I wonder why they call roll bars "skull crackers" in street driven cars.

Ones that are 100% behind the seats are the safest bet for street driven cars.

Harnesses will keep your body from rattling around, but the head moves pretty freely. Just something to keep in mind if you are thinking about getting a roll bar and how your seat is positioned.

 

^I've thought that through. That is part of the reason I got a bucket seat. With the factory seat I can't get the seat low enough so it has to be pushed farther back. With a bucket I can have the seat forward a bit more b/c it sits lower and this gives me plenty of extra room behind the seat before its right on top of a rollbar. I also think I'm going to get the harddog bar that mounts a little farther back. I believe it is the older design that requires you to notch the bulkhead and it only has 2 bends in the main hoop instead of 4 like the newer one.

My creaking problem was exactly what I thought, the seat bottom rubbing the floor. I moved the rear up one bolt hole and now it sits perfect and still feels like it's just as low so it's a win win.

 

How much below the rollbar do you sit? I have a hard dog rollbar and with the stock seat my helmet sits just at the bar. I'm am looking at a Sparco Pro 2000 and am hoping to get a few inches lower. I have 6 points installed and love the feel on the track but worry that if I went over, I might end up slightly shorter. Currently, I'm 5-11 and plan to remain so.

 

i'm looking at swapping out my cusco 4pt w/harness bar for a harddog now that i'm wanting to track more and more.

after reading through the thread i have a couple questions though. maybe some of them are simple, but i just need a bit of clarity.

1) do the harddog and the cusco rollbars bolt up in different spots? it looks like they do.

2) can you still use the stock seatbelt with the harddog bar installed? i would think yes, but can't tell if it's just a coincendence that all the pics of the bar in this thread also have interior removed in the car.

3) if you install the harddog bar, you can safely remove the oem roll hoops? if so, i'd drop about 30lbs in weight which would be nice. the cusco 4pt and harness bar is around 26lbs and i still have the stock roll hoops in.

4) best place to order harddog bar?

thanks guys.

 

1) Cusco bolts into floor behind seat I'm pretty sure...Hard Dog has all mounting points on rear-deck (approximately lower-chest-high)

2) yes, you can as long as you order the "shoulder harness guide brackets" that they weld onto your bar before they powdercoat it (they are a $60 option)

3) yes, you can remove the roll hoops, but you have to be smart/careful in how you retain the factory seat belt reels if you do that...ask/look around for examples of this...I haven't seen many

4) directly from them at http://www.bethania-garage.com/s2000.htm

-Fil

 

awesome. thanks so much!

one more question: can i run the tracks out here in socal w/the cusco until i get the harddog one?

i've got r-compounds, and just flushed and upgraded all fluids in the car for the track. just waiting on track pads and blank rotors to get here and i'll get out there. but don't want to show up at the track and be turned away. i'll just take the cusco out now if that's the case.

 

your factory roll hoops are adequate for track days, so the added Cusco doesn't hurt...just make sure your helmet is nowhere near the Cusco bar...you don't wanna bang your head into that thing , helmet or no helmet

 

you should be fine as long as you still have the factory roll hoops still in. on the west coast the factory s2k hoops are fine for track days.

 

Just as a caveat, I would check with the sponsor of any track day before signing up. Tracks have certain rules on what kind of roll protection they require on convertibles (which vary from track to track), and sponsors often will have more restrictive rules.

For instance, the track nearest to me allows S2000's with stock roll hoops (even if you flunk the broomstick test), but certain sponsors are more restrictive (for instance, the local BMW Club won't allow convertibles on their days on that track, regardless of roll protection, so that they don't have to pass judgment on what roll protection is ok and what isn't).

It is more and more common for tracks/sponsors to require some sort of after-market roll protection, or at least that you pass the broomstick test with the stock roll hoops.

 

Am I able to use stock seats with the hard dog? I'm considering the roll bar with the following options:

- Removable Diagonal
- Removable Harness Bar
- Do I need the shoulder harness guide bracket?

I'm assuming these options will be my best bet for having the S2000 as a dual-duty street / strip car. Right?