Anyone have any experience with the Auto Power roll bar for an R53? Wondering about 2 things: 1) install difficulty 2) after install, does it restrict seat movement? Can the OEM seat be pushed all the way back on the brackets? Also, Who's got aftermarket seats?
Having seen an Auto Power bar & a Safety Devices I'd say go with a Safety Devices. The fit is better IMO. Nathan has a safety Devices bar & aftermarket seats in his MINI.
Yep, I have the Safety Devices one. The seats lose a little bit to the rear depending on the seat and angle. Safety Devices makes a cage for US non-sunroof 1st Gen MINIs as found at BMW Mini R50/53 Hatchback 6 Point Bolt-in Roll Cage | Safety Devices You can purchase RBB024 5SXX - Rear cage, cross diagonal and harness bar. Use with cross door bars only. May be used alone. Note: Door trim requires modification and racing seats must be used. However, and this is the real fun part that the shop (no longer in business) I purchased it from didn't tell me. The yokes to bolt in the halo and door bars are on there. Being I'm not a fan of puncturing body parts the shop in Dallas (where I lived at the time) did an incredible job of removing said protrusions. The affected areas were refinished. You can't tell. They added harness guides too. It also had to be cut down some for the sunroof. Same seller (thankfully out of business) said it was for a sunroof car. Even said so on my invoice. Link to album of rollbar pics.
I have the autopower, I really like it,it looks similar to Nate's. They two sizes, depending on whether or not your car has a sun roof. The rear panels need modification as well on the autopower. The nice thing is that I can fit four tires in the back easily, something that you can't do with the Sneed bar, not sure about Nate's. If the tire thing is important (it is to me), if Nate can get four tires in, I'd go for the cheaper of the two. With the rear seat out, the concave area is perfect for setting in four tires for the track. I don't have the harness guides, that's a nice touch. But if I had it to do over again, I'd go custom at a racing shop and have it welded in. Oh yeah, and full cage too. Which I may do down the road. At that point it will no longer be a street car. I still have stock seats, it really doesn't restrict movement much, if any. Those will be coming out. EDIT: Eric is right. If you're doing this for the track, get it welded in. Or you can get one of the cosmetic (though not functional) bars from Autopower, although if you're not tracking, I wouldn't get one. The bolt in is kind of a compromise, I'd do it differently if I had to do it over. But I'm at the point where I may not drive on the street much, if any, at this point. It's trailer time....
Just so people understand, a roll bar is a safety device designed for dedicated track cars. They actually are less safe for the road: they restrict airbag deployment, and are a hard object for you to smash into during an accident. Installation of any bar is tricky because of it's size. If you are removing the interior to weld it in, you have more space to move about but a typical roll bar that's sold for street use is typically bolted in, meaning you have to accurate fit-n-drill. When you drill the floor, be sure to put rust retardant on the bare metal.
A cage on the street is not safe. They are meant to be used by someone wearing a helmet. The rear cage or roll bar, will be fine for a street driven car. Make sure to pad anywhere you may contact it. If you are going to track your MINI I'd say put a bar in it, if it is for cool looks only I'd skip it. Disclaimer..... I drove my rally car & race car on the street with a full cage for years. It was padded really well, but I was younger & dumber back then. ut: My Safety Devices cage was the best fitting bolt in cage I have ever seen. I had a Kirk cage in one of the race cars & while it passed muster at tech it was the worst fitting cage I've ever seen.
Yes I agree, if I go full cage, the car is a trailer queen at that point. Or drive on the street with a helmet, I guess that would be ok, I'm sure the police would love it.
I can't get 4 tires in the back. Only when 1 is conveyed in the passenger seat can I carry 4. I gotta say, the car is stiff as hell from the roll bar. Gravel roads are an adventure. The gravel hits the mounting points creating a cacophony that resonates through the tubes.
Yeah, the increased rigidity is notable with the autopower as well, it is the "little blue pill" for the MINI.
Plus 1 on those saying bar only if tracking. I would love to keep my Miata roll barless, but since it is going on track it is required and makes sense from a safety perspective for the track. Realistically my car will be safer 10% of the time (while on track) and more dangerous the other 90% of the time (sterrt driving). If you are doing it for the looks just get some cardboard tubes and wrap them in tin foil
That sterrt driving will kill you. You definitely want a rollbar for that. There is an upcoming article in MC2 about sterrt driving, watch for it...
Cardboard roll bars. Funny, but true story, while parting out an old MG we pulled the padding off the roll bar only to discover it was made of PVC plumbers pipe. :lol:
Chuck that sounds awesome! Also my bar is going in Sunday. Midwest Miata Parts is helping me, its a Miata graveyard in Grove City. The owner is an autoXer and good guy. He has a very interesting car: It was called 21 flavors for a while then they started adding up the actual number of cars that donated parts and it was renamed 51 flavors.
Allen make sure to pad that bar. I like you to much to attend your funeral. As much as I'd like a roll bar in my Miata it is too close to my un-helmeted mellon.
I was thinking the same thing...Hitting that bar hard with the back of a helmet will not have a happy ending.
I see the AutoPower bar is able to be welded in as well. Now for an install shop. Called a race shop that I pass every day on my way to work. They seem to only do Mazdas, but we'll see. Also emailed Best to see if he'd do it. Doing a few driving events this year, would feel better with a roll bar.