I'm new to the track thing and it seems the need for a roll bar is more for safety requirements than the fear of actually rolling your car. So my question is, what are the chances of actually rolling one of these cars? If so, does it really help save lives?

Thanks

 

If you track your car frequently then it is a pretty good idea. To me, adding any type of safety equipment is not a bad idea no matter how low the risk of an accident. I just installed a dassport roll bar in my car and feel it was well worth the money. The dassport is a bolt-in rollbar that provides additional, but not the optimal, protection of a cage or a welded in bar. However, I only do about 2 DE events per year in the blue group, so the protection is enough for me.

Can you roll the car? Absolutely. Is it likely? Depends. For the most part a car like this will not roll while on smooth pavement. However, if you leave the track or "trip up" the car while going sideways, you can definitely do it. If you are running fast or club racing, it pays to be safe. No matter how good a driver you are, you cannot anticipate everything, such as a car in front of you coating the track in oil.

One other thing a roll bar will also add some structural rigidity to the car as an added benefit.

just my $.02

 

Thanks Kirk, could you send me some pictures of what your roll bar looks like in your car? How much was it? Did you install it yourself?

Thanks,

brentturbo83@aol.com

 

We've had a 996 roll up here (Seattle) at a DE event. He went off course sideways, tires dug in, and voila. Completely smashed the top of his car, he was lucky that he wasn't in a harness or that could have been it. The regular 3pt belt allowed for his torso to shift to the side. If you are using a harness, then install a roll bar. If you are using the normal 3pt belt then you can go either way. I would suggest getting a removable one if you ever need to give the kids a ride.

BTW: that guy never came back :/

 

Brent, I will take a pic soon and post. I installed it myself without too much difficulty. Prices are on the dassport site. www.dassport.com. Look for the "weekender" bar.

 

I think roll bars are a good idea even on a street car. I was hit on the
side of my car years ago. Fortunately, I had a roll bar.