New GT350/GT350R Docol R8 Roll Bar

[CompetitionMotorsport]

Competition Motorsport would like to introduce our newest roll bar product: the CMS Performance Roll Bar for the Shelby GT350 and GT350R. It is a bolt-in four-point roll bar made from Docol R8 ultra-high-strength steel, fully TIG welded, requiring no floor pan drilling. CMS professionally powder coats each roll bar to your specification -- any color you like -- and ships anywhere in the lower 48, all included in the price. We've been building bolt-in roll bars for years for the Porsche market -- GT3, GT3RS, Cayman GT4 and 987 Cayman -- and with the arrival of our GT350, we wanted to use the expertise we've gained building roll bars and race cars to create a premium product for the GT350.

Fitment is guaranteed to be drop-in. We can't stand having to wrestle roll bars into cars, so we've perfected our manufacturing to the point where everything lines up perfectly. Installation takes a couple guys two to three hours. You can check out the instructions HERE.

We build all our roll bars (and race car chassis) out of Docol R8, an ultra-high-strength steel that is 10-15% stronger than 4130 CrMo and about 40% stronger than mild DOM steel used in a lot of roll bars. R8 doesn't crack under impact, and doesn't get brittle at the welds like 4130. All of that lets us use 1.75" x .095" tubing to bring down weight while maintaining superior strength, impact absorption, and rigidity. As a result, the CMS GT350 roll bar weighs just 52 lbs. despite using all 1-3/4" tubing for a beefy look befitting the GT350.

As an introductory offer, from now through October 17, Mustang6G members get $300 off a CMS Performance Roll Bar. You can PM us for details or give us a call at (844) 438-7244. Just mention you saw us on Mustang6G!

Here are a couple photos to give you an idea (there are more at competitionmotorsport.com):

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[Demonic]

Interesting. The guys on Rennlist seem happy with these bars and the Docol shaves 15 pounds off the Watson bar. Can you powder coat them in the actual Ford Race Red like Watson does?

 

[madlag]

Interesting. The guys on Rennlist seem happy with these bars and the Docol shaves 15 pounds off the Watson bar. Can you powder coat them in the actual Ford Race Red like Watson does?

Same question here. I'm interested.

 

[CompetitionMotorsport]

We sure can powder coat them in Race Red; we color-match to paint codes (PQ) and paint samples. That was the first color we matched, actually, since we thought it looked very cool with a variety of car colors.

As for Docol R8, we're pretty surprised other manufacturers haven't adopted it as opposed to 4130 or DOM. Most race cars use either R8 or DOM for safety cages, as 4130 is just too brittle at the welds and doesn't absorb energy well.

 

[Offboost]

Does this allow for full seat travel?

 

[Hack]

what actual material is it? Docol R8 is a brand name, not a material name.

 

[Tank]

It is a bolt-in four-point roll bar made from Docol R8 ultra-high-strength steel, fully TIG welded, requiring no floor pan drilling.

The website says it comes w a drill bit, could you please clarify what the drill bit is for considering the quote above?

Edit: no need to respond.

 

[CompetitionMotorsport]

Does this allow for full seat travel?

Yes, it does for both driver and passenger side.

 

[CompetitionMotorsport]

what actual material is it? Docol R8 is a brand name, not a material name.

Docol (R8 and R10) are advanced high-strength steel (AHSS). It undergoes special heat treatment in a continuous annealing line, producing a two-phase structure: Ferrite imparts unique forming properties representing one phase; and martensite accounting for high strength represents the other phase. Docol is not a standard, single-phase High Strength Steel (HSS). Here are a few properties:

• Stronger than 4130 CrMo by 10 to 15 percent.
• Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) in Docol is much smaller in area, less brittle and retains better elongation than 4130.
• Greater resistance to fatigue than 4130.
• Absorbs energy and presents a more consistent and controlled failure mode.
• More accurate, consistent dimensional and mechanical properties due to the manufacturing process (rolled/welded vs. extruded).

Basically, Docol gets it's strength, weldability, and ductility from process rather than alloying. Hope that helps!

 

[CompetitionMotorsport]

The website says it comes w a drill bit, could you please clarify what the drill bit is for considering the quote above?

Edit: no need to respond.

For clarity's sake, there's no drilling into the floor pan for the kicker mounting. We designed the kickers to mount to existing reinforced mounting points for the rear seat bottom, on a corner in the sheet metal for added strength. We don't like mounting to the floor pan (even over the rear cross member) as the forces involved in a roll over won't go into the cross member but will likely shear the bolts or bolt-holes.

For the front (main) hoop, four holes must be drilled in the rear seat bulkhead. This bulkhead is high-strength steel, requiring cobalt bits which we provide (Ford's HSS is very high strength!). They drill through like butter; this ends up being a more secure mount than using existing holes in the car's sheet metal.

This also allows the main hoop to install with the rear trim panels in place. There are different ways to get to the same basic place; we believe this to be the best.

 

[Offboost]

PM a price please in race red.

 

[Hack]

Docol (R8 and R10) are advanced high-strength steel (AHSS). It undergoes special heat treatment in a continuous annealing line, producing a two-phase structure: Ferrite imparts unique forming properties representing one phase; and martensite accounting for high strength represents the other phase. Docol is not a standard, single-phase High Strength Steel (HSS). Here are a few properties:

• Stronger than 4130 CrMo by 10 to 15 percent.
• Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) in Docol is much smaller in area, less brittle and retains better elongation than 4130.
• Greater resistance to fatigue than 4130.
• Absorbs energy and presents a more consistent and controlled failure mode.
• More accurate, consistent dimensional and mechanical properties due to the manufacturing process (rolled/welded vs. extruded).

Basically, Docol gets it's strength, weldability, and ductility from process rather than alloying. Hope that helps!

Thank you for the reply. I had assumed that the manufacturing process was the unique thing about the tubing. What steel alloy is being used?

 

[CompetitionMotorsport]

Thank you for the reply. I had assumed that the manufacturing process was the unique thing about the tubing. What steel alloy is being used?

That's a great question. Docol, per the manufacturer, is an alloy a bit unto itself, unlike 4130. Here's the last shipment we received:

Material Chemistry:
C = 0.03%
Si = 0.02%
Mn = 1.69%
P = 0.01%
S = 0.003%
Cr = 0.03%
Ni = 0.04%
Mo = 0.000%
B = 0.0001%
Al = 0.033%
Cu = 0.01%
Nb= 0.059%
Ti = 0.12%
V = 0.02%
N= 0.005%

Mechanical Properties: Yield = 126.2 ksi (870.2 Mpa), Tensile = 140.7 ksi (970.1 Mpa), Elongation @ 2" = 10%

 

[Demonic]

Thank you for the reply. I had assumed that the manufacturing process was the unique thing about the tubing. What steel alloy is being used?

Apparently "Docol R8" is the actual industry term used. That's what's also listed in the SFI and NASA documents listing its acceptance in place of 3140.

 

[CompetitionMotorsport]

Apparently "Docol R8" is the actual industry term used. That's what's also listed in the SFI and NASA documents listing its acceptance in place of 3140.

That's true, it's referred to in governing bodies' rules as "Docol R8" specifically, unlike 4130 which is a generic description of an SAE grade with a particular chemical composition. Still, for those of you who -- like me -- like to geek out on this stuff, I referenced the material chemistry of our last shipment above (in that case, this was 1.5" x .095" for a different product, but that doesn't matter much).

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