So the roll bar bolts should not be a big issue? I guess what I am trying to figure out is, would a Cusco 4-5 point roll bar work for everyday street use and would they crush like a toothpick and smash into my skull ?

Also, would you trust one with your 4 point seat belt harness attached to it?

 

cusco = pain if in accident

 

You speak from experience or are you guessing?


I dont see any reason why the 4-5pt rollbar doesnt help in a rollover situation, ecspecially for someone like me that is significantly taller than the OEM hoops. It is apparent that no one has actually rolled over their car with one in it......so its pretty much all guestimation.

 

In order to advise you, we need to know exactly what problem are you trying to solve with the roll bar and 4-point harness. Are you going to track the car? Are you looking to improve safety on the street? Is this an aesthetic "upgrade"?

Based on their appearance and engineering (bent diagonals, small diameter tubing, small base plates), they do not appear to be as functional as the Elda bar or custom solutions. However, I do not know of any first hand reports of rolled S2000s causing structural failure of a Cusco roll bar. Does anyone else have data on this?

I advise against 4-point harnesses due to increased risk of abdominal injuries in frontal accidents. A 5-, 6-, or 7-point harness is required to avoid this (except for the Schroth ASM system), combined with a seat and harness bar to accommodate the correct mounting and routing of the harness. The OEM seat belts with pre-tensioners combined with the factory roll hops is a very effective restraint system. See the FAQ mentioned above for a thorough discussion on this.

 

Please read the FAQ mentioned above for a thorough discussion of the benefits and detriments of aftermarket rollover protection and restraint systems. The basic problem with aftermarket rollbars is that they place non-yielding structure (metal tubes) near your head. Roll cages are worse in this regard, but even roll bars can be unsafe. Even with a properly tightened multi-point harness, in a severe accident your body will move around enough for your head to contact the tubes increasing risk of brain injury and/or death compared to the OEM state of the vehicle. In summary, adding a rollbar to your car may improve safety in certain specific types of accidents, but is more than offset by increased risk of injury and death in other more common types. Of equal importance and with their own sets of trade-offs is the installation of aftermarket harnesses.

Based on all that I've read, and all of the safety engineers that I've talked to, there are very limited circumstances when you can improve on the safety of OEM systems in street-driven vehicles. The data is based in facts, not guesses, but a lot of people don't want to accept that in order to justify accessorizing their car.

 

hopefully you never get to see how well it works

 

"hopefully you never get to see how well it works "

 

Funny. I thought that was what they made rollbar padding for. I would believe hitting my head on a padded bar would be much better than it dragging on the concrete upside down at 60 mph........? Wouldnt you agree?

 

I had a padded rollbar on my Jeep. That padding just keeps your helmet from getting scratched. Even when padded it STILL HURT when you hit your head on it (w/o a helmet of course) and that wasn't even during an incident, that was just getting in and out of the vehicle.

 

the padding is not just to protect your helmet