another dumb question...rollbar???

[tomob1]

please forgive a newbie question;
when i was researching vipers before i bought one, i saw mention of "rollover protection" as standard.
i took that to mean a roll bar of sorts.
so what exactly do i have behind the seats of my 2004?
do i need to upgrade for around the town driving and the occasional road race event or oval track?
the posts ive read here lead me to believe it is a major job upgrading.
advice is greatly appreciated.
tom

 

[mykes]

Those are roll hoops and are useless in a rollover.They are made from aluminium.A aftermarket rollbar (autoform)is your best bet.I installed one in my car and found it to be fairly easy to install,but you need help lifting the rollbar in and out of the car.
Myke

 

[tomob1]

thanks!
tom

 

[Canyon707]

Mykes right on having a hand to get it in and out of the car. It's really not hard to do just takes some time. I remember that I had use a drill with a narrow head to drill a couple holes. I think it took the weekend for me but I also insulated the floor and behind the seats. Makes the car more ridged.

 

[Shandon]

Ohh its a good process to do but mainly time consuming. The hoops are not roll over protection and most tracks will require the ones below or a hard top. These are the Autoform ones.

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[SoCal Rebell]

DC Performance: Proven Performance

 

[tomob1]

appreciate the info.
i must have misunderstood some older posts here. i thought it it was way more than a "bolt in" job. i'll have to re-read the other posts.
thanks again
tom

 

[Shandon]

appreciate the info.
i must have misunderstood some older posts here. i thought it it was way more than a "bolt in" job. i'll have to re-read the other posts.
thanks again
tom

Ohh its more than just a bolt on You will be cutting out two areas of the back wall behind the seats etc. Drilling holes into the frame etc. It's not what I would call a simple bolt on job. It becomes a true part of the frame when its installed.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

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Make sure you bolt down the top portion first then the lower frame bolts s so the top does not rub the tops of the hoops.

 

[thompsonracing]

It should be standard equip. in these cars. A must-have item. I swear my bar saved me when I was rear-ended. The car crunched right up to the bar. Then add harnesses too. I think they helped save me too.

 

[mykes]

It should be standard equip. in these cars. A must-have item. I swear my bar saved me when I was rear-ended. The car crunched right up to the bar. Then add harnesses too. I think they helped save me too.

I added harnesses as well and i no my lap times dropped,one more reason too add them.The rollbar i agree is a must have if you track your car,as for the install i didn't find it to hard but it's not for someone who is no mechanically inclined.Also if your afraid to cut into your car it might not be for the faint of heart!I would recommend to a do it yourselfer.Good luck
Myke

 

[tomob1]

You will be cutting out two areas of the back wall behind the seats etc. Drilling holes into the frame etc

that's what i originally thought. are there templates for the cutouts?
tom

 

[JohnnyViper]

i like the painted green bar

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

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[tomob1]

beautiful!!

 

[georgethedog]

Cutting the steel where they go in at the bottom is not that hard. What the instructions do not tell you is a real PITA. You have to cut a bunch off the plastic surround that is behind the roll bar and holds the tweeters. I would cut some, then re-position and then find that I had to cut more of the plastic, then re-position, etc. There was nothing in the instructions about that. Also, make sure you cover your roll bar with tape or something (cover where it will show) because I figured it would slide in after I got the holes cut--it didn't and the paint got scratched from the plastic at the top rubbing on it before I could cut it back. Now it is at a paint shop getting repainted... When I get it back I will be covering it in a couple layers of masking tape or something... Wondering if anyone also had this problem and what they did to remedy it??? How about you Jorgensen???

 

[tomob1]

thanks george, good advice.
i'm realizing that the problems i heard about before asking this question were mostly true.
i have most any hand/power tool you could name, what's actually needed for the cut outs?
is there enough room to use a sawzall? i have a 4" grinder with cutting wheels? dremel? jigsaw? i have straight and angled drill motors.....
i spent 6 yrs prototyping parts and tools for grumman aerospace, so i'm sure of myself with the tools. i just don't have a lot of time to do the work. can it be done in 8hrs?
thanks again
tom

 

[georgethedog]

thanks george, good advice.
i'm realizing that the problems i heard about before asking this question were mostly true.
i have most any hand/power tool you could name, what's actually needed for the cut outs?
is there enough room to use a sawzall? i have a 4" grinder with cutting wheels? dremel? jigsaw? i have straight and angled drill motors.....
i spent 6 yrs prototyping parts and tools for grumman aerospace, so i'm sure of myself with the tools. i just don't have a lot of time to do the work. can it be done in 8hrs?
thanks again
tom

I used a "body saw" or some call them a "zip saw" to cut the metal. Harbor freight has them for about $25. Make sure you have extra blades as they bend easy when you try to do any turning. Make at least a drill hole at each turn! That way you can get the saw in good position. On the plastic I used a pair of tin snips because I did not want any power tool getting next to the covertible top. There has to be a better tool than the tin snips for the plastic, but that was the best think I could find in my garage. It can be done in 8 hours, but I would suggest having someone help lift the roll bar into your car and position it in place--In this manner you will avoid possibly hitting your car with it when lifting and moving it. Also, have someone hold it while you line it up at the top to figure out where to cut the plastic backing that holds the tweeters. There are several places to cut so mark them, get the roll bar out of the way and cut. My problem is I was not aggressive enough and I cut too little off and kept having to move the roll bar in and out of its position to cut more, and somewhere along the line is where I scratched it. Good luck--I know I will still need it when I get mine back from the paint shop to finish the install. It fits pretty well now, but I will most likely cut some more off the plastic piece (and sand the rough edges smooth) just to make sure I have room to work it in without scratching it again.

 

[Jon]

Those are roll hoops and are useless in a rollover.They are made from aluminium.

Are they really useless? In this day and age of nanny-state government meddling, I would have thought that there would be some standard of roll-over protection compliance that would be required to sell a convertible in the USA?

 

[JohnnyViper]

thats the word on the street, if you flip it your mellon will be damaged, i'm surprised that they didnt but a real rollbar in considering its a viper.

 

[Jon]

thats the word on the street, if you flip it your mellon will be damaged, i'm surprised that they didnt but a real rollbar in considering its a viper.

True - considering how over-engineered the rest of the car is, a lack of adequate rollover protection surprises me!

 

[tomob1]

My problem is I was not aggressive enough and I cut too little off and kept having to move the roll bar in and out of its position to cut more

well, that would be me as well.
measure twice, cut 3 times.......
tom

 

[mykes]

Are they really useless? In this day and age of nanny-state government meddling, I would have thought that there would be some standard of roll-over protection compliance that would be required to sell a convertible in the USA?

Just read your door jam if you don't believe me!I could knock the stock hoops off with one swing of a baseball bat.But if you did roll you could just duck,but good luck with that.

 

[plumcrazy]

This is a good question for the grailkeeper

 

[Canyon707]

True - considering how over-engineered the rest of the car is, a lack of adequate rollover protection surprises me!

One thing that really surprises me is the smile I get on my face when I throttle up. I changed my hoops to the Autoform Roll Bar. Still the thought of a roll over has me wondering if my head wouldn't cushing the bar.