Discussion
I have the tower view bar fitted in my Griff 500. Been meaning to borrow a digi camera and post some pics but haven't got around to it yet.
The twin hoop bars that I've seen don't have any rear bracing which I would think makes them cosmetic only - perhaps better than nothing but if the car rolled at any speed I can't see them staying put.
The appeal of the tower view bar is that it is nicely out of the way of your head so in the event of an accident (not a roll) you're less likely to smash your head on it. I don't particularly like the look of any roll bars so it was purely a safety decision for me and I didn't want to add something to the car which might actually make it more dangerous in the event of an accident.
Hope this helps.
The twin hoop bars that I've seen don't have any rear bracing which I would think makes them cosmetic only - perhaps better than nothing but if the car rolled at any speed I can't see them staying put.
The appeal of the tower view bar is that it is nicely out of the way of your head so in the event of an accident (not a roll) you're less likely to smash your head on it. I don't particularly like the look of any roll bars so it was purely a safety decision for me and I didn't want to add something to the car which might actually make it more dangerous in the event of an accident.
Hope this helps.
Do the people that know think that a proper rollbar (i.e. Rollcentre goal-post type) could be made so that it can be removed when not on a track? Say with some joints near the rear parcel shelf.
I don't like the idea of extra wind noise, loss of rear-view visibility, interruptions to the open air experience, etc.
Ian A.
I don't like the idea of extra wind noise, loss of rear-view visibility, interruptions to the open air experience, etc.
Ian A.
Wanted to bring this up before..so..would it be possible to build a twin hoop that used the mounting points of the proper bar (i.e. including the back stay)? Then include a piece joining the two hoops, placed roughly at shoulder height. This would give the appearance of separate hoops, but maintain most of the strength of the single bar.
IPAddis said:
Do the people that know think that a proper rollbar (i.e. Rollcentre goal-post type) could be made so that it can be removed when not on a track? Say with some joints near the rear parcel shelf.
I don't like the idea of extra wind noise, loss of rear-view visibility, interruptions to the open air experience, etc.
Ian A.
The Tower View one can be removed and it only takes an hour or so. As for rolling the car ... more likley to happen on the public roads than on a track. More hard things like curbs etc that will cause the car to flip.
If you don't have one and the car flips you will never need to worry about the wind noise or anything else for that matter...
You might also want to look at this earlier thread:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=9&h=&t=42477
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=9&h=&t=42477
shpub said:
The Tower View one can be removed and it only takes an hour or so. As for rolling the car ... more likley to happen on the public roads than on a track. More hard things like curbs etc that will cause the car to flip.
If you don't have one and the car flips you will never need to worry about the wind noise or anything else for that matter...
Hmm interesting. Perhaps by track I should have said track or comitted driving. I suppose sod's law says that you'll roll it when you've removed the bar .
I guess it's just down to individual interpretations of acceptable risk (a concept the government should be introduced to).
Ian A.
jellison said:
Pics on the towerview website - why would you want to remove bar - just when you remove it is more than likely when some idiot will pull out in front of you or you flip it (while cruising top down - waste of time IMHO)..... 1 hour - if only I had got it fitted in 1 hour!
I only really want it so that I can have harnesses. I'm aware of the risk of rolling the car without a rollbar and I'm happy with that risk during everyday driving. I would just like the option for track days and serious driving time.
Ian A.
shpub said:With the roof down definately. With the roof up not so. I am sure one of the members of the Berks TVRCC rolled his Chimeara with the roof up and the rear section stayed "up" (or down in this case
Do the people that know think that a proper rollbar (i.e. Rollcentre goal-post type) could be made so that it can be removed when not on a track? Say with some joints near the rear parcel shelf.
I don't like the idea of extra wind noise, loss of rear-view visibility, interruptions to the open air experience, etc.
Ian A.
The Tower View one can be removed and it only takes an hour or so. As for rolling the car ... more likley to happen on the public roads than on a track. More hard things like curbs etc that will cause the car to flip.
If you don't have one and the car flips you will never need to worry about the wind noise or anything else for that matter...
) protecting him from being squashed. I think the windscreen pillars collapsed though so the car was only held up by the targa hoop 
.FWIW I nearly managed to roll a mk1 GT4 Celica. That's a pretty low slung car, with extra low level weight from the 4WD system, so I thought it would take some doing, but it was frighteningly easy. A blocked culvert had caused a stream to flood over the road on a bend, and this had frozen into a sheet of ice overnight. I came round the corner at about 25mph, went completely sideways on the ice and slid into soft mud in the verge. Side of the car dug in and we started to roll. We got well above 45 degrees before we plonked back down onto the wheels again, and we'd lost some speed as the front of the car hit an earth bank.
Rolling "gently" on to the roof of a Griff or Chim might be OK, but I'd rather not put it to the test, so I've had Tower View fit my Chim with the bar (from memory it was about £300 labour £350 parts + VAT).
It isn't at all likely that you could do this in practice, but in theory a car has enough kinetic energy travelling at only about 7mph to end up on its roof.
Rolling "gently" on to the roof of a Griff or Chim might be OK, but I'd rather not put it to the test, so I've had Tower View fit my Chim with the bar (from memory it was about £300 labour £350 parts + VAT).
It isn't at all likely that you could do this in practice, but in theory a car has enough kinetic energy travelling at only about 7mph to end up on its roof.
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