20/04/2004 17:42:01 mikky2002uk hi all having just purchased an mgf ,i am interested in a track day,i'v just been looking around the bedford autodrome site and found this. "All soft-top cars should be fitted with roll-bar that is approved for track use and can provide full protection for the driver and any passengers in the unlikely event that that car should roll over on hard or soft surfaces." It doesn't mention anything on here about cages,can someone verify this,and give me a price. cheers mik

21/04/2004 10:01:17 Rob Bell That's a good question. On a modern soft top like the MGF, the use of a roll bar is strongly recommended, but not manditory (although I don't know the specifics behind the regs at Bedford, I suspect that this is the case here as Dave has driven his MGF there without additional roll protection). You might reasonably think that fitting roll bars is "a good thing" - and on the whole, I'd agree with that. But only properly tested hoops/ cages can be deemed to be safe. For the others, it's just 'guess work'. :( Therefore, you are restricted, on the MGF/TF, to the FIA-approved full roll cage found fitted to MGF Cup cars and others competing competitively in both MGCC and MGOC championships. They're expensive (but value for money - if you know what I mean) and not practical on a daily use car. The other two options you could seriously consider are the MG X-Power roll hoops and Mike Satur's roll hoops. The former has been 'tested' - according to one chap I spoke to at Silverstone last year, but he wasn't able to give me details of what those tests were. The latter hasn't been tested at all, although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that they do work. Which all sounds rather lame. Sorry about that. I'll try and find more out regarding the X-Power roll hoops. If they've been TUV approved, I think I'd be a little happier about their use.

21/04/2004 10:56:57 JP12 I know safety devices do the speedster bars for the MGF, but they do state that they are not intended for motorsport. [url="http://www.safetydevices.co.uk/oldsite/twinhoop.htm"]http://www.safetydevices.co.uk/oldsite/twinhoop.htm[/url] Joe

21/04/2004 21:49:29 mikky2002uk thanks for the info just wanted to know if i needed to get them fitted pryor to a track day.i was looking at roll hoops anyway , but funds wont quite reach to it at the moment.

21/04/2004 21:58:59 Dave [QUOTE=mikky2002uk]thanks for the info just wanted to know if i needed to get them fitted pryor to a track day.i was looking at roll hoops anyway , but funds wont quite reach to it at the moment.[/QUOTE] You shouldn't need a roll cage or hoops for a track day. The day we have at Bedford is with the Lotus Elise guys, who presumably share the same situation us as us Fers - built in roll protection through strengthened windscreen. As Rob says, I've driven Bedford in my F, albeit a year or two ago.

22/04/2004 10:35:10 Rob Bell Thanks Joe - I'd forgotten about the SD roll hoops! D'oh!