Has anybody.... a) Got a roll cage/bar on a MKII? b) Got piccies of it (11/99)
Someone was asking about roll bars for the Mark 2 the other day. They may be interested in this http://www.bethania-garage.com/newpage1.htm
Your are not going to like this but try, http://www.networkone.net/~mark/ It looked real nice :) , before he rolled it :(.
That was a 10th anniversary! And it looks like he intends to rebuild it. I don't think I would go out in that again unless it had a new bodyshell, I used to work in a bodyshop and I know full well what some body filler and putty can do.
bloody hell, how did he manage that? I thought it was a bit difficult to roll an mx5 unless you do something really stupid. Those pictures make you want to go straight out to buy a roll bar...
Physics says it's difficult to roll an MX5 on a flat, endless stretch of tarmac (e.g. wide runway). Unfortunately, on (/off!) the road you have kerbs and ditches to contend with. You can even roll an MX5 on a soft verge under certain circumstances if the wheels dig in. I find it worrying that the windscreen collapsed as far as it did. Is there any way to fit a full (padded) roll cage to an MX5 without buggering up the roof/windows operation?
After seeing the photos of the guy, in the states who turned over his 10AE, It has got me worried, and thinking about roll cages, roll over bars, and loops, for my own. Most of the net advertised ones are style bars, and not for use as a safety device !. I see that safety devices actually make roll over hoops for the '5'. Has anyone got these ? (11/99)
Anyone got 'Safety devices' fitted roll over hoops to the their '5' ? I have seen prices in the 450 mark for chrome ones ? I know Moss can supply them, where fits them ? A lot of the net advertised ones seem to be style bars, and not roll bars. (11/99)

I called Safety devices yesterday, and the guy there, confirmed that they are developing speedster bars for the Mk II, and this will be available around February time 2000. This will only be available through Moss . The Mk I bars are available now at £250-£370 depending on finish.

He couldn't tell me how effective this would be, if you turned your '5' over. Stating these were more cosmetic, but made by a well established roll cage company. ?! Does anyone make speedster bars, designed to stay in shape on a roll over, I wonder ... (11/99)

I thought Safety Devices Speedster bar (at least for the M1) were designed to stay in shape in a roll over, at least according to their website (by spreading a load on a "special frame", so I guess its not a proper roll bar). Of course, these seem to carry no type of TUV/FIA/SCCA/whatever approval, so who knows. Some of the Japanese companies to skewed roll bars (ie. the bar is skewed to the drivers side, with diagonal bracing across where the passenger should sit), ie. Garage Vary has a selection of layouts on their site.

Have a look through: http://home.earthlink.net/~cvlocas/ There is a pretty comprehensive list of Japanese manufacturers links here (many of them will need Translingo, www.translingo.com to translate into english). Including a link to RS Watanabe (nearly all the after market Minilite wheels you see on Roadsters are made by Watanabe. Apparently lighter than Panasports.....) Also worth emailing the guys at Speedlab: http://www.speedlab.com/ as they've been pretty helpful to me in the past. They may know whether such a product exists in Japan, and can quote a complete price in USD. (11/99)
Anyone know anything about roll bar padding? After fitting a Carbing rollcage into my Roadster, I think I need some proper stuff (rather than the pipe lagging at the moment). The rollcage took me 2 days to put in properly; 18 holes to be drilled into the car floor and chassis, and big lobs of parcel shelf to be snipped off. Basically, this roll bar consisted of a main hoop section, which bolted directly to the floor behind the seats, 2 bolt on rear stays, which go through the shelf and bolt to the double skinned part of the boot floor, and a couple of side bars, which bolt to the main hoop, and extend down to the end of the footwell. The roof _only_ just clears the bar, which I suppose is a good thing (don't want it too much lower or its useless). The car feels very solid, and there no obstruction to rearward view. Raising the roof requires a slightly different technique from before. The main hoop limits rearward seat travel quite a bit; I'm 5'11", and can only just get comfortable, so taller people might want to consider this when choosing a rollbar. The side trims on the sides of the seats required a slot cutting into them. so they could clear the bolts for the side bars ok. These trims appear easily replaceable, so I might improve this by fitting slimmer coachbolts. At first, it was a bit awkward getting in and out of the car with the sidebars in place, but I've gotten used to it now. I've got to figure out where to mount a 4-point harness now; no rear brace bar to wrap it around, and I'm not sure the tin on the shelf is really strong enough for mounting loops. For sprints/hillclimbs, which I might eventually try with this car, 3-point harnesses will be illegal for MSA events. If anyone fancies a "full-on" rollcage like this, Ka Yu has a couple of similar ones going in their yard for around £120-130. Anyone know what something like this would cost to get chromed? (8/01)
Rollbar padding is available from Demon Tweeks in various grades and colours from 7.71 per 3' length in 6 different colours, up to the new Confor-Foam Hi Impact Rate Responsive Foam - as used in F1 (I quote!) from a staggering 50.00 a length !! Incidentally, I totally agree with Alex's comment about rollbar fitting . I've fitted the Double-diagonal Hard Core bar from Bethania Garage, and it took a day and a half to do the job properly. It necessitated removal of both quarter panels, the seat belt anchorages, the fuel tank cover, and the trim panel that covers the fuel hose in the boot ........ it also helps a lot to take the seats out as well. The fuel tank cover needs surgery with a metal cutting jigsaw, as does the panel beneath, as well as the removal of the plastic trim inside the rear wheel arches, to access the areas where the backing plates are secured. The quarter panels need to be cut in half, with subsequent surgery with a Dremel or jigsaw to clear the inner mounting brackets, but the final result is very neat, and seat travel and recline are unaffected. The only negative aspect was that I had to get rid of the glass back window and Oris windblocker, but the newly acquired Halfords one (with a couple of Vecro straps attached) works just as well. I've retained the standard 1.8 rear brace bar, so with the extra bracing down to the boot floor, the shell has got to be stiffer, and the bonus is that the Hard Core comes with harness mounting lugs. This has enabled the fitting of a pair of 4-point Sparco harnesses, which attach via holes in the rear deck, whilst retaining the inertial reel belts for everyday use.The whole range Hard Dog / Hard Core range is available for review at http://www.bethania-garage.com/miata.htm , and is available in the UK from Chris Hardy of Sports and Classic Solutions. (8/01)