My new Miata has a "style bar." It's nice, but no real protection.

I understand the windsheild frame is beefed up, to afford some protection in a roll over accident. Is this sufficient, or would a hard bar be a good idea?

I'm actually a pretty sedate driver, but this is my first convertible and I feel very exposed.

David

My new Miata has a "style bar." It's nice, but no real protection.

I understand the windsheild frame is beefed up, to afford some protection in a roll over accident. Is this sufficient, or would a hard bar be a good idea?

I'm actually a pretty sedate driver, but this is my first convertible and I feel very exposed.

David

Crazy red's got a pretty good read on style bars and windshield frames (look for the "more about" section in particular):
http://www.crazyred.com/cri/pages/stylebars.html

On other forums the word is the low miata is hard to roll, not impossible, but hard. Easiest to roll in a soft dirt sideways slide or sideways curb hit. The roll bar protection seems beyind the average user need and is more for racing, and style bars arejust that, little protection. YOu're more likely to get killed in a SUV rollover statistically.But, don't take my word, I'd hate to responsible for a safety decision.

SOLSTER

I know guys personally who were only alive due to the roll bar.

a friend of mine rolled over because a van cut in front of him on the highway...he's alive today to talk about it...he had a rollbar.
I have a Hard Dog Double Deuce w/ side brace bars...
it tightened everything up, I feel much more secure, and it looks awesome too!

I have one of the chrome double hoop roll bars, not a hard dog, but not one of those cheap single bolt ones. mine bolt to the frame in 3 places on each side.

with no disrespect to the guys who know people who've benefited from roll bars, I will still post my POV.

This comes from a reliable source, athough, as I said, grain of salt when it comes to safety issues:

Quote AeroDave Solstice Forum:
The Mazda Miata has a five star roll over rating by the people that do safety tests in America. That means that they tested it with the "fish hook" maneuver, and couldn't make it roll over no matter what they tried. There is no reason to believe that the Solstice won't perform the same. That doesn't mean that there's not some weird situation that will make a Solstice roll, but ya gotta ask your self, how many cars have you rolled in the last 20 years?
EndQuote

So, yes IF you roll, a roll bar will no doubt be a good idea, it's a question of how you drive, and statistcal risks. If you drive like a mad man in the congested streets of LA, then you might be asking for trouble, but a rollbar still won't help when a Hummer decides to park on top of you doing 70mph.

my 2 cents

SOLSTER

I installed a hard dog rollbar in my '99. I do a little controled course racing, but mostly a daily driver. I like it, adds safety if you ever need it, stiffens the frame greatly, looks really good!