V8MiataMike

The last item I need to take care of before being able to track the car is a roll bar.

I drive this car daily (if I go somewhere, it is what I drive).

I'm thinking the Hard Dog M2 Sport is the one - no diagonals.

I can put up with some "annoyances" a roll bar might create but I do not want to create any reasons for my Wife not to ride in the car. Seat belt operation may be the deal breaker. Do those extensions really work?

I have a one piece no seams Robins glass top and rear deck speakers installed in that removable piece behind the seats.

So, the roll bar has to be "wife" friendly and allow for the glass window and rear deck speakers. Hard Dog M2 Sport with those seat belt extensions the solution?

charchri4

I had rear deck speakers with my robbins glass top and it was fine. it just came to the edge of them but it cleared. I don't think speakers would make much of a different on bar selection.

My bar has diagonals and wouldn't have one with out them. But I guess like others I have no good answer for you and not really sure what about a roll bar would be not wife friendly.

V8MiataMike

Jim, thanks. I'm worried about the seat belt operation mostly.

Scottgill

I have the hard dog double duce and your glass will clear if I remember correctly. It also has 5 point mounting tabs and the shoulder belts work as designed l'm not sure about your speckers. I built the car more as a daily driver and vacation car than a track car, but it does well on track. I will be at the Mitty if you can take a look. There may be a pic in my photo album ( Copper Top)

charchri4

+1 to the duce best bar ever! Seat belts interfere a tad but no big deal at all. Buckle before you close the door and you are golden.

V8MiataMike

I do indeed like that deuce bar...

MX-Brad

Hey Mike,
I just installed a Deuce. Check out p.2 of my build blog for pics.
It's pretty fresh in my mind still if you decide to go that route, I can offer some guidance if needed.
Brad

Oh, and 100% WAF. No issues at all with seatbelts.

iflyfred

Not to bring up a dead thread, but I'm looking for a rollbar for my NB. Curious if anyone has tried anything different than the ones mentioned or if any new models have come on the scene. a V8 Miata w/o a rollbar is making me nervous.
Thx

engineer

Hi All,

I have to say that the Hard Dog Deuce is arguably one of the neatest looking (and fitting!) roll bars for the Miata. It fits in well, the top can be opened and closed without interference, rear visibility is perfect, it stiffens up the rear section of the car dramatically and it looks ace from all angles!

There is some minor interference on the top seat belt buckle, where the buckle cannot rotate through its full range of motion because it hits the bar. It only really affects the plastic trim piece that sits on top of the buckle bolt, it can sometimes pop off if the belt buckle is pulled hard and forced against the roll bar. But the only serious downside to it versus the other more race orientated hard dog bars is that the deuce is slightly lower in its height and therefore cannot offer the same protection in a severe rollover event. It has to be this way to clear the top. On this ground alone I would not recommend it if you are racing the car seriously as the protection isn't as good as some of the others. As far as the Deuce bar's compliance to racing regulations goes, here is the official word from the manufacturer:

What roll bars meet SCCA guidelines?
We get a lot of calls on this. We called SCCA to find out the truth. According to SCCA, Solo I no longer exists. It was similar to Solo II but at higher speeds. To find out their rules on roll bars we checked out their 2017 SCCA National Solo Rules Book. According to Appendix C on Page 215 the Hard Dog M1 and M2 versions of the Hard Core, Hard Core Hardtop, Sport and the Ace all meet the requirements when equipped with at least one diagonal. We are looking into seeing if any others may also meet the requirements.

What roll bars meet NASA HPDE guidelines?
According to NASA, the Hard Dog M1 and M2 versions of the Hard Core, Hard Core Hardtop, Sport, the Ace and the center-braced Deuce currently meet or exceed their requirements.

I just love the look of the Deuce bar though...for a street car its just perfect

Cheers

iflyfred

Great update, thanks a lot. I’ve got some ordering to do.

engineer

Also check out my build thread if you want to retain the factory windblocker (I advise it if you drive it a lot) with the Hard Dog roll bar. Its not hard to do and looks more factory. It is done with a custom bracket to replace the factory windblocker mounts. All it needs is for the brackets to be longer than standard to ensure the blocker is secured in front of the roll bar.



Deuce rollbar and factory Windblocker installed. Done with custom mounting brackets made with aluminum angle.

iflyfred

Nice! That’s a great idea. I do like having the wind blocker installed. It’s a much nicer ride with the top down