"Brinkman, Gerardo V" wrote:
>
>
> My personal opinion, is that roll-over bars and cages should designed
> and built to suit each individual person/car combination. I do not believe
> that an 'off-the-shelf' roll-bar suits everyone. Case in point, my Midget
> had an 'off-the-shelf' roll-over bar and I was rear-ended by a Minivan
> (< 5mph). my head went backwards and struck the top of the roll-bar. I
> was knocked out by the very item that was supposed to portect me. i ditched
> that roll-bar and had a custom roll-bar fitted which was 2 inches higher and
>
Hear, hear! Oh dear - a pet topic of mine.
Since my involvement in motorsport, especially as an official, I look
into the rules and regulations to find how and why they were formulated,
and now even if I could get away with it I tend to stick to the
regulation safety features because there is generally research and
scientific proof behind their required designs.
ROPS (Rollover Protection Structures) regulations here require the
rollbar in an open top car to be 50mm (2") above the driver's head - top
of the helmet. Also required are two backstays and a diagonal/cross
member (there are lots of other requirements that I won't go into here).
That is how my rollbar has been constructed and it means I can't fit the
soft-top on the car (because of the height and because the rear stays
prevent the operation, collapse or stowage of my midfold top) but I feel
mightily safe under that thing both on and off the track.
I see all sorts of "off the shelf" rollbars on MGs that don't comply to
these standards and despite people telling me that they have them for
safety and not looks, how safe can a rollbar be if it is going to allow
your head to make contact with the ground if your car rolls over (some
people's heads protude well ABOVE their rollbar when they are strapped
in!) or if the rollbar simply collapses under the impact and weight of
the car - adding to the impact of everything else on your head/neck?
Oh yeah - some form of fireproof padding is recommended behind your head
to prevent the "melon-crusher" effect - especially if you don't have
headrests on your seats.
Other people are luckier than me because they are shorter than my 6ft,
so 2 inches over their head is not as high as 2 inches over my head, of
course, and they can still put some forms of top on the car. I am
putting in a lowered bucket seat which may very well drop me that 2" and
allow me to pop on a top!
I have almost rolled my car on the track and I have almost rolled my car
off the track, and I don't know how likely it is that it will really
happen but if you feel you need to spend the money on a rollbar, then I
say do it right first time.
By the way, the lateral structural strength added by a properly
constructed rollbar is quite significant, too.
--
Eric
'68 MGB MkII
'85 Rover SD1 Vanden Plas
Adelaide, South Australia
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