mk1 roll over strength. shocking videos
Discussion
i guess most people will see these links on the mx5ocforum but because they are so shocking i thought i would post them here. basically a crash test to see the strength of the screen on roll over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0FrSdkHOh4
and from a different angle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGHzyNJ3-kI
if thats not a strong enough reason to get a roll-bar i dont know what is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0FrSdkHOh4
and from a different angle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGHzyNJ3-kI
if thats not a strong enough reason to get a roll-bar i dont know what is!
There's a well known photo of a rolled griffith that looks just as bad... I dont think I'd want a rag top without a good roll hoop personally... mind you, I spoke to a guy at a car show whose uncle had been killed when he hit his head on his roll hoop. So roll hoop and padding then...
I got a roll bar fitted to my car when I SC'd it because of pictures like that though to be honest I've never heard of anyone dying in an MX-5 due to head injuries caused by a roll-over that could have been saved had they had a roll-bar fitted. Let's face facts here - unless you have a full race harness you aren't going to stay tight in your seat in a roll-over anyway so roll-bars won't help much if any.
speedychrissie said:
mine has a roll-bar which in itself seems nice and strong but i do worry about the fact that it is just attached to the seatbelt columns which I don't think are especially strong.
That's not a roll-bar, it's a "Style Bar". These aren't designed with any sort of safety in mind, they are just supposed to look good.JakeR said:
There's a well known photo of a rolled griffith that looks just as bad... I dont think I'd want a rag top without a good roll hoop personally... mind you, I spoke to a guy at a car show whose uncle had been killed when he hit his head on his roll hoop. So roll hoop and padding then...
Hmm... IIRC Nubbin walked away from rolling his Tamora...Podie said:
JakeR said:
There's a well known photo of a rolled griffith that looks just as bad... I dont think I'd want a rag top without a good roll hoop personally... mind you, I spoke to a guy at a car show whose uncle had been killed when he hit his head on his roll hoop. So roll hoop and padding then...
Hmm... IIRC Nubbin walked away from rolling his Tamora...JakeR said:
Podie said:
JakeR said:
There's a well known photo of a rolled griffith that looks just as bad... I dont think I'd want a rag top without a good roll hoop personally... mind you, I spoke to a guy at a car show whose uncle had been killed when he hit his head on his roll hoop. So roll hoop and padding then...
Hmm... IIRC Nubbin walked away from rolling his Tamora...kambites said:
I know of someone who flipped an MGB (which had no rollover protection) and walked away. The car ended up upside down but fortunately the seat back snapped and he ended up lying back over where the seat should have been.
my brother once flipped a go-kart on an indoor track (still dont kow how that happened). luckily he fell out of the kart in mid air and only got some scarred knees and elbows. he was given the very bent and twisted steering wheel as a memento.strangely he still goes go-karting!
Interesting.
I have been considering a proper roll bar. I read that the windscreen / A-pillars are designed to hold the weight of the car - but of course if the car is dropped onto its roof it's a different matter. In this test it looks as if it's OK until the end when it gently rolls onto its roof and flattens the windscreen
I don't know how much better it would be with a roll bar though. Chances are you'd brain yourself on the bar during the rolling...
It's like those people who have in fact been saved in crashes by not wearing a seatbelt because they got thrown clear... it all depends on the circumstances.
I have been considering a proper roll bar. I read that the windscreen / A-pillars are designed to hold the weight of the car - but of course if the car is dropped onto its roof it's a different matter. In this test it looks as if it's OK until the end when it gently rolls onto its roof and flattens the windscreen
I don't know how much better it would be with a roll bar though. Chances are you'd brain yourself on the bar during the rolling...
It's like those people who have in fact been saved in crashes by not wearing a seatbelt because they got thrown clear... it all depends on the circumstances.
I've turned a frogeye sprite over (about 5 times the eye witness said) - barrel rolled it after clipping a drainage ditch. I had a 4 point roll bar with seat and 4 point harness. Only very minor injury was a scrape on the head. (that was when I was young and foolish - now I'm not so young)
My MX5 now sports a similar set-up. There are quite a variety of bars and my feeling is that any additional strength is generally a good thing but I'd agree that you need a proper seat and harness to make effective use of a roll bar.
I would say that the four point cages really ought to go back to the chassis rail area and not just the thin metal shelf. In my opinion mounting to the seatbelt towers is ok (as mine does) but it would be better to go straight to the floor.
The Cusco roll bars look good value against the usual hard dog offerings.
Dave
My MX5 now sports a similar set-up. There are quite a variety of bars and my feeling is that any additional strength is generally a good thing but I'd agree that you need a proper seat and harness to make effective use of a roll bar.
I would say that the four point cages really ought to go back to the chassis rail area and not just the thin metal shelf. In my opinion mounting to the seatbelt towers is ok (as mine does) but it would be better to go straight to the floor.
The Cusco roll bars look good value against the usual hard dog offerings.
Dave
MazDave said:
I would say that the four point cages really ought to go back to the chassis rail area and not just the thin metal shelf. In my opinion mounting to the seatbelt towers is ok (as mine does) but it would be better to go straight to the floor.
My Hard-Dog Deuce is mounted on the floor behind the seats and through the rear shelf to the floor in front of the boot 
It's not the highest of rollbars though so I've also fitted Elise seats so I now sit much lower in the car.
All I need now are a set of 4-point harnesses
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