RMR Style Bar installed on Kenny's Sky

[kennysabarese]

So in order to participate in the driver's school and track days at Englishtown (on Friday yay!) I just got my RMR Style Bar and got it installed.

Getting it was way more challenging and stressful than installing it. If you don't care about the silly shipping story just scroll down a little bit for the real details.

So I placed the order on Thursday, they said it would be there in a week. Ok sounds good. So I call back Monday to get a tracking number and I'm told it was all scratched up and that it's getting re-powder coated (glad they noticed and took care of it!), so he said he'll ship it 2nd day UPS so I'll still get it Thursday. So they did the right thing. Thank you

So it ships and I get my tracking number and Chris Winter, who runs Crazy Horse Racing performance shop and now runs the new road course at Englishtown offers to install the bar for me the day before the school which is awesome. So I call UPS to tell them to "ground" the package, which means don't put it on the truck so I can pick it up at the office first thing instead of wait till the afternoon when the guy normally comes to my house.

Well she says you can't ground a package until there has been a delivery attempt! Then she won't give me the phone number to the local office for me to try there. So that night after work I just drive there and obtain the info and phone number on what to do.

So the next day i wake up earlier than normal and call UPS at 7am as told and the give the manager my tracking number and she says she'll call me back when she finds the package. An hour later I call back and she says, yeah it'll be soon. She actually does call back 20 minutes later and says I can come and get it at 1PM when the office opens! The whole point was that I get it first thing, so she says to come at 10am instead and use the employee entrance.

So I show up and walk in and get attacked by security guards who freaked out because I wasn't wearing brown I go see the manager she walks over to a platform and SURPRISE! the package is GONE. She says "I swear it was just here" turns out one of the drivers took it for some reason. So she tracks down the driver and it turns out he is about 5 minutes from my house about to deliver it! So I drive all the way back to my town and meet him in the middle of the street in downtown South Orange to get the package!

So of course the box is too big to fit with the top down (it was raining) so I open the window and put the box in so it's sticking out the window and drive to a condo parking garage that is covered. I unpack the bar and parts and fit it into my trunk and drive to the shop to get it installed!

So after that miserable morning things did get better, the install went pretty smooth and it's all setup and works. I followed along LIL Goat's thread on the Sol forum to see if we have the same issues (the RMR manual and pictures are not very good at all)

RMR style bar installed - Pontiac Solstice Forum

It looks like every bar they ship out is a little different. It didn't line up the same way as his, and one side is lined up differently than the other. Where he found the plates hanging over towards the rear, I didn't get that but one side is not lining up properly with the rubber. So the whole thing is slightly crooked which is pushing the convertible frame.

My photos are posted here and you can see the difference between the two sides:

RMR Sol/Sky Rollbar

Two problems:

1. Because the right side plate is slightly crooked the hole for where the little door flaps is doesn't line up properly (you can see this clearly in the 3rd and 6th photo) Luckily we noticed it was crooked right away and didn't drill the flaps. I will use 3M Dual Lock (same stuff EZ Pass uses but smaller) to hold it down for now.

2. When I pop the thingers out of the trunk lid with the remote the passenger side does not go up fully so I have to push it towards the front of the car to get the trunk lid up. Then it barely clears when I do push it because inside the canvas it's rubbing against something that the other side does not so I have to push it quite hard to get it to clear. So this is a real PITA.

I think I'm going to call RMR and see if they can send me another bar, the driver's side of the car is fine and the top works fine there, so i think if the next bar is straighter there shouldn't be any problems with the top.

I guess this kind of thing happens, I guess every style bar is one of a kind! I think it looks good, specially in this color with the black car. So hopefully RMR will not give me any problems with exchanging the bar.

[DeepBlueGXP]

That is the same issues that LilGoat has, when you release the buttress, you have to push both up to open the trunk and when you want to put up the top, it presses against the frame

[SKY Spy]

Is this bar just a cosmetic "thing?"

It doesn't look like it could really give you much protection!!!

Just curious about it...

BA...

[RedSkyWV]

I think it meets the basic roll-bar requirements at most tracks, even though I believe you're right -- very little protection...

[aggressiva]

A least will give you some protection. Better than nothing

[kennysabarese]

Originally Posted by DeepBlueGXP

That is the same issues that LilGoat has, when you release the buttress, you have to push both up to open the trunk and when you want to put up the top, it presses against the frame

my driver's side one works fine. it's the passenger side one that is the problem. i feel that if it was lined up properly that it would work fine.

[lil goat]

Originally Posted by DeepBlueGXP

That is the same issues that LilGoat has, when you release the buttress, you have to push both up to open the trunk and when you want to put up the top, it presses against the frame

Mine works fine you just have to release the lever for the top then hit the trunk button and it pops right open and it clears (takes the stress off the top). To put it up I put the top up, push the trunk almost closed then latch the lever and have no issues. There is a slight learning curve, but at Summit Point W.Va. they would let me on the track, and that was the point. The car has a built in roll bar in the humps, this just adds to that. I have had mine almost a year, I have no issues anymore.

[kennysabarese]

i'll give this a try. usually i pop first than release the handle.

i'll let you know if it makes a difference

[Lithium Lotus]

A lot of style bars are available for Miata's.

[kennysabarese]

I tried this method and it works! thanks!

Originally Posted by lil goat

Mine works fine you just have to release the lever for the top then hit the trunk button and it pops right open and it clears (takes the stress off the top). To put it up I put the top up, push the trunk almost closed then latch the lever and have no issues. There is a slight learning curve, but at Summit Point W.Va. they would let me on the track, and that was the point. The car has a built in roll bar in the humps, this just adds to that. I have had mine almost a year, I have no issues anymore.

[kennysabarese]

Originally Posted by Lithium Lotus

A lot of style bars are available for Miata's.

yeah, too bad there is only one for the Sky/Sol

[Morfious]

Originally Posted by aggressiva

A least will give you some protection. Better than nothing

I disagree completely. If you are looking for a way to get onto the tracks with roll bar mandates then this device will work just fine. If you are concerned with safety at track speeds I would recommend a full, properly built roll cage that is mounted to the frame of the vehicle. I think the style bar will provide little if any added safety in a rollover situation. For what it is, it seems to be a well made item.

[kennysabarese]

i would have raced my car without a rollbar if i could. this meets the minimum state law and i'm happy with that

[xmicro_Redline]

I understand the purpose behind buying and installing this bar, but it does seem that it could be an additional thing to crack you in the skull if you flip. No way is that bar going to stay in place fastened with a few screws when the weight of the car is on it.

I would hate to find that out the hard way. Is there no way to have a bar custom welded behind the seats to the body?

[kennysabarese]

Originally Posted by xmicro_Redline

Is there no way to have a bar custom welded behind the seats to the body?

Anything is possible, but you'd have to do a lot of cutting of the interior and the rear firewall in order to do something like that

hopefully it won't hit me in the head. but i just bought a nice new helmet

but yeah the airbag hitting me in the face and the rollbar in the back of the head might cause some neck injury

honestly it might be safer for the bar to break away i'm sure GM designed it to be safe enough without it? miata's don't have them and people do walk away from rollovers in them.

[german gt]

What an ugly and totally senseless mod for our beautyful car

[kennysabarese]

sorry man but i have no choice if i want to race