scootz
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:07 AM |
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Pop-Up Roll Bars
The one thing that I think ruins the lines on an Ultima Spyder is the roll bar - looks like a piece of scaffolding!
Thought about changing to 2 roll-hoops, but the chassis doesn't really lend itself to this.
So... just bought a couple of the spring loaded 'pop-up' BMW E46 Convertible roll bars. Pretty heavy stand-alone units, but very sturdy
and would appear to fit into the chassis.
They activate once the car has tipped past a certain angle.
Even better - they hardly protrude above the bodywork when passive, so nice clean lines!
Disclaimer: It is normally the case that as soon as I find an 'answer' to one of my long-standing problems, someone comes along with a
dozen or so perfectly sound reasons about why it won't work. Please can I be left to bask in my genius decision for at least another 5 minutes
before being knocked off my happy-perch!
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:15 AM |
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sounds very nice, how complex are the electronics to wire in? I'd be scared they'd smack me in the face sometime 
how much and how big?
lots of how's there 
[Edited on 30/5/08 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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scootz
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:19 AM |
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No wiring... its a mechanical stand alone spring triggered thingummy-jig!
VID HERE
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Guinness
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:27 AM |
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Cool!
Mike
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scootz
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:28 AM |
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Oh... size? Maybe 60 x 30 x 10... I am however guessing as I don't have the units in front of me. Will confirm!
Cost? £70 delivered!
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Howlor
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:35 AM |
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They look violent but being BMW should do the job ok. Make sure you mount them the right way round!
Steve
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Guinness
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:35 AM |
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You could mount them upside down and jump over speed bumps.
Mike
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Humbug
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:36 AM |
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just a thought (well two actually)
1. I wouldn't want any part of my body in the way when it went off
2. If they do go off (even for testing) how the hell do you push them down again? It can't be easy, otherwise once they deployed they would just
get pressed in by the road!
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iank
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:38 AM |
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So long as they are purely based on tip angle (and don't take vehicle weight into account) and you can mount them solidly enough they should be
fine IMO.
However as you can't really test them at home I'd always have a slight worry in the back of my mind about whether they would actually work
properly if the worst comes to the worst.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:40 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Humbug
just a thought (well two actually)
1. I wouldn't want any part of my body in the way when it went off
2. If they do go off (even for testing) how the hell do you push them down again? It can't be easy, otherwise once they deployed they would just
get pressed in by the road!
One time use IIRC. Cars that are rolled on the road either get written off and never used again, or the insurance will cover the cost of new roll
bars.
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Howlor
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:40 AM |
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4 mounted upside down with a castor on the top of each one and you have an inspector gadget Ultima!
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:40 AM |
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hmm can't get the vid to play 
so the whole release mechanism is mechanical? I thought it was triggered by electronic tilt sensors.
Maybe there is a catch that you can release to pull it back?
woundn''t want the little dog to be sitting on the parcel shelf then bong!
[Edited on 30/5/08 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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nib1980
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 08:41 AM |
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They are a fantastic system, but I have seen them deploy, when taking a bump at speed, the G sensor in them can be tricked.
But still a good idea
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scootz
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 09:56 AM |
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The car they came from was not rolled, so they are structurally intact.
I understand that some car makers do use pyrotechnics on these types of devices and are 'one use only', but the E46 ones are mechanically
activated, so can be re-set.
I'll be doing LOTS of sim work to satisfy myself that they are functional in another application!
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dan__wright
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 10:24 AM |
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the Merc one are spring loaded and can be reset, they latch to stop them being pushed in once deployed but are easy to push in once you disable the
latch.
as said they can be set of fairly easily by going over a hill too fast etc (clarkson set the merc one off by getting the wheels off the ground at the
top of a hill)
FREE THE ROADSTER ONE…!!
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nitram38
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 10:26 AM |
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They may be ok from a safety point of view, but if you are looking to keep your weight down (such as a bec) then these add unnecessary weight.
OK for an Ultima with loads of power though
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 10:42 AM |
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I'd love to see a picture of the units when you get hold of them, very interesting
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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scootz
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 11:45 AM |
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 11:57 AM |
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ahhhh so their behind the seat...I see
bet they'd be scary as hell if you rolled as the ground would come up very close and would be not much comfort if you were going through bushes.
Think I'll still go for my full external cage...
a real bargan at that price though
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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scootz
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 12:17 PM |
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Think it would be scary as hell rolling with any type of roll bar!
The pic is of them in the closed position - they extend almost the same again (actually pop the same height as the roll bar in the Ultima).
Did you manage to see the YouTube clip?
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 12:56 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by scootz
Think it would be scary as hell rolling with any type of roll bar!
The pic is of them in the closed position - they extend almost the same again (actually pop the same height as the roll bar in the Ultima).
Did you manage to see the YouTube clip?
no I can find it, but it's not downloading, will have a look when I get home. I did think that was them extended.
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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kb58
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 01:27 PM |
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The mechanical activation bothers me. If it uses any sort of inertial or tilt senser, depending how the car rolls, it might be fooled into never
activating.
I'd be concerned there's some situation where the sensor(s) only see positive g's as the car rolls, and never activate. I'd
expect that situation might exist more on a race track than on the street.
Now that I think about it, you could also argue the opposite case, that having this mechanism on the race track will very likey cause it to go off
accidentally, never mind the safety inspectors won't let you onto the track due to "missing" the required safety gear.
For myself I want the piece of mind knowing the rollhoop is always there.
BTW, what do the assemblies weigh?
Mid-engine Locost - http://www.midlana.com
And the book - http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/midlana/paperback/product-21330662.html
Kimini - a tube-frame, carbon shell, Honda Prelude VTEC mid-engine Mini: http://www.kimini.com
And its book -
http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/kimini-how-to-design-and-build-a-mid-engine-sports-car-from-scratch/paperback/product-4858803.html
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britishtrident
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 07:24 PM |
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Years a go one of the instructors and a racing school was injured because sitting in the passenger side he had only the standard inertia reel seat
belt, the drive had a full harness fixed belt.
In the shunt (a roll I think) the inertia reel belt extended quite a bit before it locked up as a result the instructor made fair hard contact with
the solid bits of the car.
[Edited on 30/5/08 by britishtrident]
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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JoelP
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| posted on 30/5/08 at 07:37 PM |
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my mate set his off in a bmw by driving too fast down a country lane. IIRC he got them reset at the main dealer, im sure he would've moaned a
lot louder if he had had to replace them!
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