Just a quick questin..

[elplatanazo87]

Well, I love convertibles, especially the e36 and e46 verts..I was reading about the e46 verts saying that roll bars would pop out if it felt like the car was going to roll over. Does the e36 have this option as well?

Edit: I apologize for the title typo.

[unknown01]

:help

[BMWgr]

Some did. It was not a standard.

[kellie]

Yes, the E36 was the first convertible to come with rollover protection, although I'm almost positive that all E36 convertibles came with it, BMWgr. Where did you get your info?

FYI, the car has to KNOW it's going to roll over before the rollbars are deployed. A speed bump or sharp turn won't do it. The car basically has to be on its side, or completely vertical before the roll bars pop out. It's a pretty cool system.

[David A]

Yes, the E36 was the first convertible to come with rollover protection, although I'm almost positive that all E36 convertibles came with it, BMWgr. Where did you get your info?

FYI, the car has to KNOW it's going to roll over before the rollbars are deployed. A speed bump or sharp turn won't do it. The car basically has to be on its side, or completely vertical before the roll bars pop out. It's a pretty cool system.

Tilt sensor FTW...:alright

[kellie]

Tilt sensor FTW...:alright
They're fun to play with. I always freak out when the RPS pops up.

[mbanks21]

Yes they do. When my 99 M3 vert got wrecked the roll bars popped up.

[BMWgr]

Yes, the E36 was the first convertible to come with rollover protection, although I'm almost positive that all E36 convertibles came with it, BMWgr. Where did you get your info?

I own one. Maybe it was standard for the US.

[AuburnGrad323is]

I am not sure that it was standard the whole time in production though. I believe that after the first year or two of them being an option, they were made standard

[kellie]

I believe that after the first year or two of them being an option, they were made standard
That's definitely possible, although I have a feeling it has more to with European safety regulations vs. American regulations. American Z4s come standard with knee airbags while European Z4s do not, and the emergency call function works differently on European vehicles. I just finished the passive safety course (in STEP), and the textbook we were given implies that all E36s came with RPS, so perhaps they were referring to American vehicles only.

[elplatanazo87]

Thanks for all the feedback guys...I'm really wanting a vert....but you know that whole roll over thing scares the crap out of me...the RPS, when it does activate..how much headroom does it save? is it a really long bar that comes out? any pics of this system....

[kellie]

Like I stated before, it activates when the tilt sensor senses that the car is almost vertical or completely on its side, but the bars pop out almost instantaneously. The A-pillars are also reinforced in convertibles. This is a picture of the E46 roll bars that I got off of Google.

http://www.bmw.co.nz/images/3_series/convertible/ergonomics_rollover.jpg

[elplatanazo87]

and thats what prevents a head being squashed like a watermelon...lol

man I'm definitely going to look for a vert now

[Alpine 318is]

im pretty sure Porsche has a similar system

[dilat3d]

yes e36's had this system and no it wasn't standard, maybe after a certain year but my father's 94 325iC doesn't have it and my buddies 96(?) 325iC DOES have them

[Tangent]

Merceds SLs have had a similar system for years. Theirs was a roll bar that retracted behind the rear seats. I remember first seeing it in that Clint Eastwood/Charlie Sheen movie The Rookie in 1990... (they drove it out the second floor window of a warehouse that was about to explode and you could see the rollbar popped out) Here's a series of pics that include the SL:

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/slroll.html