Roll bar, and where to mount seatbelts?

[Vanne]

Hi, ive just spent the afternoon pulling the back of my car apart, and I am now open to sugestions on where to mount a single roll bar, my initial thoughts of mounting a bar on the rear strut mounts is ofcourse as Ian said, too far rearwards.. :'(

So my question is whete to mount a simple single roll bar, where are the roll hoops mounted on the e85? Is it possible to afix those e85 hoops on the coupe?

And where am I going to mount my seatbelts?

Any idea guys?

Maybe I can use the original seatbelt mount and mount the racing belts there in a V, one side following the original route, and making a way for the other?

Any ideas would be appreciated..

[inTgr8r]

There are snippets of info that I've seen in some old threads here.
I'm not sure what key words would bring them up in the search.

As I recall the harness needs to mount directly behind the openings in the seat bucket.

A couple of things to consider that has also been discussed.
When using a 4 or 5 pt harness you are held in position in the event of a rollover.
Therefore if the roof crushed, it would come right down on the driver.
That's why a full hoop roll bar is recommended if you want to use harnesses.

[Steeler]

Vanne,

Freeze frame this at exactly 7 seconds for roll hoop location on Roadie

[Vanne]

Are those mount points the same on a roady as in a coupe?

[Vanne]

Ian, yeah I realize I cant run a harness without a rollbar. Just need to know where on earth to mount the bar.. Actually that's incorrect.. You can run without a rollbar and a harness, just not with fixed back chairs, which mine are..

Just having a little trouble trying to find a mounting location for a roll bar without totally trashing my interior. I initially was looking at a bolt on option, but I think that's pretty impossible..

[Steeler]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Are those mount points the same on a roady as in a coupe?

Not sure where the bulkhead is on a Coupe Vanne

[Vanne]

Thanks Dave, going to leave my interior apart for a bit, lots of things need to be removed anyways.. Seats and whatnot.. I'd Mount the bar behind the seats, but I think I need all the space there cos being so tall..

Alex showed me a few pics of his rollbar, he has his fixed to the rear strut tower on the side and behind the seats. Maybe I can attach mine at the strut tower and then also at the B pillar.. ??

[Vanne]

note: you can actually see the place where the e85 rollover bars are supposed to be mounted, its just that the hole isn't there in our coupe, i wonder if the mounting point would be there on the bottom of the car..



that would solve my rollover problem

[inTgr8r]

JMO but I don't think that I'd be using the bulkhead for structural support of a roll bar, unless it was beefed up some how.

Check out this old thread from Chris for a better idea of how this area is put together. (And taken apart )

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showpost...1&postcount=26

And this from Pal
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showpost...66&postcount=8

[Vanne]

Ian, isn't that same bulkhead used for the e85 rollover bars? Surely that would be beefy enough? I wonder how it sockets in inside the bulkhead? Might take a trip to the wreaker to see whats inside?

[inTgr8r]

Yeah, I know what you're thinking; I'm not sure Vanne.
Maybe PM some of the guys that have done bars?

[Vanne]

I just dug this up.. i don't actually think there is much to it??

[Steeler]

Vanne,
There is a 45 minute video on youtube on the manufacture of the E85.
I am pretty sure those roll hoops go down inside the bulkhead but not sure whether they are welded in inside the bulkhead. They are meant more for rollover protection and not lateral forces.

[3002 tii]

Don't they have child labor laws in your country?! J/K

Go full bar or nothing. These aren't like Cayman / Boxsters with tons of aftermarket race gear / fabrication support. In my opinion the real benefit of running a fixed back seat is the ability to run harnesses. For a time I ran factory belt only with my Recaro and it wasn't the same. I feel way safer with 6 point and HANS. I'd only do seat without bar & harness for low speed events like auto-x.

Shots of my roll bar during install. Didn't alter my bulkhead so the factory belts stayed in place. Told installer to keep it factory looking as much as possible. Only thing modified really was the center trap door and cutting the rear carpets (rear bars) and pillars (gussets) for welding.





Zip tied factory belt receptacles to bottom of roll bar (behind seat) to prevent seatbelt chime and airbag light.



I then purchased a separate belt receptacle that's affixed to the seat mounting hardware which actually accepts the factory belt.



Factory belts and harnesses routed



The bling



After picking up my car, one happy customer. I HAS IT.

[Vanne]

LOL

Ti, thats very funny and love your roll bar, looks darn sturdy. The Issue I have is i can't afford to mount the roll bar as you have as i need all the space to move my seat back as far and low as possible.

My current thinking is cutting the bulkhead open and welding in a roll bar to the floor of the bulkhead and then re welding the bulkhead shut, while running a re-inforcer from the roll bar to the rear shock mounts.

Ill know a little more when i see my friend who will be doing the welding and designing the roll bar over the next couple of days.. (after i get back from Osaka)

will keep you posted.

[Vanne]

Update:

Been rather busy with work and such and new kid on the way, so haven't had much time to get out to my friends place (who builds race cars) until yesterday after i came back from India.

He told me pretty much straight off exactly what you guys were saying.. Cant do the roll hoops, as there isn't enough clearance to make that work properly and safely. So we've decided to go for a custom fit roll and harness bar, that goes around the top of the roof, down to the B pillar mounts on the floor and connects to the rear suspension struts. Struts will also be connected with a adjustable welded bar.

Car is booked in for Thursday, I wasn't 100 percent in what he was saying, but he looked very exited.

Will update with pics as he starts welding and cutting carbon tube steel.

Interestingly enough, new baby is also booked in for Thursday-ish ;D

[Boundless]

At first I've done in such way:


But after I've bought Schroth belts, I've made another bar behind the seats. I'll post photos later if you need.

[Vanne]

thanks Boundless, but i am after roof protection also, not just a belt bar. Looks good what you've done though.

[SaltyNC]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Interestingly enough, new baby is also booked in for Thursday-ish ;D

Congrats, Vanne! Pink or blue?

Salty

[Vanne]

Car in at the roll bar builders yesterday, will take a few days he said.. not sure wether to paint bar red (same as car) or gloss black?

[MarkMcL]

Black. It should be stealthy.

[Vanne]

Thx noted, anyone else have an opinion please?