race911

Some guy running at Buttonwillow last weekend. Miata--factory hardtop, roll bar, comp belts. Pay attention @ 1:10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMmjaaSQP08

Ultimately, they're convertibles. If your number's up, your number's up.

We had one of those SCARGO bars show up on a then pretty new 993 in the '90's. I wouldn't tech it for track duty. Anyone know if Mark made those, or was it subbed out to Rolf?

sdcabrio

Ouch! Did this guy end up walking away from this? Looked like his mellon hit the ground more than once.

race911

No info I heard about him needing to be transported. Guy who forwarded it to our local list ended up not going, so all he had was second hand info.

(In a Karmic twist, this guy, not the flipper, who was supposed to go ended up having his trailer stolen from his shop a couple of days later. If he'd gone, likely his Miata would have still been parked on it and it would have been locked/tethered more securely.)

ljugete

FWIW, I too had my concerns about this issue with my Cab. and wrote to several experts at Porsche and on several forums (incl. my Porsche dealer techs). They all said that the windshield on these cars were very rigid and were designed to protect the occupants during a roll over (they also said that it was very hard to roll over one of these with proper street use). Obvious need for a roll bar with track/Club Racing use.

Looking at your roll over pick (not pretty) it looks like the windshield served its purpose for the occupants.

Wilder

Good thread Jager. This should be top of mind, especially for those with the Speedster windshield. I agree with David's comments.

As evidence by Mike's rollover, this is a safety issue for anyone, not just those who track. Personally, I traded my cab for a coupe the moment I realized I wanted to test the limits of my car. Cabriolets should never see track IMO, especially older cars with outdated safety equipment like the 993.

race911

And I think it's more of an assumption of risk issue. There are no (or should not be any, to anyone with the least bit of common sense) hidden defects with a convertible. Now with all the hardtop convertibles out there..........line could be blurry for those specific cars.

aircooled

Jager,

Watching this thread as I had removed the roll bar in my 95 cab to allow for more leg room in the seat. Also concerned about max protection as well as appearance.

Just ran across this roll bar custom made for a Speedster--like the design, similar to the Boxter hoops. It's pricy but given the time to fab, may not be to bad.

Was listed on E-Bay. No affilation
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...item335a6fbaf0

Cheers, Jim

Arena993

Very nice looking, but wow that's a ton of money. Your right the design and fab of the bar is where most of the $$$$ come in. I like the looks.

Mike

curve lover

Been away long time. Glad to see fascinating viewpoints. (Will soon be away too long again.)
Frank-- I once heard similar regarding 968 cabs' windshields (no OEM rear rollbar). However, I never found it in print from Porsche. If such a statement were true, it was conspicuous that a company would omit safety information, usually a huge selling point.

Devil's advocate:
- If 993 windshield's so safe, why do 996+ cabs have rear (pop-up) rollbars?

- Please respond with factory press references confirming your claims from experts at Porsche, forums, & your dealer's techs.

- Counterpoint: other cab models never thought to reinforce their windshields?

curve lover

Frank & all-- If 993 windshield's are so safe, would anyone here volunteer to ride with Mike on that fateful day? Looks like passenger's head would have added color to the crash site...

curve lover

Jim-- Great eye, thanks for the tip. A like-minded friend who has a 964 Speedster with at Boxster rollbar also sent me the link to eBayer dunavant_d8933's $4,500 rollbar. As I told him, I was already about as familiar with it as someone cross-county can be that hasn't seen it in person. It's Scott Dunavant's, & I had already posted shots of it on RL before he put it up for sale. GLWS, Dunavantent!From "Post photos of your 964 Speedster!" thread...

curve lover

Although the OEM look of the Boxster rollbar & especially its windblocking plastic inserts are a huge draw, I think -- as usual -- Alf knocked this out of the park on page one:
We discussed Heigo's cab rollbar. ["IMHO that Heigo bar looks horrible" ... summarizing quote; no offense meant, still looking to create constructive discussion.]

BUT, I just stumbled upon this, briefly mentioned in the 911 Forum's "Cabriolet roll bar" thread. Although similar to Gemballa & S-Car-Go's rarities, I'm amazed I haven't seen this off-the-shelf option before -- never count out other RLers' resources & knowledge!

I'm strangely drawn to a pre-fab construction, just because it previously defied my pea-brained logic that surely someone's already manufactured a good-looking 993 rollbar. Plus, I've consistently read positive words about Heigo's talent, construction quality, & safety on various forums for years.

Obviously this is advertised for a Speedster (both 1989 & 964). Do you think the fact it wouldn't fit cabs?
Although I have a Speedster, I earnestly want to find an easily available solution for cab owners looking for an eye-appealing rollbar. Is this it?

Heigo's "Porsche 964 Speedster - Doppelbügel" safety bar.


No affiliation.

NaroEscape

I have a 95 cab, used for street/DD use only. And while I would agree that a roll bar would probably make the car safer, so would not driving it at all. I own the car because (in no particular order) 1) I love the looks, 2) I love the drive, and 3) it's almost practical for just my wife and I to use all the time. Yes, we use the back seat for carrying stuff, golf clubs, etc. If I had a roll bar in it, it would become impractical, and lose the looks factor so I would end up never using it - hence, why bother owning it?

Point is, a 993 cab with a roll bar would not be in my garage. I would trade to a 997 cab, which at the moment I cannot afford.

However, if I had ANY intention of using it on the track, even once, it would have a roll bar. But I don't intend that (got two other cars with full cages for that).

curve lover

'new' photo of Scott's Boxster rollbar in a 964, from the non-Rennlist lfor sale page of his Turbo Speedster (no asking price currently listed?). No affiliation.

curve lover

Photos from his eBay ad (no affiliation):