[mceb]

I know a rollover is a slim chance in something so low but I was wondering about possibities of upgrading the safety factor.

Do you think it will even be possible to add an after-market roll bar with the way Solstice is designed (flush right up to the cabin).

 

[SolsticeMan]

mceb,

a rollover is not so rare as you think - the corvette has a rather high rollover rate despite it's stability.

The majority of rollover accidents are single vehicle, road-leaving and tripped events. The corvette is one of the vehicles that tends to be an anomaly that indicates that the driver is part of the equation for rollover propensity (since the vehicle parameters are nearly as ideal as you can get).

As far as a rollbar fitting - my guess is there will be some way to get a bar in - I have yet to see a car that it hasn't been done in so far. It's possible to fit them into a miata.

We'll just have to see, but more importantly, it's not likely to be something that looks like it "belongs" to the design.

 

[mceb]

a rollover is not so rare as you think - the corvette has a rather high rollover rate despite it's stability.

Thanks! I'll be on the lookout for some after-market rollbars then :yesnod

 

[Troy Roberts]

It's nearly impossible to add one into a convertible vette that meets NHRA and SCCA regulations.

One of the major issues is that the bar should be a certain height over the driver's head. To do that it is too high to close the top.

I have seen some rollbars put into convertible C5 Corvettes but I don't think they technically were compliant with all racing organization rules. Of course, you might get through tech anyway.

 

[Kit Carson]

Do you think it will even be possible to add an after-market roll bar with the way Solstice is designed (flush right up to the cabin).

I'm with you on that one. I'd want roll bar for street use. There was an earlier discussion about roll bars, but most people were talking about roll bar for racing.

 

[dls6774]

The Miata forum has a thread going about rollbars. One of their members dropped his cell phone and while reaching for it the car got off the road, caught and flipped. His rollbar and harness saved his life. From the gist of the thread it seems it is easy to roll a car if you get it going a little sideways off the road where it can 'catch'. Then your theme song becomes 'here we go loop de loop'. :eek

 

[DreamerDave]

:agree That's how my Civic ended on it's side Friday. I can't believe in that previous thread I said something like how it was almost impossible to flip a modern car! I'll be getting something a whole lot stronger than the "style bars" I had planned on putting in the Solstice. But I think it might be a little overboard with helmet and 5 point harness for the street.

 

[dls6774]

...I'll be getting something a whole lot stronger than the "style bars" I had planned on putting in the Solstice. But I think it might be a little overboard with helmet and 5 point harness for the street.

You don't want Santa to be leaving that Nomex suit under your tree then?

On a more serious note, style bars, from what I've been reading are a no-no. People with them that are unfortuate enough to roll their vehicles can be hurt worse or even killed by the darn things.

 

[Fformula88]

Hopefully someone will work out a tasteful looking roll bar solution that fits under the top and is compliant with the weekend racers among us.

 

[bigd]

What do you think is under that M-shaped cover that's behind the seats?

 

[mceb]

What do you think is under that M-shaped cover that's behind the seats?

We discussed it a while back but couldn't make much out of it (someone correct me if my memory is off).

 

[brentil]

What do you think is under that M-shaped cover that's behind the seats?

I had speculated it was a roll bar, but pretty much everyone else thought it was just a non-load bearing support for the chasis.

 

[Fformula88]

I had speculated it was a roll bar, but pretty much everyone else thought it was just a non-load bearing support for the chasis.

This seemed to be the consensus on the forum. That it was a structural element to the vehicle, but was not actually a roll bar. It sits down in the car for starters, and to offer good protection it would need to raise above the seat headrests. Also, look how it is attached. It just seems to be sitting on a flat piece of steel without being attached directly to the frame structure of the vehicle. That folded steel certainly is not going to be strong enough to support the vehicle’s weight on a rollover.