Took me long enough to get this done. Part of the problem was that I had to have 2 rollbars made as the first one didn't fit, the second one was tight, but it's in and perfect. The seat I installed previously so you might have already seen it, if you haven't, it's a Sparco Evo 2.

Install is best left for the very patient. Hardest part of the install is actually getting the bar in the car!! Then you have to position the bar, mark the drill points, remove the bar and drill. There are reinforcement plates that go in the underside of the car, the easiest way to drill the holes is to put the bar in place, mark 2 holes. Remove the bar and put the reinforcement plate on top using that as a template. I did it with no help and it took about 4 hours. You need to cut more carpet than just where the bar goes because you need to slide the bar into place and if there was carpet there, you would just end up tearing it. Anyway, here are the pics:


Passenger side front roll bar mount (behind seat under storage bin).


Drivers side, also notice the harness eye ring that installs where the stock seatbelt bolt goes (harness is a clip in version). After I took that pic, I also put the stock seatbelt under the eyebolt so I don't have to take it on and off.


Shoulder harness wrapped around harness bar. I still think it's a bad idea to have a 5 pt harness without a roll bar.


OK, that is me in the car, I am well clear of the roll bar. I wouldn't need to pad the bar at all if I was only going to have my race seat in there, but I will pad it and have it completely vinyl covered just so it looks decent with the stock seats back in. I am 6'2" tall and have at least 3" of head clearance. Notice that the belts are completely level as they should be. I had Kirk mount the harness bar 1" higher than normal, and my race seat lowers me about 2" over stock, so it works out perfect.


View from behind. This is another difference between my bar and the one shown earlier, my bar has straight back rears instead of an "X" brace. I needed to do that to have room for all my race tires.


Closeup of shoulder harness. You can also see that the rear bars going back still touch the plastic of the rear speaker bridge, that is how tight the install is, but it does fit fine.


Another of me strapped in the car.

The only concern I have is how stong the area was where the front bars mount. It almost seemed too easy to drill the holes there. Just to be safe, I am going to have a bigger reinforcing plate welded to the bottom of the car. You can't really see the single crotch strap, but I drilled another hole through the bottom of the Z and mounted an eye ring. Hope that helps everyone who has been waiting.

 

Looks great- where does the center bar attach in the trunk?

 

very nice!

 

There is no center bar, if you look at the pic of where the bar bolts down on the passenger side, you'll see that that is where that bar mounts; there are 2 bars joining there.

 

Love it! I've got those harnesses in my race car & am super pleased with them. One of those things you never have to think about and the camlock opens perfectly even when packed with dirt. If you've ever run at Buttonwillow you know what I'm talking about! :-D

 

Know exactly what you are talking about, been to Buttonwillow many times. Spun in the dirt once in my MR2 Spyder with the top down. I had dust coming out of the car for weeks!!!!

Will be at Buttonwillow again on Nov 7th with Speedventures.

 

Kirk Rollbar install

Thanks for the great pictures. I will now place my order.

How would you assess the difference in rigidity between the
straight vs. crossbar supports? I will probably invest in either
Proxies or a set of Michelins and drive them to track days.

Do you have any suggestions on braided, stainless brake line ends to fit the Track model (Aeroquip? Earls? others??)

Jack Walters

 

Raceboy,

Looks good. Hope you never need it! What's the latest on your suspension?

 

I don't think there is much difference between the straight and cross bars, just the straight bars give me much more room.

As far as lines go, I use the Stoptech ones.

 

LOL, don't jinx me. I just told my wife yesterday that safety equipment is the one thing you spend a bunch of money on hoping you never need.

Suspension is still the S-Tune, no firm plans on replacing it as of yet, but still looking. Probably will get adjustable front upper A arms next.

 

looks good raceboy!!!!!!!!!!!

cancelled my order from kirk for now.

ned to assess what my roll bar needs are.

-john350z

 

You don't need on until you flip over!

 

true, true.

-john350z

 

Took you long enough Steve! If you were going to reorder it, what would you do differently for the specifications? I'll be using stock seats for the time being (I'm 6'2" 150lbs), but may change in the future. Should I use the same height of the harness bar as you?

 

That's awesome Steve.

Did you weigh the roll bar, and the seats?

Thanks,
Victor

 

If I had to do it over, I would have just left the harness bar at the stock height (1" lower than where it is). They way I had them do it is fine, but it now get's in the way of transporting my race tires. I will have to deflate the tire to transport it. Otherwise, it's perfect.

 

I didn't weight the roll bar, although my guess is that it weighs about 45lbs. Didn't weigh the seats either although I can tell that my race seat with the bracket is a good 15-20lbs lighter.

 

Thanks!

 

No problem.

 

Thanks for taking the time with the pics and explanation.