When you play at the drag strip, track rules state you need at a minimum, a roll bar once your car reaches a certain ET.
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It’s often a balance between trying to comply with the rules, and making it look good and fit comfortably well, since a lot of gbodies are street driven as well.
Leaping over the door bars are definitely not fun to get in & out of on a daily driven vehicle.
Of course, yeah, they look cool at car shows & are impressive when other people see you have a roll bar, but that can be a visually bad thing too when you’re trying to street race (but none of you do that illegal stuff, right?).
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Form vs fashion.
If you race at the track more than you street drive, it’s not really imperative you have an easy access entryway (although it’s nice when you do).
If it’s the opposite, it is convenient to not struggle every single time you have to sit inside or exit the car.
So often, installers will make funky bends on the bar to ease the access.
There’s also “swing out bars” with pins that hold them in place, which makes things a bit easier.
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The following shows you some roll bar designs that are incorporated into various Buick Regals.
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