bnag0

So i have spent countless hours researching the Hard Dog and i am very impressed with the design and the different options they offer.

My situation:
So my S2K is a summer DD that i plan on doing track events with, at my local track (Watkins Glen). I am about 6ft and have come to the conclusion that in a roll over situation.. well i rather not think about it. So before tracking i will be purchasing the Hard dog. I realize that running a roll bar on a street car (without a helmet) in an event of a rollover may cause you to hit your head on it and what not but i still think it would do more good than bad. I can always wrap it up. I plan to get the Hard dog with the removable harness bar, this way i can remove it for when i am not at the track allowing me to use my secret compartment. Not sure if i want to spend the money on the removable diagonal bar... have to do a little more research on the pros and cons of that.

My Question:
I rather not cut the plastic around the OEM roll bars, I rather just remove them and keep them whole. So my question is if i have just the basic Hard Dog without the harness bar or diagonal bar installed, would it be okay to remove the OEM roll bars? The only reason i ask is because i haven't seen this set up. are these bars useless once you have installed the basic hard dog?

Here is the closest thing i could find, just imagine the diagonal was not there...

http://jasonoff.iroque.com/RollBar9.jpg


Thanks for reading, if you know of a thread that includes the info i am looking for please link.

SgtB

You do not need the oem bars. Most just remove them all together to save the trim. If you get just the harness bar w/o the diagonal you can use the console. Don't try and separate the plastic around the oem hoops. It doesn't come apart. A lot of people don't know that.

bnag0

Thanks for the info!

So the diagonal obviously adds more strength but i really don't need it then, nor do i have to run with a harness bar?

This brings me to my next question... Can i buy the bare minimum now and then maybe down the road purchase the removable harness and diagonal? Or does the minimum bar not include the mounts for the removable bars?

SeanSerino

Make sure you add the shoulder guides when ordering from Hard Dog. These are the mounts where the seatbelt guide thing mounts to. The standard, bare bones Hard Dog roll bar does not include these.

Also, you will still need to keep the rear bulkhead, which is where the standard OEM seatbelt retractors mount. The bulk head is not pictured in the picture you posted. It's a big metal piece that stretches the width of the car. If you look in the official Hard Dog thread, you'll be able to find pictures of what I'm talking about.

bnag0

Can you link me or point me in the direction of the official hard dog thread? I can not find it...

Thanks

chuhsi

it's in the racing section. LOTS of info and pictures.

in a nutshell:
- you can remove your oem hoops (and probably should for installation ease). They're useless with the hard dog...unless you use oem seat belts. then they're very important
- removable harness bar is too high by harness safety standards
- running oem belts with welded harness bar is not good either because the harnesses will rub against the metal bulkhead versus running straight and unhindered to the seat
- you have to buy all the bar parts now. can't add/weld later unless you can find a local welder who will do it for you.

bnag0

This is very good info i did not know...

See i planned on using the OEM belts but wanted to remove the OEM roll bars, guess ill have to figure out something different... I really don't want to cut into those OEM bar casings..

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction hopefully i can figure out an alternative.

Bugsy

I just received my Hard dog.
Mine is single bend (so it sits back further). I'm removing the bulkhead and hoops, but will build a custom removable tube to hold the oem retractors, but can take it out to go harness when I want too without bulkhead interference.
Stay tuned.

bnag0

I did some looking around and have more of a clear vision of how to accomplish what i am looking for... I plan on keeping the bulkhead but not the oem bars this would allow me to use stock seats and belts...

Or am i mistaken?

chuhsi

stock seat belts require the bulkhead and oem bars unless you weld the seat belts to some part of the bar. the bulkhead is not strong enough without the oem bar to hold down the seat belt.

i went through this same thought process. basically, your option is to run either harnesses or oem belts. Running both can't happen 100% safely.

because i didn't want to run two harnesses, i run a harness for the driver and oem belts for passenger. i have half a bulkhead and the oem hoop just on the passenger side.