
I like the removeable parts for street use. I didn't think SCCA would allow that...
Talked to Howard Duncan from SCCA rules, He said there is no problem using metric hardware. The rules specify 3/8" hardware, the way he interprets it is, the hardware must be at least 3/8", which is about 9.5mm , so 10mm shaft is fine, probably with 12mm head. That's great so now I don't have to include the standard sockets and wrenches since whomever is taking the car apart will certainly have the metric sockets they need. We will include the drill bits though. Probably 2 or 3 drill bits so one can increase the size of the holes incrementally for correct centered holes.
Please explain me something: the seat still goes back to the fullest extent, but it does not recline as much as before?
That's correct George. Basically we pushed the location of the feet as far out as possible, pushing the vertical members of the main hoop as far out as possible too, to get the widest footprint and minimal interference with the seat. The result is no loss of slider movement, you lose the last 2 clicks on the recline only.
On the passenger side, with the diagonal brace in place, there is further loss, however the diagonal brace should be installed when alone or on the track. When a passenger is in the car removing the diagonal brace will give the passenger as much recline as the driver. I call it the \"wife friendly feature\", besides who wants to go out to diner alone?
Did I got it correctly? If I'll do that I won't see at all the rpms.
I would suggest looking into the seat mod described in the following link:
I wish that mod was possible in kit form so I would have made it part of the roll bar purchase.
Is there a way to keep the seat position to maximum travel back and (in the same time) maximum reclined position? I don't care if I have to remove the factory roll hoops - as long as they can be installed back later on.
It's not possible, the limitation is not the stock hoops, they never interfered with the stock seats and hence don't interfere with the roll bar installed either. If anything I would say you actually need the stock hoops for the seatbelt retractor stop (that 14mm head bolt under the round black rubber bolted to the side of stock hoop) because without it the seat belt does not retract properly, sags and generally becomes a tangled mess.
I plan to have our demo car available for fit tests, since I am in the northeast, I will be somewhat limited to that area, however we plan to ship our car to Texas within a month and folks can try the fitment there too. We have no plans for California yet, however we might be able to arrange something.
Photos of ELDA engineering SOLO I bar
I'll be in touch in a couple days when I have a free moment.
