LVDell

Wolfgang_K

I installed it in my 996 3 years ago and it took me 3 hours. Now I swapped my 996 for a GT3 and installed it in that car again. This time it took me only around an hour.

It can be easily done, but there are some things to watch and it does not hurt to read the instructions first. I posted a lengthy report a while ago in another forum, if somebody's interested I could repeat it here....

Greetings from Stuttgart
Wolfgang

996 Convert

Please do, we didn't have any instructions, just Ryan's knowhow.

LVDell

Please do Wolfgang. Much appreciated.

bnewport

The DasSport is around an hour also. The trick with it is the following:

Take the seats out.

Put the rear brace in but don't tighten

Undo the lower seat belt and tie away

Put the race seats in the car, don't bolt em, push em into the foot wells, you'll need room behind the seats. Make sure the rails on the seats are lined up or you'll never bolt em in, ask me how I know...

Run the belts through the seats and

Bolt the Cups to the lower seat belt anchor and attach the stock belt again with eye bolts. Don't tighten

Put the hoop in the car. Put the hoop on the back brace.

Bolt one hoop leg to a cup

Bolt the other hoop leg to the other cup.

Push the hoop home.

Bolt the seats in.

Attach seat belt warning wires to seat belt receptables.

Tighten everything up.

CarlosR

Hey Ryan,

Nice to read about ya doing the roll bar thing. I've gotten better at putting the bar in and out also, although I still find it a pain. I'll try your tip next time.

But I don't like to leave it in when not on the track, because of concerns about safety issues. Some of it is reduced visibility with the top up, but the biggest part is the chance of cracking your head open on it if you are in an accident and not wearing a helmet.

Any thoughts on that?

I did have one thought: wear a helmet on the street -- it seems to fit with the way traffic is around here!

=Carlos=

P.S. Missed you down at VIR a couple of months ago -- it was a good time! Give me a shout when your GT3 comes in, I'd like to come over and see it.

Wolfgang_K

The factory procedure to install the Tequipment bar uses the following steps:

- Remove back seats
- Remove plastic parts of seat belt (top)
- remove cloth hanger
- remove top anchor point of seat belt
- remove B-Pillar panel
- unscrew side panel (the one with the speaker)
- remove side panel to access the floor carpet
- unhook carpet from plastic sill panel
- take a jig saw and modify plastic panel according to the template delivered with the instructions
- put everything together again (without cloth hanger and belt parts).


That is the official way, but it can be shortcut: The only reason to remove all the B-Pillar stuff is to get access to the plastic piece hidden behind the carpet in the footwell. Alternativly you can partly remove the side panel (leave the speaker in) by pulling it at the bottom. It can be bent a little bit (carefully!) to allow you to unhook the carpet in the footwell. Fold the carpet back and you see the black plastic piece (sounds complex, but once you work at it you'll see what I mean).

This plastic piece needs to be modified before you continue with the rollbar itself. I read postings where people tried to 'crush' it to make it fit, but it's definitly better and cleaner to cut it with a Dremel or a Jigsaw. Since there are a lot of electrical lines behind I would be very worried what happens with the splinters.

Here is a picture of what needs to be cut away on each side (the yellow part is about 8x3'')



Once this is done reinstall the carpet and the side panel. If not done yet remove the plastic parts of seat belt (top) now.

Only after that you should lift the roll bar into the car and continue with the installation of the bar itself. Lift the bar into the car with the legs first so that the front legs (more or less) line up with the front anchor points. The crossmember is now lying on the steering wheel (cover it with a towel to avoid scratches). It may be a good idea to use a ratchet strap for the rear legs for the installation. You get a bit more room when pulling the rear legs together.

Now you can rotate the bar pivoting abound the lower anchor points until the rear legs line up with the rear anchor points. It's a good idea to use a big piece of cardboard between the bar and the headliner when rotating. Watch out with the sunroof! There are some mechanics which may rip the headliner!

Now everything should line up, no jamming or pinching.

