B13 Safety and Rollbar Question

[Heick Resources]

> My question concerns ways to improve B13 crash survivability.  I have a 91
B13
> and was considering adding a rollbar with a diagonal cross brace to defend
> I understand that the danger of a
> roll bar is that in a crash you could come into contact with the bar,
could
> this danger be reduced by padding the bar or adding bracing to the bar so
that
> the seats would not be allowed to move backward during a rear impact
> collision?

I am going through the same dilemma. Any changes you make to a vehcile's
sturdiness and engineering, like a roll bar, change the way the factory
designed the car to "crash", assuming they had anything at all in mind. I
like roll bars and had one in my last car, but this does concern me. Coming
in contact with the bar in an accident also concerns me, padding or not. My
gut tells me its benefits would outweigh any potential detriments, but it is
really hard to say without crash testing several of each from a variety of
angles, no matter how thorough and sensible an explanation seems.

Terry Heick
Modern Sports Car
Heick Resources