Practical Roll Bar...Non-NHRA Approved

WearyMicrobe said:
If your going to do this go for what passes for sub 10.99 car, ...
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Hell I am still in the 14's!

And if you are lower than the 11.50's it will be required at all NHRA tracks.

My desire is to find additional protection from a roll over...lots of trucks used for off road activities have roll bars in the front of the bed (and yes, lots are just for looks) but I am looking for something to allow a driver to survive a roll over...our cabs are pretty flimsy...

A roll bar inside the cab, braced correctly with good provisions for a five point harness has to be a good addition for those of us that hit the strip on the weekends, but never get into the low 11's...

What am I missing here?
 
You have to tie it forward and/or backward for it to be useful and safe, if you get in an accident and the force causes the bar to bend towards the front and smash your skull, its much more dangerous than no bar at all. No one wants to go through the back of the cab and no one wants to climb over door bars or spend extra time messing with swingout bars every time they get in/out of the truck (and the added time of the 5 point harness). Roll bars on the street without helmets are not a good idea IMO. The way I see it is your balancing the chances of rolling your truck and the added protection POSSIBLY helping you vs. the chance of getting sideswiped and bashing your head on a steel bar.
Justin
 
Prof said:
Hell I am still in the 14's!

And if you are lower than the 11.50's it will be required at all NHRA tracks.
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In the history of dragging RC/QC trucks has any of them flipped on there lid say over a 11.99 second pass. Its a long wheelbase drag car in some respect and you would really have to hit the wall at a funny angle to even get it to fall on its side let alone the lid. At that point no amount of safety gear is going to help without side bars and major reinforcements to keep it from coming forward.

I could see a four link rear truck with 800+ hp line locks and slicks getting the wheels off the ground slightly but not enough to pull left or right and hit the wall at any respectable angle to cause a flip. In the drags accidents that I have seen it takes insane HP and a mistake or really shitty driving and a late run wall hit to cause a flip.

Kind of feel like this would look like those stupid blue bolt in cages they make for civics and do more harm then good.
 
I've seen a few roll-over pictures of Dodge trucks on the street, and from the looks of it, they came out ok. The cab is pretty stout in these trucks. I think 5point safety harnesses is a good idea. It would be quite simple to put a harness-bar in these trucks (especially the RC). :dontknow:
 
Prof said:
Hell I am still in the 14's!

And if you are lower than the 11.50's it will be required at all NHRA tracks.

My desire is to find additional protection from a roll over...lots of trucks used for off road activities have roll bars in the front of the bed (and yes, lots are just for looks) but I am looking for something to allow a driver to survive a roll over...our cabs are pretty flimsy...

A roll bar inside the cab, braced correctly with good provisions for a five point harness has to be a good addition for those of us that hit the strip on the weekends, but never get into the low 11's...

What am I missing here?
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Prof you dont even roll over in bed:dontknow: :D

serieously Prof i feel what you are wanting, and honestly I would contact a race fab shop near you, stop in with the truck, explain to them what you want, and go from there, most likley you are going to get a much better quality job and what you persoanlly want doing it that way;)
 
Stinker said:
Prof you dont even roll over in bed:dontknow: :D
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You are right but I used to have to get on my hands and knees to roll over in bed...just not any more. :( :mad:

This is a great exchange...more opinions and ideas...

This is a health exchange of ideas...lets hear your ideas and opinions.
 
JMB Justin said:
A roll cage with no helmet is alot more dangerous than no cage at all in most cases. Even stick on padding can only do so much to keep your head from bashing metal.
Justin
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very smart young man!!!!!!
 
JMB Justin said:
... Roll bars on the street without helmets are not a good idea IMO. The way I see it is your balancing the chances of rolling your truck and the added protection POSSIBLY helping you vs. the chance of getting sideswiped and bashing your head on a steel bar.
Justin
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Just seems to me that if it were more dangerous to have a roll bar and no helmet...that the roll bars would not be on so many convertibles, or in sports cars.

I think that if it were a statistically supportable fact that roll bars are a danger, then we would not see them on modern sports cars...but many come with roll bars as standard equipment, or am I wrong again? Probably!
 
The ones you see in convertibles, my Camaro for instance even though it's aftermarket, are farther behind your head than we are talking about here. Also they are extremely well padded (stock equipment), far more than just putting some foam wrap on a steel bar. Finally they are worth the risk in a 'vert because otherwise without a roll bar a rollover pancakes the car as the windshield frame gives almost zero support.

Apples and oranges my friend.
 
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Prof said:
Just seems to me that if it were more dangerous to have a roll bar and no helmet...that the roll bars would not be on so many convertibles, or in sports cars.

I think that if it were a statistically supportable fact that roll bars are a danger, then we would not see them on modern sports cars...but many come with roll bars as standard equipment, or am I wrong again? Probably!
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Convertibles that I've seen in production have HOOPS that are behind the seat. Some are not even functional (the Viper's being a example). Some "pop-up" on impact (a-la 3series BMW).... I don't think I've ever seen a production roll bar per-se? The GT3 Porsche not included, as it is clearly stated to be a RACE CAR that happens to be street legal. :dontknow: :eek:

If you want a Hoop behind your seat, I'm not sure that's a bad idea. Couldn't hurt, IMO. But, I doubt you will find a "kit" that would be wide enough for our big-old seats. It would almost certainly have to be custom made.
 
Prof I think i have an answer for you, a four point roll cage, nhra approved? probably not, but would give you plenty of protection.

it would mount from behind the passenger seat over the top, and down to behind the drivers seat.

from the rear bar on the passenger side, accross the top of the door and down to or thru the floor, right at the a pillar.

then you can cross tie the rear bar set up, as well as the roof bars, to tie them in for strenght.

then if you are really worried, take a bar and go from the two front bars, go behind the dash to tie in both front sides.

this leaves the doors open, you could install a five point harness for a seat belt option. and woulnt have to go thru the back window or the dash to the front part of the frame.



this would give you better than oem protection in the event of a roll, and all you would need is someone with a tube bender.

it could be made as a bolt in, but would only give marginal protection in a VERY serious accident, but would still be better than what you have now;)
 
Perfect Tony...what a great PDF! I could get lost in those pages for hours!
 
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