Streetable Roll Bar Recommendations - Watson v Cooltech v CMS v ???

[Hack]

Whoa nelly. How long does it take to go back and forth like that?

Maybe 3 hours or so. The time consuming part on the original installation is drilling holes and getting the threaded metal plates in place.

Anyway - it's worth it to me. I don't want to leave the bar in the car all the time.

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[HR213]

That looks really nice. Are you running a rear seat delete with that, or left it bare?

Bare for now. Since the R is a base it works out well.

 

[zzrat]

I've done a bit of researching on a roll bar & haven't got around to purchasing one yet. Thinking that I didn't want to cut holes thru the seat delete panels & would purchase aftermarket pieces to use. HR213, you've been running with out the panels. Does this raise the noise level much? thanks

 

[Hack]

I've done a bit of researching on a roll bar & haven't got around to purchasing one yet. Thinking that I didn't want to cut holes thru the seat delete panels & would purchase aftermarket pieces to use. HR213, you've been running with out the panels. Does this raise the noise level much? thanks

When I have the roll bar in my car I leave the rear seats out. Yes, it does raise the noise level quite a bit. Not just road noise; you can really hear the exhaust note clearly with the rear seats out of the car! Not a big deal on track, but it is a little annoying during regular driving, IMO.

 

[HR213]

I've done a bit of researching on a roll bar & haven't got around to purchasing one yet. Thinking that I didn't want to cut holes thru the seat delete panels & would purchase aftermarket pieces to use. HR213, you've been running with out the panels. Does this raise the noise level much? thanks

Removing the rear seat delete has raised the audible sound of the exhaust but in a good way. It's about the difference from resonator to non resonators. That being said I will be making fiberglass copy of the OEM R delete panel that will fit the CMS bar as it's going to get a little loud for the spouse when I add the test pipes.

 

[racingandfishing]

I know this is a GT350 thread, but I have this rear seat delete in my car now and intend to use it with the CMS rollbar.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-1517MLD/mustang-reinforced-rear-seat-delete-kit-15-17

The piece comes folded in half in the box as opposed to completely rigid like the Ford one. Much less expensive but the quality is decent and I like the OEM look. They also have a cheaper version, but that one appears to be just molded carpet.

Just thought someone might be interested if they don't want to cut up their OEM piece.

 

[ZX3ST]

I know this is a GT350 thread, but I have this rear seat delete in my car now and intend to use it with the CMS rollbar.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-1517MLD/mustang-reinforced-rear-seat-delete-kit-15-17

The piece comes folded in half in the box as opposed to completely rigid like the Ford one. Much less expensive but the quality is decent and I like the OEM look. They also have a cheaper version, but that one appears to be just molded carpet.

Just thought someone might be interested if they don't want to cut up their OEM piece.

Wow, thanks for the link. I had no idea that piece existed.

Any chance you've compared this directly with the Ford piece?

At less than half the cost, this could be a great alternative.

 

[Demonic]

Wow, thanks for the link. I had no idea that piece existed.

Any chance you've compared this directly with the Ford piece?

At less than half the cost, this could be a great alternative.

I have the same delete cover and also have an R. I just didn’t want to cut into the original R cover. It’s a good match. If I gave you both pieces side by side you would be able to tell them apart, but once in the back of the car no one would know it’s any different from the R one save for maybe the missing labels telling you not to throw babies onto it.

 

[Grintch]

I have a Watson in my car. I install/remove before/after each track day. It's not too big a deal in my opinion to do that. I definitely drive as little as possible on the street with the roll bar in there. The seats don't go back/recline to my normal driving position with the Watson roll bar installed. It's fine on track because then I have the seat more upright and farther forward, but I don't find that driving position to be comfortable for normal street driving.

Thanks. Had not seen mention of limited seat travel or recline before. That a deal breaker for me, at 6'4" I need all the room I can get.

 

[rick shea]

Thanks. Had not seen mention of limited seat travel or recline before. That a deal breaker for me, at 6'4" I need all the room I can get.

I am researching both options and both say that in the GT350 they have full seat travel forward and back. Neither will give you full reclining. I think it is a matter of which one you believe has the best installation for safety, if you want a roll bar shipped to you in a color of your choice or in two stock colors, legacy ford racing experience, and price. You will find an equal number of people who defend their choice for either option. But the design and structure of the bars are very different.

 

[Next Phase]

I went with the Watson since the red matched the R accents. The cost was significantly less than the Cooletch (at the time) and the CMS wasn't available yet.

I'm 6' and don't have any issues with seat travel OR recline with the bar in. I tend to drive all my manual vehicles in a more "race" posture (to promote good habits on track).

I also used an aftermarket 3 piece seat delete kit for an easier install - also didn't want to cut up the one piece seat delete.

No concerns about driving with the bar in all the time, I'm a good distance away from hitting the bar. Lastly, the install was pretty straightforward, but the mfg tolerances gave me some issues with getting the rear bars to align with the fronts.

I would buy again!

 

[Rob-17GT350]

The members on this forum have provided so much valuable information that has helped me so I wanted to contribute for those currently considering a roll bar. I installed a CMS roll bar in my GT350. Quality of the roll bar is very good and aside from variation of the threaded hole location in the chassis for the kickers, install was very straight forward. Patience is definitely needed when drilling the holes into the high strength steel for the main hoop
I also installed a rear seat delete. I liked the look of the GT350R seat delete compared the flat panel kits. The reinforced kit mentioned above is no longer available so I used the kit in the below link. Instead of putting the carpet over the plastic side panels, I put it under, which I thinks looks good and holds it in place much better. In the kit, one sided velcro strips are included but it didn't seem like they would hold the carpet in place so I used regular two sided velcro and it worked well.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-R2015/must...MIo52G5fb75gIVlODICh3WrwMfEAQYASABEgKvCPD_BwE

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