I know the Built-by-bones one and the autopower street and street sport both keeps the rear seats, however, which one is the cleaner install, i prefer NOT to drill a big hole in my interior until someone can find me a cheap interior panel so i can replace it if i ever sell

 

you could always leave the rear panels out or have someone fabricate some custom ones for you

 

Don't be a puss. Just get the AP 6-point and call it a day! I am having cage envy and find myself sitting in the cage playing the John Cooper Challenge in my mind. Plus, if your gonna put some sort of cage in there...who cares about 2 holes in the rear panels? Your not selling the car......

 

A full roll cage , even padded, is a bad idea for daily driver use.

 

i think built by bones has a cage that is fully bolt in and also alow's use of rear seat?

 

I know you can keep the rear seats in place with the autopower bolt-in. The question is why would you want rear seats once you have the roll bar? It is nearly impossible to even get into the back seats with the bar installed and once your back there you have a steel bar in front of your face. Not a good recipe in the event of a collision. As others have said I dont think you can get around either cutting holes in the side panels or removing them entirely. Thats not to say you can't get creative and make your own rear panels post install.

 

I assume that this is for a street driven car if you're concerned about maintaining rear seat functionality. It seems as though a roll cage would be more liability than benefit unless occupants are wearing helmets.

 

By the way, I have the Autopower street/sport roll bar installed in my car. This picture was taken right after install. There honestly isnt that much more noise in the car now that it is fully gutted in the rear. There is a bit more exhaust drone and the sounds of rocks hitting the fender wells can be heard but its nothing a good stereo can't cure.

 

Can I ask you why you went with a roll bar without a diagonal? Since you don't have a rear seat it wouldn't be in the way. Seems to me it would be stronger with one. I'm close to buying a roll bar so if there's a reason I should know about please tell me before I buy the wrong thing.

Thanks,

 

I just examined each model before making my decision. This car is a daily driver with no immediate plans for any type of track use. An extra bar will add weight among other things. I am sure the bar as a whole would be a bit stronger, but I feel the way the car is setup now is near perfect for street use. Virtually neutral in the corners and has made a night/day difference in this cars handling.

Now that I think about it I would see no problem with keeping the rear seats if you opted for the Street roll bar. This bar features no cross bracing and would not interfere with rear seat use.

 

I have an AUTOPOWER

IF you mount the main hoop far enough forward the rear seats can be moved up or down by removing the headrests. With all bars attached.
That put the unit to far forward for me as the drivers seat couldn't be moved all the way back.
So I need to remove the horizontal bar (just one side) to raise or lower the rear seats.
BOTH the horizontal and diagonal bar can be removed for daily driving and installed for track days.
Then you can get in and out, and sit without a bar right in front of your face.

I spent a lot of time on my panels and the are CLEAN and TIDY

 

Did you slot the panels or get away with making 1 hole on each side. I'd like to see pictures of that section if possible. For my purposes I do not need any rear seats and love the added storage room I get with no rear panels/seats. Im contemplating doing a "streetrod" rear interior using materials from our other business.

 

Thanks for your fast response. A diagonal adds a lot of strength to a bar. I understand your decision though. If you ever change your mind a diagonal is easily added.

I'd say that if you have a bar, any bar, you should never carry any passengers in the rear seat. Scares me to think what could happen.

 

Nice job on those side panels. Detailed pictures would help a lot.

Here are a few observations. I'm just trying to help here. The way you are running your harness may well cause you broken collar bones in a shunt. It would be better to run them over that horizontal bar.

Neither of you guys are running any roll bar padding on your bars. In an accident your body will move more that you'd ever imagine possible.

 

well... yes it is a street driven vehicle, and i do have use for the rear seats, but it is mainly for short runs in the city, typically if it's a long run it'd be just me or a second rider.

i need something with a removable diagonal brace (like the built-by-bones one with the diagonal brace), or the autopower (street sport i believe) so i can run a real 4 pt. harness in the car for track and take it out when i am not on the track

from the looks of things seems the built by bones is the better option, unless someone can tell me autopower is better

 

Thanks for your input
I do not use the HARNES in that position (this was a "photo op")
The debate of roll bars in street cars goes on and on ...
Remember some people didn't want to use seatbelts in case they crashed into a river ...
Other than a helmet what "other protectrion" does a race driver have ???
My lateral resistance is MUCH better and a roll wouldn't be as damaging...
I know the PROS and CONS ... and choose to run the bar on the street.

OK
so ... I'll take some photos
in short I cut a hole and a section out.
If you cut a hole ONLY you would have to be spot on and the hole would have to be very big to allow installation of the panel once the bar is in place

 

I'd be very interested in seeing what you do with the rear interior.

 

I don’t have rear seat usability with my roll bar but I have the install instructions for the Built-By-Bones SportBar. It calls for a 1 ½ inch diameter hole saw and locating the spot for the hole is easy to see; interior side trim will not have to be removed. The bar’s method of construction and assembly will allow some base plate latitude if the hole were off a small amount. In my opinion the location for securing the Built-By-Bones SportBar rear support baseplate is in a better load bearing place than the Autopower’s sport/street bar, also the main hoop footplate is much more robust on the Built-By-Bones bar.

Padding is a must, anything is better than nothing, but SFI or FIA rated padding would be better still.