Roll Bar

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jboggess

Roll Bar

Post by jboggess »

So why does some of the Fiats have roll bars on them? Has any body here rolled a Fiat lately to need one?
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courtenay
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Posts: 1321
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:41 pm
Your car is a: 1980 Spider 2000
Location: Courtenay, BC, Canada

Re: Roll Bar

Post by courtenay »

Someone who has rolled a Fiat without a roll bar may not be around to tell the story! I will likely look to find one for my new toy.
Bruce Shearer
'80 Spider Fi
'10 Volvo XC70
'06 GMC 1 Ton PU
'72 Spider a long, long time ago
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maytag
Posts: 1789
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:22 pm
Your car is a: 1976 124 spider
Location: Rocky Mountains....UTAH! (Not Colorado)

Re: Roll Bar

Post by maytag »

well, for me it's a requirement to do track days.
that will be my primary reason.

having sod that; I've noticed that I feel very, very exposed and at risk while driving at freeway speeds with no roll-bar. This ckind of catches me by surprise, since I've had convertibels all my life... and I've been roadracing motorcycles for decades.

Come to think of it; maybe that's the problem! The fiat feels more like a bike than a car, but I'm not wearing leather and a helmet! :shock:
I'm no Boy-Racer..... but if I can't take every on-ramp at TWICE the posted limit.... I'm a total failure!
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manoa matt
Posts: 3442
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 4:28 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Re: Roll Bar

Post by manoa matt »

The roll bar stiffens up the chassis since there is no top or A pillars.

Someone posted some pictures a few months ago. Their wife and daughter were at a stoplight and was rearended by what else...A SUV. It pushed the spider off the road an into a ditch. Without the roll bar the occupants would have been seriously hurt, but this time they walked away unharmed. It was not the fault of the Spider driver and they never could have predicted that a simple rear end collision would have gone to that extent.

"The fiat feels more like a bike than a car, but I'm not wearing leather and a helmet!" The car is the helmet and YOU are the leather.

I don't have a roll bar simply because I don't like the look, but sometimes while driving down the highway at 70-80 I think to myself, If something happens at this speed I'm probably going to die in this car. On the other hand, even with a roll bar and the car flips, my bet is the windshield is going to fold on to you like a paper airplane and you are still not going to walk away.

How many Fiat dino spiders or convertible Ferrari's do you see with roll bars? None.
jboggess

Re: Roll Bar

Post by jboggess »

Sweet, its always good to get other peoples opinion. Wow Fiat's can do 80 on the free way, now i have to get one.
NitroDemon

Re: Roll Bar

Post by NitroDemon »

I have a Roll bar in mine but someone did a really shotty job on the install.. They simply welded it to the inside of the car, Im probly going to cut it out and install it correctly eventually.
mbouse

Re: Roll Bar

Post by mbouse »

jboggess wrote:Wow Fiat's can do 80 on the free way, now i have to get one.
my '80 came stock with a federally mandated 85 mph speedometer. early on in my ownership, i tired of seeing that white needle pegged on the right hand side of the dial, so i swapped for a 140mph speedometer.

ALWAYS have i been happy that i did that minor modification. my needle now is free to zoom past the arbritrary 85mph limit set by unkle sam..... and the needle loves to oblige me.

Freeway driving is boring in a Spider, twisty two lane roads are preferred by most of us. but occasionally, it is nice to see that the old gal can still get her speed up!
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thechadzone
Posts: 220
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 3:31 pm
Your car is a: 1969 Fiat 124AS Spider
Location: Eugene, Oregon

Re: Roll Bar

Post by thechadzone »

I topped 80 MPH Wednesday night in my stock 850 Spider. 'Just sayin'... :wink:
pope

Re: Roll Bar

Post by pope »

Mike, there is a tiny limiter pin at 85 on the speedomoter that I removed so the needle just continues on and its easy to figure out the speed, though the 140 would look nice.
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maytag
Posts: 1789
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:22 pm
Your car is a: 1976 124 spider
Location: Rocky Mountains....UTAH! (Not Colorado)

Re: Roll Bar

Post by maytag »

I was an indicated 105mph today, but with the 195/50/15's that are on it right now, that's a little optimistic! :lol:
I'm no Boy-Racer..... but if I can't take every on-ramp at TWICE the posted limit.... I'm a total failure!
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