Install the screws very carefully! The material of the screws is harder than the threads, so it's easy to mess up the threads (it cost me 150$ to repair!). Only tighten them up once all 4 screws are properly in. This is the most difficult part of the installation and may need some time (and sweating and swaering)

It's all a very tight fit, but it really works.


Warning: It is a DIY job, but not for the unexperienced! Leave it to a dealer if you don't feel comfortable with this. You can rip off the rear mirror, scratch the paint, mess up the threads, break the windscreen.....

If you have 'two left hands', better pay for the installation rather than for spare parts or a paint job.

PS: the full story and a few pictures can be found on another US Renn**** Forum, titled 'Porsche TE Roll Bar Installation Guide' in the 996 DIY area.

996 Convert

Thanks for posting Wolfgang. It certainly seems much more difficult for a coupe. For a cab, it's literally undo four bolts, drop it in place, redo four bolts, albeit very carefully to avoid stripping.

Does the factory procedure mention using the ratcheting straps?

Wolfgang_K

No, the factory does not mention the ratchet strap, but life's easier with it.

I think with the cab the whole thing will be easier. You can drop the bar in from top and you don't need to remove the front seats. I guess there is no need to modify these plastic pieces, as they only need to be cut because the bar has to be rotated in the coupe.

But even if it sounds complicated it's not that difficult.....

rmag

Yea - I was all ready to go to VIR, and my friend in FL called and made me the godfather of his new kid. Christening was that weekend, so had to cancel VIR . GT3 shows up in a couple weeks (build already completed), so I'll shoot you a PM when it shows and you can swing on over and drool

bnewport

The biggest problem with my car and the DasSport is the sun roof. It makes the roof clearance lower and I've marked the roof materiel where it got trapped between the top of the bar and the sunroof. PITA.

Note to self, no sun roof next time...

LVDell

I'd be curious to know how in the world you will be "cracking your head open" on a roll bar that is behind seperated by a large seat as well as your seat belt???

CarlosR

Well, this has been (and continues to be) the subject of a LOT of debate, including a couple of threads on this board, if I remember right.

Basically, the idea is that in a serious wreck the spatial relationships between your head, the seat, and the roll bar do not remain constant. Things bend, break, crunch, and just generally flop all over the car. In that process, your head might meet the roll bar. At least, that is the theory that some folks have, including some people that are basically almost professional race drivers.

I'm a little skeptical of it myself, but on the other hand, I don't know that I'm willing to put my life on the line to see who's right.

For more info, you might search the archives, or look around the net. Sorry I don't have a link to point you to, but the discussions are out there. Maybe on the Racing/DE forum, I just don't remember exactly.

=Carlos=

P.S. One other angle: I think the car just looks better without the bar on, when you've got the top down. (but that's me)

LVDell

Then add some padding to the bar would be the best "preventative" measure. But I still don't buy the argument that you can hit the bar. If, and that is a big if, you have your seatbelt on, your chances of hitting the bar are near nil.

Agree as well, cruising with the top down and the beautiful shiny bar is a looker

live2shift

I really got a lot out of all the postings on this and other forums on how to install the factory roll bar, so I thought I would give-back a bit. I think a huge time saver was to modify the plastic sill/rocker panel. Many folks have done the install crushing the panel but I took the advice in the post above and did the mod. I was able to do it without removing the B pillar. Here are some pics that show you how to pry up the carpet and then modify the plastic. I used a dremel tool with a drill bit, and while it isn't pretty it sure worked great and allowed the front posts to drop in without stripping or requiring and other modification. You just pry up the rub and unhook or cut the cutouts in the lower rug that hooks over tabs in the plastic sill and then just pull it out. I could not un hook the tab towards the front of the car and found that slicing the rug worked fine and it did not effect the appearance or function once re-installed. My other tip was that when I had installed the front mounts and was rolling the rollbar rearward, I was trying to get it by the mirror and instead of removing the mirror, it just popped off at the ball socket by accident solving the problem. I popped it back on when I was past it, easy! The pics are of the passenger side of the car taken looking rearward. Enjoy.