On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 23:04:52 GMT, pws > wrote:


>Another problem, since he is not using the car exclusively to race, is
>possibly hitting your head against it in a collision, especially if you
>get rear-ended.
>Rollbars were intended to be used with helmets, and that is a thick
>piece of metal to smack your noggin against that Mazda never intended to
>be on the car.
>....
>For me, it helps that I am only 5'9" with long legs and short torso, so
>my head sits well below the bar. This, however, is not always the case
>with my passengers.
>This is also the Hard Dog Hard Core bar with no hardtop option, their
>tallest bar as far as I know.

Mine is the Hard Core with the hardtop option, and I'm 6'3-1/2". With the
hardtop on (and of course the seat all the way back, where it lives), my head
hits the hard top itself on bumps, but I've never noticed a bump from the roll
bar. Of course with a helmet on, I can't fit under the hard top anyway.

When the hard top comes off, I place heavy foam pipe insulation over the top
hoop, so if my helmet hits the bar, no problem. This works fine for autocrossing
and track days.

For SCCA racing, you must have the hard top on, so I'm out of luck there. But
ten or so track days a year keep me happy anyway -- I don't need racing at my
advanced age, just lots of laps. 8

-- Larry