Brainstorm Solo I rollbar

Brainstorm SOLO I Rollbar

[11/4/2004] Reviewed by: Keith Kimble - kjkmd@aol.com

Applicable to: '90 - '97 '99 +

SOLL I approved 4-point single hoop roll bar. Unlike the hard dog, does not mount to the shock towers, and thus does not interefere with seat belt retractiion.

Installed by Brainstorm about a month ago. They say install is easier (or at least less time consuming ) than hard dog, and charged me $100 less than if I'd had them do a 'dog. This is a single hoop bar without cross braces. I had an upholstery shop custom up a vinyl cover to match my tan interior, since 'butch" was not the look I wanted.

My perception is that the bar is somewhat narrower (left-right) than the HD, but I haven't measured them. Works fine with Robbins glass top. I have full seat travel, but that's with aftermarket Nakamaes in my preferred position--no guarantee with stock seats, and some seats will clearly hit the bar if reclined. Car is clearly stiffer, with much reduced rattles (at about 45,000 miles). No interference with shoulder belt retractors (unlike hard-dog), but since I'm running street harnesses it really doesn't matter. Recommended.

Difficult to remove without leaving damage


Reviewed by: Tak Yamamoto - tyamamot@apcc.com

A Solo approved rollbar w/ diagonal brace. 6 point construction. Black powder coated finish.

First impression: BSP delivered the product in a well packed box.   It had a good paintjob and looked quite rugged.  Some of the nuts and bolts were missing, but they are standard bolts you can buy at any hardware store.  It came with a nice sticker too.  The rollbar is well priced below a Hard Core, but the Hard Core looks better. BSP's will work with both the softtop and hardtop.

Installation: This can be a one man job.  Takes 4-8 hours.   I work slow and carefully so it took me 2 hours to take the interior apart.   Then it took another 2 to install the bar.  There is some cutting and drilling necessary.  Then it took me another 2 hours to put the interior back together.   I reused the stock carpeting and tonneau, but had to modify them to fit around the rollbar.

Recommendation:

Great product for the money. I do SCCA SoloII.  This class doesn't actually require a rollbar, but I like the extra mental security. It allows the seats to travel all the way back on their rails so there is no interior constraint. I can't tell if it stiffened the chassis at all, but the car look more serious.  Thumbs up to BSP.


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