FWIW, I saw a Carterham Super 7 over the weekend. The design of the car's rollbar is similar to the Bitterman, in that it leans forward a little.

I talked to the owner about this. It turns out that the rollbar has an extra, removable bar that he puts in for track days.

This bar attaches on one end to the rollbar ( picture a spot above the secrect compartment ) and on the other end to a point in the passenger footwell. When this bar is in place it renders the passenger seat useless but appears to provide extra strength to the rollbar.

I wish I had a picture.

-- Tom

 

Aaron... this is Michael.. the kid who runs the grey ae86 corolla at WurthMotor..

Thats right your current, class T12 champ!!

I'm thinking about jumping into a S2000 now and I want to know who do and don't allow your bar. You said you'll go to TCRA to see if they are ok with it, in one of your post. So how did that go? Were they ok with it?

I'm a TCRA member and I know how those guys work. If they are ok with it, then most other clubs will be ok with it too.

Please let me know, and if all works out you'll have a new competition at wurth's speedtrial hehe!!

 

Im not an engineer but I was involved in CJ5 litigation and I learned a fair amount andmy concerns about this rollbar design is the forward lean. A significant number of forces that would affect it in a rollover would be acting in a forward direction, that means that the bar would tilt forward and the rear legs, rather than being in compression, where they would be strongest would be in tension, pulling up on the mounting bolts. You'd really want to be certain that the windshield frame was acting as a roll bar because if it gave then all the forces would be acting to push the front of the bar down and pull the legs up. For the amount of money being asked for these I'd want something that was geometrically stable, not that looks good. Height is a critical factor, too, so I can understand wanting to design it to be as tall as possible but height means nothing if it collapses. Remember, if the windshield collapses, what the car will rest on, if it's upside down are the two tallest points: your head if the bar isn't taller, or the bar and the front point is the top of the engine. Draw an imaginary line between the two and if your head is above the line you're likely to suffer injuries in a rollover. Remember, too, that even six point harnesses will stretch as much as two inches and three point harnesses don't provide as much security. I've seen Miata rollovers where the windshield frame remained intact and provided protection to the occupant but I've also seen Miata where the windshield frame was flattened and the occupants died, and these were at normal back road speeds. Any open car needs to have a rollbar if the occupants have any concern about saving their lives. It needs to be as well designed as possible. John Lefcourte

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Real
[B]

I'm thinking about jumping into a S2000 now and I want to know who do and don't allow your bar.

 

Yes, Doug is right. I called TCRA and they approved my bar over the phone. "Come on down". I've never run with them. I guess I'll give it a try sometime this year. Maybe when Doug's running the stook as well as the NSX. Doug, wanna go at it at the Cal Speedway event? One of us can log the first Honda Hall of Fame record for that track, unless someone's already sent you a time or you've set one yourself.

dt

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by desert tortoise
[B]

 

Is there any way to purchase this bar already covered w/ foam or other sort of padding? Also, is "gunmetal" a valid powder coating color?

 

S4 Mike,

Yes, you can purchase the bar already padded. The padding will be very thin on the top of the bar so that it does not push up the softtop (remember it is designed for maximum height, so the bar just touches the top), but padding will be present all around. This will be a custom job so we will need to know exactly where you want padding, other than the recommended places. Also you can choose padding color, in addition to rollbar color. The padding will be glued on, or if you want something less permanent we can zip tie it on and you can glue it later.

Yes gunmetal grey is a valid color. My bar, shown in the pictures above, is actually gunmetal grey, although it looks more like anthracite or something. (My powder coating guy is not a color expert per se!, but we can get it close to what you want).

dt

 

Folks,

I have some people who want the rollbar immediately. The design, including harness mounting system is complete. I just need to get an order of 10 together.

Anyone interested? If so, email me at aaron@speedventures.net or call me at 323-707-6267.

Thanks,
A. Bitterman

 

[QUOTE=desert tortoise,Apr 10 2002, 02:45 PM]twohoos,

Just so you know,