These bars popped up on eBay and have sparked a fair bit of discussion on one of the other forums. Two types available: Hoops and what I’d call more traditional that bolts to the floor of the boot as well as the seat belt towers.
I ummed and ahhhed for ages and read lots of OPINION that didn’t seem to be backed up by very much science. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion but these bars got slated on other forums and described as nothing more than style bars. Personally I think thats totally unjustified unless you’re looking for full on race use. But hey, that’s another opinion.
Well I was in the market for a new style bar and decided to go for the hoops. Picked one up for £60 plus postage and just fitted it today so thought I’d post my opinion to help out others who may be in the same dilemma I was.
First off, driving a MK1 like me, I’d say you’ve got way more chance of losing your legs in side on or frontal impact than actually rolling the car and losing your head. So that helped me make up my mind about spending £300 on Hard Dog or £60 on TR Lane. And if you’re racing go get a full cage not just hoops.
Well I just fitted this today and it’s WAY WAY stronger than the chrome style bar I’ve taken out. And the finishing quality is really good. It bolts to the seat belt towers and also to the shelf. The drivers side bolts to the welded in shelf and the passenger side bolts right at the join of the welded in shelf and the bolt in section - OK, a potential flaw I hear you all cry. Beat you all to it.
With the bar fitted i can comfortably push the car around using the bar and there is no play whatsover. I tried swinging on it and again no play whatsoever. This thing feels very solid indeed compared to what I’ve just taken out. My Style bars flexed forward and backwards as well as sideways so would offer no use whatsoever in a roll. These are in a totally different league for stiffness and whilst they may (or may not) be up to “Proper Roll Bar” standards I’d say they’ll certainly offer some protection in a roll.
So where does that leave this bar? To sum up this cost me less than chrome bars (although I think he’s increased the starting price on these now) and are so much more solid than the chrome offerings. Plus they look great with the union jack on the downward legs. At this price point I’d say they offer far more protection than anything else you could pick up so it’s a bit of a no brainer if you want style bars and maybe even a little protection to boot. If he was charging Hard Dog prices then it’d be a whole different discussion but he’s not and they’re great value for money IMHO.