Has anyone switched this bar out?

[jRuN]

Do any of these rear bars grant any additional space to move the seat back a little further?

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[BA9092]

Besides the carbon fiber which is just an aesthetic replacement and the beefy yet pricey Hochman, has anyone noticed any increased stiffness at all from the others like USR or Cusco?

 

[lucky phil]

Looking to get an aftermarket part for this, Im not a huge fan of the silver, any recommendations or pics you guys have?

Remove it and take it to your local Anodiser and ask him to anodise it sating black. Easy.

Phil

 

[Pizza]

Do any of these rear bars grant any additional space to move the seat back a little further?

They do. Or at least I know the Cusco bar allows you to move the seats back a bit further

 

[Joebednar4]

I filled mine with expanding foam because I couldn't get it to stop being the source of a rattle. Then wrapped it gloss black. Looks much better. I didn't like the holes it left when I removed it, as it likely helps very very very little, if at all.

 

[Patar]

Remove it and take it to your local Anodiser and ask him to anodise it sating black. Easy.

Phil

Better yet, save some money and wrap it with your favorite color.

 

[jonezj]

You shouldn’t really be using any harness bar mounted there for the purpose of safety. Those mount points aren’t structurally supported and won’t hold in a collision. Should only be cosmetic or for more recline.
And at 1k you’re half way to a finished cage so why bother?

 

[dzeleski]

You shouldn’t really be using any harness bar mounted there for the purpose of safety. Those mount points aren’t structurally supported and won’t hold in a collision. Should only be cosmetic or for more recline.
And at 1k you’re half way to a finished cage so why bother?

Agreed, none of these bars are safe for harness bar mounting. On top of that using a harness without roll hoop isnt safe either.

For those of you that are doing this please read the following: http://www.tracktuned.com/feed/2016...rs-and-a-trackday-organizers-thoughts-on-them

If the roof caves in on a roll you are stuck upright and it will kill you or seriously damage your spine. Similarly please also make sure your harness is mounted correctly. Doing this incorrectly will cause a broken back even in a simple crash. The harness angle through the seats is insanely important. Ive seen several popular YTers mount their shoulder harnesses well below shoulder height and in a crash it will compress your spine and can cause serious injuries. Similar with your lap belt as well as spacing.

The angles matter:
https://www.schrothracing.com/doc-share/ea_8-2_2019-04.pdf (page 8)

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/strap-how-properly-install-racing-harness/

All harnesses are designed to be mounted in specific ways, please read the instructions carefully.

If you want a harness at least put a back half cage in that has a roll hoop.

 

[jonezj]

I am an offender of this as well and know better. I’ve got a Doteki back half in the garage waiting to get welded in.

 

[jonezj]

I am an offender of this as well and know better. I’ve got a Doteki back half in the garage waiting to get welded in.

But my harness IS positioned correctly so if it doesn’t tear out of the body or roll i should be fine ?

 

[mojo_jojo77777]

I went with the HKS carbon brace.
The additional space it creates to move seats back is nice byproduct.

Any difference in feel? Nope. Does it help with stiffening? Maybe.
I'm sure the oem piece has been through plenty FEAs with engineers, so I wouldnt see why this bar would be upgrade nor downgrade from factory bar.

 

[Drnick]

Other then being used for a harness, does any
Aftermarket bar such as these stiffen chassis?

 

[Pizza]

Other then being used for a harness, does any
Aftermarket bar such as these stiffen chassis?

Potentially... The Cusco bar is definitely stiffer than the thin OEM piece, so under the right load it could in theory stiffen it up a bit, but the Supra already has a very stiff modern chassis and so theres no real reason to "upgrade" the stiffness unless you were doing a cage for an actual racecar. Toyota said that it's stiffer in rigidity than an LFA

 

[underdonk]

You shouldn’t really be using any harness bar mounted there for the purpose of safety. Those mount points aren’t structurally supported and won’t hold in a collision. Should only be cosmetic or for more recline.
And at 1k you’re half way to a finished cage so why bother?

Why bother? I needed a place to attach harnesses due to the safety regs I'm working within and I like doing things the difficult and expensive way. I also wanted to see Ben's work because I'd like to convince him to take on a custom project (not the Supra but a Lemons car I'm considering building). I'm impressed with the quality of the component and the craftsmanship that came out of his shop. I'd recommend his product.

I personally don't like any of the roll bar options currently on the market for my application. They're made to be used with the interior still in the car, so from a space utilization perspective, you're losing a lot of it if you use something bolt-in. They're also outrageously expensive for what you're getting, or are produced by a foreign company, and freight to the US would be extremely costly. My path is a custom roll bar, and there's no one around here I would trust with the job, so I'm shopping around. I'm not going to let the car sit while I line something up.

I disagree with you about the mounting points not holding. You made the claim and I'd like to know your basis for it. There are thousands of these cars driving around counting on the harness bars being an effective safety device.

 

[jonezj]

I’ll defer my basis for that comment to Doteki Auto Solutions as I consider Rich an authority on the platform when it comes to structural rigidity and safety. He was the person i first heard that from and I tend to agree just based on what i’ve looked at in the car with the interior out. I’d give Rich at Doteki a call to discuss further if you have questions.

I can see your point on the compromise made when building a bar made to work around factory interior. I’d ask Rich about that as well. His “bolt in” roll/harness bar is space efficient but i’m not sure about how it will cert out at a track yet for competition. But it is high quality, made in the USA, and a vendor worth supporting. Check em out!

https://dotekiautosolutions.com/products/mk5-harness-bar

I too have been running a harness on a cusco bar at my own risk. So I’m not judging but wanted to relay my understanding of the safety risk to the masses. If I’m wrong I’d rather be on the overly cautious side of the error.

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