roll-over protection and Infineon

[GTED]

Hi

Being a newbie, I have a newbie question.  Is the tubing surrounding the air intake built as a roll-over protection?  I've seen pix of Atoms on track, some with specific big roll bar/cage, but some without.  Also, any Atom owner tracks at Infineon with TrackMasterRacing or Hooked On Driving?  They have track events at Infineon on 2/6; 3/4 and 3/19.  Those are the days I plan on participating.  Would be great if there is/are Atoms there.  I've only seen one in person one time last year at Thunderhill.  An Atom from Oregon participated. 

As mentioned in the Welcom-New Users sub-forum, I'm seriously looking to get an Atom to track at Infineon and around town.  As such, I'm looking to maximize my exposure to the car any opportunity I can get.  If anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area don't mind a newbie pestering with all kinds of atom-questions and would like to show off your lovely Atom, let me know when and where or PM me, I'll be there!!

GTED

[dp35]

IMO the hoop around the air intake is not sufficient roll over protection.  The "real" roll bar is optional, and IMO the 1st thing to have.

I'm in the east bay area, but don't have any track plans for the Atom anytime soon.  Try Positron.

[DarthChicken]

I drove my atom, without roll bar, at infineon.  And received a HEALTHY dose of crap from the safety crew, including getting the meatball on my last lap of my last session. 

Suggest if you're at infineon, get the bar.

[positron]

I think your better off having the full mouse trap. So far, I've never been contested at over ten tracks. I'll let Darth tell you about his bout at Infineon with his single hoop. *edit.. beat me to it..

Coming from SoCal it's too far for me to attend single day events that far north. Right now my schedule is Mar 4/5 at LS with Trackmasters and Infineon Mar 27/28 with SpeedVentures.

FWIW a stock ecotec exhaust will not pass 92 dB at LS in pretty much any configuration without add'l entrapment. I have a 3" Borla C5 muffler and have to run a 18"x3" supertrapp add-on to get under sound.

[GTED]

Make sense, better protection, don't have to deal with meatball flag.....  First, I got to get an Atom first.

Positron, are you confirmed at Infineon on Mar 27/28?  If so, I'll make sure to drop by, and beg for a ride (or 2) from you.  Please let me know!!

LS!  Man, as great a track as it is, I'm boycotting it because of that ^&(*^%&( DB restriction.  Haven't been there for 3 years.  The last 2 cars I took there all got black flagged and I just didn't/don't feel like to either putting on an elbow on the exhaust tips or upshift at the measuring tower....

GTED

[positron]

Not yet, I try to wait until I get a better feel for the weather. One time it rained all night and all day and didn't even get the car out of the trailer. Yeah yeah.. I'm a weather wuss..

Sorry man, I run with a single seat. Safety first.

[GTED]

Man, that is too bad...  That's alright.  please let me know when/if you're confirmed.  ride or no ride, it is worth checking out an Atom (Infineon is less than an hour away for me only).

[dp35]

You might want to check with the track day organizers the week before their event, to see if any Atoms are signed up.  Its not uncommon to see Atoms at the track from owners that don't read this forum.

[Heywood-Yablowme]

In the East,every track I have attended will not allow just the center hoop.If they place a straight stick over your rollbar and move to the extreme ends of the car,your helmeted head cannot come in contact with that stick at all,or you fail inspection. If you have just the hoop,the bar will contact your helmet when they move down the side rails. I am not in favor of their ruling..but have no choice but to run the full rollbar.

[Driver]

Aside from the tech aspect it remains that after 6+years there are NO reports of a Atom rolling over on the street or on track. Just for peace of mind.

[DarthChicken]

Careful Driver, don't tempt fate with statements like that.  And I'm not sure you or anybody else is aware of every wreck that occurs either unfortunately (no, I'm not aware of one either). 

That said, I'm going to have a 3 point bar made, without the trailing points that mount behind the engine - to satisfy the CA track owners.  It will also make a good tow point, as I don't have the tow points on my car if the engine should die or I go off track and get stuck.  Should cost me less than a 1/4rd of what Ariel charges for the thing.

[Heywood-Yablowme]

DC,I am modifying my factory brammo bar similarly.The two rear supports will be replaced by a singular foreward bar to brace the main hoop.I am utilizing the factory cross/main hoop and have one bar mounting from the center hoop to the peak of the under hood cross bar. It will be lighter and move the weight foreward. The only physical mod to the base car will be a notch in the hood.