Roll Bars?

They help.

Hard Dog roll bars are highly regarded:

So are Boss Frog:

Some are. They're usually called "style bars" and many believe them to increase the danger of injury in a rollover.

Sure they're rare, but we all want our mothers to be able to sleep at night, don't we?

I like having one. Never needed it for 8 years now, and hopefully never will. It also increases the stiffness of the rear end more than any other modification that I have seen. If you drive the car regularly without one and then install it, you will notice the difference immediately. The rear end becomes somewhat easier to control as well.

The negatives are the added weight, some interference with the operation of the top, possible rear-view vision interference depending on type, and they can possibly give you a concussion when being rear-ended, as they were meant to be used with helmets.

I have the Hard Dog Hard Core no hardtop version, the tallest one that will allow a soft top to close, and my head sits well underneath it.

I would probably go with something else if I was taller or had a longer torso, and my tall passengers ride at their own peril, they are welcome to bring a helmet along if they wish. :-)

Here are a few people that are glad that they bought one.

Pat

Tell that to our local club member who died in a roll-over - top down and no rollbar. Then talk to another of our members who walked away with *very* minor injuries after a roll-over, top down *with* a rollbar.

Iva & Belle.) with an HD bar '90B Classic Red.) #3 winkin' Miata

Hey Pat, just curious, about how high above the headrest would you say the bar sits on yours? (Or maybe a better way to put it would be, how many inches between my head and the roof should there be if I'm hoping this bar would clear the top of my head?)

Thanks Eric

I can measure that, but it depends on how you sit and what year and type of seats you have. I set the seat at the 2nd to last position and then recline it as far as it will go. This is on a 1991 with cloth seats that have compressed somewhat over time.

I will take a measurement from the transmission tunnel or the console lid to the bottom of the bar. This will give you an idea of where it would be with your sitting arrangement.

The Hard Dog Sport also cleared my head. I am just under 5'9" and have a 32" inseam so there is not a lot of distance between my head and my butt. (don't bother Lanny and Leon, the jokes write themselves on this one). ;-)

I'll get that later tonight.....

Pat

If I am looking at a NA or NB miata to buy, it either already has a good rollbar or I am automatically figuring that into the cost of the car to have one installed almost immediately.

Pat

Measuring from just behind the keyhole on the console, the bottom of the bar is showing at an even 23 inches on my tape measure.

Pat

with glass window?

AFAIK, there's no SCCA legal roll bar which is compatible with a glass rear window -- the support braces don't allow a glass window to fold all the way down.

-- Larry ('95 R, Hard Dog Hard Core bar...)

A rollbar's tubing is typically 1.75" diameter, and the main hoop will just touch the soft top above the headrests. Add something for the thickness of the padding you'll want to install, and do the math.

Check out

It seems like it'llhave space for the glass window to fold down and it's a 6 point barand SCCA only requires 4. I'm getting mine install this weekend so Ican take my Miata out to the track. I got the Max version which isthe maximum height that fit under a softtop but won't fit in ahardtop. Remember that your head has to be a couple of inches lowerthan the roll bar with your helmet on to pass tech inspection. I alsogot the padding because I read that it's easy to bump you helmet onthe bar.

But is it actually approved by the SCCA?

-- Larry

The M2 Hard Core Bar is designed for the serious SCCA Solo 1 competitor that wants to maintain a dual purpose car for street and racing use but doesn't want to give up the glass rear window convertible top.

I guess if you're looking for a road race endorsement, this might not do it but it appears to be the most serious bar they make for the car and the only one (beside the hardtop version of the same bar) that mentions SCCA.

I want to add that for a tall guy like me (6'2") the bar is a potential danger in a rear end collision. My head would be split wide open for sure. I've known this and still procrastinated on getting the proper cover changing the cracked skull to a bell-rung skull. Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to force myself to do that right now!

Chris

99BBB

Very nice. What sort of shop should one look for to install these? I am envious.

(But a couple inches of clearance with the helmet on! The bottom of the roll bar is already almost two inches below the height of the ceiling. So if I'm picturing this right, the top of one's would need to be something like five inches below ceiling height? Does that seem really low to anyone but me?)

The roll bar is typically behind your head, not above it (at least in my experience).

Except for people so short they'd have trouble seeing over the dashboard, that ain't gonna happen with any rollbar that fits under a Miata's top. For real racing, depending on the class, the rules require either a hardtop over a full rollcage, or a much taller rollbar.

It's worth noting (again) that rollbar padding is engineered to work in conjunction with a helmet. It's only purpose is to keep the helmet shell from breaking. It stores then releases energy, relying on the helmet liner to dissipate impact forces. Ordinary foam such as pipe insulation is far too soft to protect the head in a rear-ender, helmet or no.

It's also probably impossible to locate a rollbar such that one's head would never hit it, no matter how far rearward it's installed. Even racing harnesses stretch under extreme load, and seats bend. To see what's required to keep a driver more-or-less in place, watch the in-car shots from NASCAR races.

For street driving, the decision to install a rollbar boils down to a personal risk assessment: are you more likely to roll your Miata than to get hit by another car? Of course, if you want to get your daily driver onto a track, you have no choice but to accept the everyday risk of head injury. Or wear a helmet on the street ("No, officer, I wasn't speeding and I do not think I'm Mario Andretti...").

Thanks Lanny. I was hoping there'd be an easy win in there somewhere vs. making trade-offs, but your post has pretty much cleared that up.

Yes, but it fits only 99 or newer, or equivalent-sized aftermarket glass windows. OP has a 96.

Solo I only, not full SCCA racing.

Dunno -- I'm 6-3 1/2, and the hard core hits my helmet fairly high up. It would be a somewhat glancing blow, IMO.

-- Larry (95 R, Hard Core 1)

Wow, you guys must sit pretty reclined with the top down, am I right? Either that or you're leggy as all get out. (Hmm, that sounded weird.)

My inseam is 34", which is normal or a tad short for my height. But I have no seating choice in the '95 -- the seat is all the way back, and reclined as far as it goes, which isn't much.

Yet when I drive it at track days and autocrosses, the top of my helmet is definitely above the top of the bar, as evidenced by photos. I slouch for tech. inspection. 8;)

-- Larry (pretending makes it so...)