Looks fantastic. I'm potentially interested in ordering the exact bar you have. Would you be able to take a few pictures of how closely the roll bar hugs the B-pillar on the drivers side? Basically a picture looking towards the rear of the car with the camera right against the window frame - not sure if that makes sense.
What I'm curious about is if the main hoop is what would prevent the seat from mounting further back - or if the seat falls in between the main hoop. From what I've seen with most roll bars, the wings of the seat may be blocked by the roll bar and prevent it from sliding rearward.
I'm also tall (6'7) so would love more pictures of your setup in general if you have them (roll bar, seat brackets, harness mounting etc.)
Thanks!
I can definitely take some pictures tonight. PM me if I don't post them by ~8pm PST. I'll also try to show my seat mount setup, but its kind of hidden by the seat. I will say, while my brackets work well, they were very difficult to install- mostly because there is no clearance anywhere to get any nuts or bolts on. Took some careful planning and lots of mistakes
The biggest thing preventing a seat from going back farther is the bottom of the B pillar bars. The vertical bars tilt back, so I tilted my seat back a little to get some more room. The side/back of my seat doesn't touch the rollbar at all. This'll be easier to explain with pictures.
1993 E36 325is
2003 E46 325iT
SpeedHunters feature: http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/04/...t-dtm-tribute/
APEX feature: https://www.apexraceparts.com/blog/m...-arc-8-wheels/
Can someone please PM me Ben's number? I sent him an email about a cage, but have not heard back.
I picked up my rollbar on Friday. The packaging job was pretty fantastic. The rollbar itself looks great, I just need to decide what I'm going to do for paint, powdercoat, automotive exterior paint or rattlecan.
Nelson Papel
Madeira Violet '97 BMW 328is
Anyone have any pics of the floor mounting? I'm not sure how I want to approach dealing with the carpet and padding.
Are people removing the carpet entirely? Cutting it with the bar in place? Cutting an "X" into the material?
I lifted the carpet, then cut out what was needed. You have to cut the plastic housing underneath anyway, so really need decent amount of access. I was able to put most of it back after I got everything installed. I am terrible with asthenic things so, not beautiful, but good enough for a car primarily used for track.
See here: https://imgur.com/a/LxJQK
I cut the carpet away and then the plastic cover below.
What I really like about your installation is how far back the feet of the main hoop are - basically right up against the rear seat area. Some other installations show a sizable gap there, which limits how far back you can slide the seat.
Any tips for how you got yours so flush with the rear seat area?
Drill 1 hole in the back corner of one of the front mounts, then put a bolt in it. Go to the other side and do the same. Then do the other 3 bolts per side and then move to the rear mounts.
I didn't really try to get it close to the rear, that just happened that way. LOL
Another happy customer! Picked up directly from Ben, so got to chat a minute and see some of the other stuff he's working on. Great guy and nice work.
Roll bar fit was amazing. Welds look great. My father helped with the install. He has a Kirk in his M3. It looks/fits great, but IMHO this is clearly nicer, and he agreed. He didn't believe it would go in as one piece, since the rear legs on the Kirk bolt on. But of course it did. He also mentioned that it was a pain bending the foot plates to match the contours of the car with the Kirk, while Ben's were spot-on.
One note regarding the pictures people posted, above: Personally, I'd recommend removing the tar-based sound deadening. Especially on the floor, but under the rear feet as well. At least on my car, it came up in chunks fairly easily with a screwdriver. A little extra work went a long way toward getting the bar nice and snug, as rearward as possible, and with as much clearance to the roof as possible.
For finish, I went over it with a 3M red scrubber, cleaned with acetone, and then hit it with VHT "Roll bar and chassis paint" in satin black. Cheap, available at many FLAPS, and self-priming. My dad used this on his wheels a year or two ago, and I'm really impressed with how well it has held up. I haven't taken any pics of the finished result yet, but I'm REALLY happy with the finish. Looks great.
Got the Ben Sipson rollbar in finally.
Glad the guy above had one with perfect fitment.
Fitment is a B- as it took some massaging to get it to work.
Quality of the welds A
Price A
I'm happy with it.
What issues did you have with fitment? Mine went in fine, only issues I had was getting all the sound deadening out of the way. When I first placed it in, it didn't seem quite right, but once it was bolted down the fitment was spot on.
1993 E36 325is
2003 E46 325iT
SpeedHunters feature: http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/04/...t-dtm-tribute/
APEX feature: https://www.apexraceparts.com/blog/m...-arc-8-wheels/
Maybe it was the chassis, but it took a bit of hammering of the body to get the bar to sit flush. Once I got both feet lined up L/R and F/R, the outside of the passenger side foot was floating by about 1.5".
You can see the missing paint where I hammered down the sheetmetal to get it to fit:
Last edited by golgo13; 05-01-2017 at 01:59 PM.
Ben, are you there?
Picked up an X bar cage from NY98M3 yesterday after he decided he no longer planned on using it in his 1998 M3. I will post pics in a few days when it is installed. Very excited
I just ordered a bar from him last Tuesday and he shipped it out that Friday, so he's definitely still around. Reach out to him again, probably just got lost in his inbox.
Had him do the setback harness bar as well as raise the height of the harness bar 2 inches. He also built the main hoop 3/4" higher for my track car that doesn't have the sunroof.
Just to let folks know that I was able to get in touch with Ben and he shipped a bar out to California for me. Took about 3 weeks via Greyhound, which is great. As many others have said, Ben's work is very nice - Nigel
Took about the same for mine. One comment for those who are running no-sunroof, you may want him to add more than 3/4" to the height. He was kind enough to do that for me, but the bar still sits 3 inches from the middle of the roof. Ideally I'd like it a tighter fit like the Kirk and TCKline non-sunroof bars I've seen. But he did design them for cars with sunroof and full interior, so I can understand why there's that much space.
Otherwise was a super easy install and high quality product.
Very interested. I like the x cross bar design and am wondering if Ben can custom make this the M4 GTS roll bar look?
Hey everyone. Just wanted to keep anyone who may be interested updated. I sold my house/shop back in September and moved to Belleair, FL. I am finally settled in and back in action and able to make bars again. Email me if interested as I dont frequent the forums too often. ben.sipson@gmail.com
Specializing in Custom E30,E36,E46 Roll Bars Follow me on instagram @baysidefabrication
Free bump and another recommendation for Ben. I get tons of comments/questions about my rollbar anytime I'm at the track or at a meet. Looks great and fits SO MUCH better than all the other bolt-in cages that are mass produced (Autopower, etc). Price is great and quality is top notch!
1993 E36 325is
2003 E46 325iT
SpeedHunters feature: http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/04/...t-dtm-tribute/
APEX feature: https://www.apexraceparts.com/blog/m...-arc-8-wheels/
Another bump for Ben, mine arrived in about 3 days to Atlanta via Grayhound. Quality looks superb, I would buy again. I will provide pictures once installed. Thanks Ben!
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