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Roll bar recommendations?

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My Porsche race car has a full cage, 6 point harness, a racing seat, fire system, detachable steering wheel and I have a HANS device. I now find my Boss 302 is running within 2.5 seconds a lap (on street tires) of the Porsche running on Toyo R comps (at Summit Point). That's pretty scary with just a factory seat belt. I would like to install a roll bar (not a cage) and a harness with sub belt that will allow me to use my HANS. However, I'd like to do it as bolt in as possible and allow return to stock with a minimum of visible holes. Questions:

Recommendation for a bolt in rollbar? I realize I will likely need to delete rear seat.
Anyone have the factory Recaro slotted for a sub belt? Maybe I should just get a real race seat.
Any other suggestions?

Thanks!
 
I am very happy with the MM rollbar and Cloud9 also has one but his has a fixed harness bar and mine is removable. The fit is very nice and aside from lining up the rear wheel well holes, it was a easy install. We both got them from LPI Racing, very helpful store and the price was less then ordering from MM themselves.

There is another site member (Kendall) that has put together a rollbar kit for the Boss and you can get them custom painted. I have not seen one in person but I do know the people that bought them seem happy and I know of no complaints with his bar.
 
Those both require adding new holes? I might get one if not. I am normally not a bolt in guy, but this car really needs decent track seats and harnesses
 
Hello
There alot of guys like the one form Cool Tech . There a link to there thread read it through it a nice roll bar http://forums.themustangsource.com/f813/cool-tech-roll-bar-sneak-peek-502918/
 
ChuckP said:
My Porsche race car has a full cage, 6 point harness, a racing seat, fire system, detachable steering wheel and I have a HANS device. I now find my Boss 302 is running within 2.5 seconds a lap (on street tires) of the Porsche running on Toyo R comps (at Summit Point). That's pretty scary with just a factory seat belt. I would like to install a roll bar (not a cage) and a harness with sub belt that will allow me to use my HANS. However, I'd like to do it as bolt in as possible and allow return to stock with a minimum of visible holes. Questions:

Recommendation for a bolt in rollbar? I realize I will likely need to delete rear seat.
Anyone have the factory Recaro slotted for a sub belt? Maybe I should just get a real race seat.
Any other suggestions?

Thanks!
Chuck,
You most definitely want to go with the Cooltech roll bar.I think it is the trick set up for 2 reasons.Design and the fact that it has a rear shock to shock brace to add more stiffness.I have one that is going into my new Boss.He also has the best belt system that has a sub strap system that requires no drilling or mods.
Best regards and Happy Easter!
Ron
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
Moderator
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I am trying to figure out how that anti-sub strap system works. On the cooltech website that show a 6 pt rotary lock that looks similar the the Schroth system with the lock as a tie point for the anti-sub straps. But in the other pic they show what looks like 2 additional straps that start at the hips, go over the thigh and them to a single common point on the floow somewhere. Does anyone have detailed pics at all conneciton points of this system installed ? I'm trying to figure out if I can use some of their hardware and still use my Schroth Profi-II system in a 6 pt mode as opposed to a 4 pt with ASM that I have now.

As for the Cooltech bar, that's a 1/2 cage and it's not really 'bolt in'. I thought Chuck was just looking for a bar that was installable with no mods. I also don't think the the Cooltech system is SFI approved either. I assume that's needed if you want to run the Boss in more than just HPDE's. Not sure if that really matters to anyone, having this system is obviously better than not having anything at all.
 
PeteInCT said:
Not interested in the cage info. Just need to see the install details for the sub belts.
I posted photos in the Track Time thread. You sit on top of the sub belts then bring them up between your legs and then attach them to the latch.

Here's the photos:

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Cali, both bars require drilling four holes in the rear wheels wells as stated. The main hoop attaches to a brace that replaces the weaker factory one, no additional holes are drilled for this part of the install.

Pete, like Rick said it is very simple. I was unsure how the belts would work and thought it can't be that simple but it is. I attached the crouch straps to the rear seat bolts at first but now I have them attached with eye-bolts at the factory lap belt mounting points.

All the is required is to run them over the side bolsters, then when you sit down you pull the clip up between your legs and buckle it in. They do not go around or over the top of you legs. The hardest part is getting a good adjustment, after you find it you should not have to change that. It is a great setup and I don't see the need to make a hole in the seat for a five point, I have used five point years ago and like this set up better.
 
I was wondering why nobody made a sub belt like that. I'm probably going with the Corbaeu harness bar, as this is my street car, then maybe one of these belts. Going to test it with the harnesses I already have in the other car.

Why did you switch positions on the sub mounts? The cooltech mounts look good in 5DOT0's pic, I'll probably end up getting them.

What do you guys do about the seat belt buzzer? Is there a trick to turn it off, or do you just buckle the oem belt behind the seat? That's what I do in our Jeep at the ranch.
 
I wanted to try the Cooltech but honestly I did not get a response from them. In the mean time LPI sent me the eye-bolts and they work.

I posted directions somewhere for turning off the buzzer, you clip and unclip the belts eight times and watch the seatbelt light in the dash to turn them off. Just check the owners manual it is in there.
 
Found it, didn't expect it to be in the manual. I had to convince the tech at the dealership to turn it off with their computer on my Tundra, since it is a pita at the ranch with all the gates.

P.141-142 in 3rd edition of search for "Deactivating/activating the Belt-Minder"
 
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The Cool Tech system looks great. I like the fact they came up with a harness system that does not need a hole for sub belt. I may still switch to a race seat on driver's side though. Question on that: I know there is a sensor on the passenger seat to the activate the passenger side airbag (and probably seatbelt warning). Is there any similar sensor on the driver's side that I would have to deal with if I switch the seat? I don't see why you would need one because it's probably safe to assume there is a driver in the seat if the car is in motion! Thanks!
 
Great discussion here. I'd like to point out some of the differences of the Cool Tech roll bar when compared to others. The Cool Tech bar was not the first to market so, 1) we had a few examples to look at and; 2) we could make improvements that we thought could differentiate the bar in the marketplace. The design criteria for the Cool Tech bar was that we wanted the bar to not only work well, but we wanted it to look great in the car. The best compliments that we have received from customers (several times) is that the bar looks OEM - just like Ford did it. We took a more difficult approach than existing bars and we put two bends (per side) in the main hoop to better conform to the car's roof line. Next, we knew we had to incorporate a harness bar but we also did NOT want to inhibit seat travel like existing bars did. The solution was to kick the harness bar back ~6". In doing this, both seats have their full adjustability AND the rake of the seat-back could exceed any reasonable driving position. If you look closely, you will see that our harness bar not only kicks back, but it also angles upward. This is because the harness bar height is critically important to safety as it often serves as the anchor point for shoulder harnesses. The angle between the top of the driver's shoulders and the harness bar should be between 0 and 20 degrees. It was our opinion that existing designs placed this bar too low. Here are some pics that show some of the things that I have just described.

MainHoop.JPG



MainHoopHarnessBar.JPG
 

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