light bar function?

K

kyle_99gt

Member
Nov 4, 2008
166
0
16
#1
Hey my 99 gt has the light bar, i was just wondering if it provided any function other then just the aesthetics. Would it provide any roll over protection or add some rigidness to help with stability?
 

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#4
Hi guys!

Yes, it does look good- thanks! :) While we cannot advertise it as a roll-over safety device, we have received a number of testimonials from customers that were involved in roll over accidents, where the only thing holding the back of the car up was the CDC Lightbar (I've seen the pictures first-hand). It allowed them to walk away from these accidents. I've personally installed bars in cars that were purchased to replace the cars that they had rolled over. So- can it hold a car up? Yes. Will we guarantee that it will save your life? No. Would I ever own a convertible without a CDC Lightbar? Never. Just my $.02 worth...

Any questions, let me know!
 
#6
CDCTech said:
Hi guys!

Yes, it does look good- thanks! :) While we cannot advertise it as a roll-over safety device, we have received a number of testimonials from customers that were involved in roll over accidents, where the only thing holding the back of the car up was the CDC Lightbar (I've seen the pictures first-hand). It allowed them to walk away from these accidents. I've personally installed bars in cars that were purchased to replace the cars that they had rolled over. So- can it hold a car up? Yes. Will we guarantee that it will save your life? No. Would I ever own a convertible without a CDC Lightbar? Never. Just my $.02 worth...

Any questions, let me know!
Click to expand...

I agree... I have a lightbar on my Vert, but it's not considered a roll bar or anything like that at the strip. You can't run a Vert that is faster then 13.49 at a NHRA sanctioned Strip. The one time I did take her to the strip, I ran a 12.37, and got the boot.
 
#7
I DOUBT very seriously that it would hold up in a roll over. I installed mine and I would never tell anyone that it could withstand a roll over. I'd like to see a video before any such stupid claim would be made. If you think a small tube like that could hold that much weight with that much force behind it, you need to go back to school.

Seriously... look at the bar. It's even flattened so that is the first place that will bend. I would like Mr. Patrick (above CDC poster) to jack his car up, take off the wheels, place the CDC light bar under the car, lay under it and release the jacks. Please put it on video and leave all your info for your obituary...

PICT0023.jpg


Btw, I am very happy with my CDC light bar but have no expectations of it being any sort of device that will reduce the possibility of injury or death in an accident. Period.
 
#9
I know that my CDC light bar really tightened up the feel of the interior over pot holes and railroad tracks and things like that...

and while it's not a huge piece of metal, it is steel tube, and it is bolted to on of the strongest part of the 'vert

no, it's not a roll bar, but it seems to me it will add as much, or more, to the structure as a strut tower brace or something like that
 
#10
GDawg- Just to be clear, my post was in no way, shape, or form, a sales pitch... purely just wanted to relay information customers have told me (and shown me) first hand. Again- we only promote the Lightbar as a styling piece only; not a safety device. However, it IS a strong piece, and the testimonials we've received were legit.

Personally, I have no doubt that this bar could hold up a car. Not sure how familiar you are with physics/statics/etc, but the tube shape itself is one of the strongest in existence, particularly when on its end. The issue with the Lightbar is that it is only a "two-point" bar; to have any real effectiveness a rollbar/cage/etc needs to have at least 4 points of connectivity to the car. If you had a car sitting stationary and were to just roll it on it's top, I'm confident the bar would hold it up. Now, if that same car were sliding forward or rearward on its top, the bar would likely collapse, as there are not two additional points triangulating the bar.

6T9_CHARGER_RT- I don't have any touch up paint on hand, sorry. However, find your local automotive paint supply shop (there's always a paint shop that supplies all the local body/collision shops in your town w/ paint & supplies). Chances are they will carry a brand of products by a company called SEM. They make a spray-can vinyl dye that works really, really well, and I believe they have one in charcoal. Also, most of these paint shops can custom mix vinyl dyes as well if they don't carry the SEM brand. If you can only get spray cans- spray some into a small cup and use a very small (depending on the size of your scratches) artist's paint brush to touch them up.

Good luck!
 
#11
To add to this discussion... I think we all need to remember that the term "roll over" is pretty vague. A car can end up on it's roof in a number of different ways, and in some cases even a triangulated 4-point "cage" might not be enough to support the weight of a car in a "roll over". There are many, many variables to consider, such as roll bar design, tube diameter/wall thickness, and mounting points. Case in point- my friend's accident in Tulsa a few years ago at Hallett, that I know made the internet rounds. His car hit the tirewall and flipped end over end, landing on its roof, pan-caking it flat to the top of the doors. The 4-point cage he had in it poked right through the floor and provided no support at all. Luckily, he and is passenger survived with only minor injuries. This cage would have fared much better in side-to-side roll over, where the full weight of the car wasn't coming down on it like a pile-driver. Check out the link if you need a reminder of that nasty accident:

Jalopnik: Obsessed With The Cult Of Cars
 
#12
CDCTech said:
GDawg- Just to be clear, my post was in no way, shape, or form, a sales pitch... purely just wanted to relay information customers have told me (and shown me) first hand. Again- we only promote the Lightbar as a styling piece only; not a safety device. However, it IS a strong piece, and the testimonials we've received were legit.

Personally, I have no doubt that this bar could hold up a car. Not sure how familiar you are with physics/statics/etc, but the tube shape itself is one of the strongest in existence, particularly when on its end. The issue with the Lightbar is that it is only a "two-point" bar; to have any real effectiveness a rollbar/cage/etc needs to have at least 4 points of connectivity to the car. If you had a car sitting stationary and were to just roll it on it's top, I'm confident the bar would hold it up. Now, if that same car were sliding forward or rearward on its top, the bar would likely collapse, as there are not two additional points triangulating the bar.
Click to expand...

I attended the University of Colorado, Boulder. I entered as a Physics Major but soon changed over to an Aerospace Engineering degree. Because of a death in my family and financial bankruptcy I had to drop out in my Junior year. I did complete a two year degree in automotive technology. I know physics very well. And in a crash the force vectors are from so many angles that a small tube could not hold back what the rest of the frame was designed to do and failed where intended to.
 
#15
It has made the ride more solid over heavy bumps!

As for crashes I would much rather have in a roll over than not :nice:

I know someone that had a roll over crash he was taking a bend on a damp road I bit too fast and rolled side over side in his words the LightBar saved his life!

At the end of the day it's style bar but I am happy to have mine :D
 
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