Is this Roll Bar legal for races?

[Rob®]

So if a potential buyer were to ask a question about hardtop compatibility on the eBay ad itself, what would you, as a company, say?

[jrj512]

It looks as if it just mounts to the package shelf. Wouldn't it just punch through to the gas tank in a rollover?

[pyro4826]

It looks as if it just mounts to the package shelf. Wouldn't it just punch through to the gas tank in a rollover?

I was told that it somehow goes under the package shelf like you remove it or something. I am going to try to instal it in a few hours to see. If it does mount to that then yeah it would punch through, but if there is some framing there then it would be ok.

[pyro4826]

So if a potential buyer were to ask a question about hardtop compatibility on the eBay ad itself, what would you, as a company, say?

Go with what it says on the site. I am new here so I dont know everything yet. Also I wouldn't have a reply too because on here I don't think I am allowed to advertise.

[Rebel]

Go with what it says on the site. I am new here so I dont know everything yet. Also I wouldn't have a reply too because on here I don't think I am allowed to advertise.

That begs the question, why not ask someone that has worked there longer?

[pyro4826]

I did try asking and they say that it will fit, but I have an odd feeling that it looks off height-wise. I am one of those people that need to see it to believe it. If I could get my hands on a hard top just for a second to check that would be awesome and all questions on height answered, but alas, I do not know of anyone that has a hard top.

[Rob®]

That begs the question, why not ask someone that has worked there longer?

Exactly. Ask the person that posted the ad where s/he got that info. I see under a dozen employees shown on your site, I highly doubt it'd be that hard to track down whomever posted the ad. Just very very off-putting to see an employee of a company ask about an item another employee posted for sale, especially saying they don't believe it themselves. Being new here - or there - or not, that just doesn't seem like a good business approach. But now we're off the topic of the thread, so I'll give up. Hope it works out for you.

[Titus]

It does not just attach to the package shelf. You can tell by the way that there is clearly about 10" below the harness bar, but the harness bar sits about an inch above the parcel shelf in the installed picture. It is similar in attachment as the Harddog Ace, (pictured below) with a few differences... 1) the front and rear attachments are tied together (not a bad thing IMHO), and 2) it does NOT tie into the side of the seatbelt tower like the HD (which makes the Harddog better IMHO)

Ebay Bar:





Harddog Ace:

[pyro4826]

I did ask the original poster of the ad. He says it fits. And there are only 8 of us here.

[pyro4826]

thank you Titus for that find

[Robert]

If it mounts inside the trunk, it probably is not a bad design. I would still go with one of the harddog bars that tie into the seat belt tower.

How do the welds look on it? Where is it made?

[pyro4826]

The welds look good, nothing that looks off at all on them. From the looks of it I think that I could just weld my own part that bolts onto the seatbelt tower also. It is made by Top Speed. There is a factory that we use I cant remember if it is China or Japan.

[trickyrix]

Shitty welds can be ground down and chrome plated to look real nice. The thing that worries me about the eBay bar is that it doesn't tie into the seat belt towers. That would at least give you some extra fore-aft bracing so it wouldn't rip out and mousetrap you if, god forbid, you actually had to use it.

I would hold out for a proven, name-brand, Amurrican roll bar because I'd like to survive a violent rollover in case I have to dodge a rabid raccoon and end up flipping into a ditch.

[Davidss]

Another option would be to buy the ebay roll bar and then modify the mounts.

[Robert]

"Shitty welds can be ground down and chrome plated to look real nice."

The thing that bothers me about a weld that looks real bad on the outside is it’s probably just as bad on the inside. I know that’s not always the case, but it does not inspire confidence in the guy that did the welding. The one place I don’t want a bad welder is on a roll bar.

I am not saying that’s the case here. I cannot see it well enough to tell.

[Rob®]

To save like $100 and end up with a questionable bar though? Since his/her company is selling it, I'm sure their cost is about $30, but the basic HD M2 Sport is $10 more than the listed eBay price. And you *know* the quality of the bar, no modifying anything needed. If s/he absolutely has to have an SCCA-approved bar, the M2 Hardcore hardtop is $130 more than the listed eBay price ($215 more after shipping), but again you *know* the bar is good and SCCA-approved. If s/he buys the one listed and modifies the mounts, there is still a chance that it's no good so s/he needs to start over anyway. Just seems like wasted time, effort, and money for little chance of coming out ahead.

[pyro4826]

I did think about modifying the mounts to it but I dont know anyone who welds or have the money to spend on taking it to a shop. With further investigation though I have found out that the tubing is 1.75" OD and 16 gauge. I am not too sure but I know the size tubing is right on OD but I don't know about the gauge. I think I might just spend the extra money on the M2 Hardcore since it is SCCA approved. Thanks for all the input guys.

[cone-cerned]

Is it time for the "If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet." comment? The "price" seems to be better, but the "cost" after a crash could be much more than I'm willing to pay. I have a HDHCDD.

[VFR750]

I have the Harddog Ace in my car (bought it from Trackdog), it clears both tops just fine and does not foul the seat belts at all. The eBay looks taller, maybe it's just the pictures.....

[brandonmpace]

If you're looking to stiffen the chassis, go with the Hard Dog Sport or Hard Core. The mounting locations give them a farther reach than what the Ace or that Top Speed bar will do.
I have the hard core in my DD and the sport in my brother's car. I like the way the sport bolts to the seat belt towers.

Another thing to look at is package tray access. Not sure about the top speed, but with the hard dog bars I still have plenty of room to put random stuff back there when I need to.