I use my car daily (to and fro from work) and probably 90% of the time I will be going 40mph tops. I was thinking of removing the style bar to sell as need some money and was going to get a TR Lane one in the summer when the top comes down. Not too sure how much they go for on internet but mine is a oem chrome on in excellent condition.
Question is it it safe to drive without one in the meantime for the next 4months?
My MX5 does not have a style bar. Surely a “style” bar is just that, a cosmetic addition that adds nothing to the safety of the occupants.
Not a standard fit and of no safety significance. As the name suggests, style bar.
The only OEM Mk1 style bar was a bar that was fitted to 1.8 Mk1 Eunos Roadsters; it attached to the standard fit cockpit brace bar. Anything else is aftermarket.
I am nervous about the MK1 and the outcome of a rollover too (one of my reasons for buying a newer one), and I don’t think the style bar will do anything in that scenario.
I have also been looking at a TR lane proper roll bar, and have found they sell the same stuff on ebay considerably cheaper than they advertise on thier own website, and with free delivery. So if you are going to get a TR lane, I would suggest buy it from them via e-bay!
I have seen photos where the style bar pivots forwards over the headrests in a crash, acting in the same way as a mousetrap operates. Not good.
That is one of the reasons I removed the one from my '5 not long after I bought it.
Martin.
The main purpose of the oem bars in my 2.5 is to hold the sound board and windblocker. It holds on with 4 small screws and would be no use in an accident. So you will not miss it on the commute to work.
So are we saying all MX5s are dangerous in the event of a rollover with or without stylebar? Or is it better to have one than not?
The MX5 is pretty hard to roll on the road unless you’re being really silly due to its low centre of gravity, I know you can never discount unforseen circumstances but if you’re that worried don’t buy a car with no roof!
I’ve got a style bar, I’ve read the scare storys about them being dangerous but to be honest driving any car is dangerous so I don’t think it’s worth worrying overly about.
I take the same view as I did when I had my (original) Mini - I’m driving a small fragile car, if I total it I’m a gonner therefore drive safer! - Now the 5 is a good bit safer in an accident than a 60s Mini but I think the same principal applies.
I would concur with 
Czinski, in that there is inherent risk with driving a convertable and you’ve deemed to accept that by owning one. We all have.
I don’t see the style bar being of any benefit in a roll over, so you may as well drive without it.
The mk1 has no rollover protection - the windscreen folds in a roll. Not sure if the mk2 windscreen is stiffer.
A proper rollover bar from TR Lane or Hard Dog is your best bet.
The NA was designed for the windscreen to support the weight of the car; in theory. In many rolls, the windscreen pillers are ok.
The standard MX5 remains to be safer than most tintop cars.
http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4204.pdf
65 deaths per million miles compared to the average of 79. And apparently “safer” in a roll, though I think thats been explained by considering that the low CoG means its a bit more difficult to roll a MX5 that most other cars.
Rollbars should be padded with SFI padding, which is firm enough to cause concussion unless you are wearing a helmet. You are more likely to be rear ended in a MX5 than to roll it, so by fitting a rollbar into a road car, in a hard hit, you have increased the risk of your flying doll like body smacking into the rollbar; few people actually pad these. The actual examples of stylebars “mousetrapping”, after 15 years of observing the online debate, is stunningly small. One proved to be misleading; the Alumex bar was bent during recovery operations; the driver was killed instantly when his head hit a loose stone during the roll, so a rollbar wouldn’t have saved him. Driving with the roof up might have. The well known photo:
Strangest roll ever, with the windscreen bent forward. I am still not convinced that all the damage was caused by the roll, and rather happened during the vehicle recovery. The owner walked away relatively unscathed, hence the photo in his garage.
If safety was beyond compromise, a welded in cage would be far superior to a bolt in 4P bar from TR Lane or Bethania Garage. Note, a fully declared rollbar will significantly increase insurance costs with most companies.
Sorry…
No it’s not??? it was not made to just hold a speaker box ,that was a after thought from mazda/ford, it was a style bar, and you could also buy the sound board if you wanted and added to it if you wished to do so,and the OE windblocker is a stand alone item regardless of the added style bar, the hoops and sound board came together on some specials, other than that they where options to buy.
But as said the style bars are just that ,added as a for bit of style/looks good chrome thing, but i do think you are all worring to much, how many of you drove real MG’s and triumphs,lotus’s, etc proper rag tops,basic man and driver cars with no frills and how many while driving them sat there thinking i really don’t like driving this incase it rolls over, cars have moved on a lot since then, get the hairs back on your chests and use them, we were ok then with less protection, man up the lot of you and enjoy them.
M-m
Nice one AT, mazda put a lot into the design of the roadster and testing, and as said we have moved on with the good old rag top from yester year.
Now before we scare every owner on here to death about driving these roadsters, this is not something that happens every day and is few and far between, before you all go running out looking at fitting a roll bar or cage for your trips to the shops and back, or a run to the lakes, you need to look at the reasons this roadster as rolled, and i am not having that it was going to the local corner shop for a news paper and bread.
M-m
Duly noted that the MX5 is generally safe and the windscreen theoretically supports the weight of the car, however please note there are also videos and images to suggest the windscreen won’t always hold up*
*in extreme circumstances/one of the sources is biased/etc
On that video - looks like the window frame held up as well as it would on most tin tops.
On the page from Hard Dog with the (biased) images it does say at the top “No one involved in any of these accidents sustained life threatening injuries.”. They are all pictures from people who have rolled their cars and have gone to Bethania to have HD roll bars fitted to their next car.
Sorry, I disagree…
In the video, the car rolls on its side - the windscreen doesn’t come into contact with the ground until the end when the car lands upside down. The windscreen then caves instantly.
The images on the HD site show cars which have been fitted with rollbars from what I can see…
Even IF you roll it it needs to roll to hard ground or the bar won’t save you. If you’re that worried buy a Volvo Estate, or a SAAB
Go Go Richard, i think it is dead funny to be honest.
I’ll take my chances with the 4 of mine with style bars fitted, nice and dangerous, getting them all wet and dirty in salt and snow winter and summer hot or cold never sorn and all of them live outside, rag top driving, this tread is so funny my ribs really hurt, i think this is heading for the sin bin Richard, so marking them down if a style bar is fitted now to be added to the rules, lol
M-m