rollover protection

The hoops aren't a roll bar, and you're correct in that Tech Inspectors won't accept it if a certified roll bar is required by the venue or sanctioning group. I was an SCCA Tech Inspector and we were very picky about roll bars as far as measuring above the drivers head and confirming the dimensions on the material and how they were installed. Boss Frog, Hard Dog and other professional fabricators have bars that are certified for track use and that always simplified the approval if the driver fit correctly.
This car is pretty hard to roll and the topic has ignited passions in the Miata community that were almost as intense as someone asking about the best motor oil! I've been in the Miata community for 14 years and the number of rollovers has been very few.

Pete

The people at "track night in america" (SCCA) have indicated its ok to track the car when I contacted them to clarify. The people at "hooked on driving" have indicated its not ok on their website but I'm in contact with them to clarify. Will update. I hope its ok with them. They have track time at Sebring which is less than an hour from me. The Fiat brochure mentions "roll bar cover" ie the different colors for different models. So to me thats a claim of a roll bar. I also contacted Fiat to see if the car "offers roll over protection".

thanks for your input.

jalanjalan said:

The people at "track night in america" (SCCA) have indicated its ok to track the car when I contacted them to clarify. The people at "hooked on driving" have indicated its not ok on their website but I'm in contact with them to clarify. Will update. I hope its ok with them. They have track time at Sebring which is less than an hour from me. The Fiat brochure mentions "roll bar cover" ie the different colors for different models. So to me thats a claim of a roll bar. I also contacted Fiat to see if the car "offers roll over protection".

thanks for your input.

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Roll over protection system is mentioned in Fiat promotional material for the 124, and I've seen it on dealer sites. However, I'm not sure I'd trust those hoops under the plastic for any higher risk driving, even though it might be allowed. I'd be inclined to get one of the larger roll bars that are available and attach to existing mount points.

Yeh, but I'm not talking about wheel to wheel racing, just cruising around the track. I'm more afraid of being hit by an SUV on the road than flipping over on the track. If it were a bolt in swap of the existing hoops without cutting up the interior I might consider it.

jalanjalan said:

The people at "track night in america" (SCCA) have indicated its ok to track the car when I contacted them to clarify. The people at "hooked on driving" have indicated its not ok on their website but I'm in contact with them to clarify. Will update. I hope its ok with them. They have track time at Sebring which is less than an hour from me. The Fiat brochure mentions "roll bar cover" ie the different colors for different models. So to me thats a claim of a roll bar. I also contacted Fiat to see if the car "offers roll over protection".

thanks for your input.

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Did you get an answer back from Fiat?

P.S. - What is that ugly looking car that looks about to rollover in the third picture? That thing looks like it needs some suspension tuning.
P.S.S.Good discussion to have with those Bondurant school guys. Any of you Abarth owners gone yet?

Fiat has thus far refused to sat either way. They were useless.

jalanjalan said:

Fiat has thus far refused to sat either way. They were useless.

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I would not expect an answer from Fiat unless it was "no...not intended as a safety device". They would be open to all sorts of liability.

Stelvio said:

P.S. - What is that ugly looking car that looks about to rollover in the third picture? That thing looks like it needs some suspension tuning.

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Looks pretty flat for an MX5. I think they've already gone there!

Stelvio said:

Man, them are some ugly welds. It looks like someone hockered on them.

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That's just what I was thinking. Heck, my first attempts with my mig welder doing aluminum looked better than that and I though mine looked horrible - until I saw this.