Roll bar padding for the street and Half Hood quandary

[Reiver]

Gents,

 

I contacted soft bits yesterday to get a half hood and once they got my measurements Tristan said it would not work due to the padding on my roll bars.  They could send a pattern, I'd measure and send back and no idea about the price etc...sounds like a pita.

I will need a 'sunscreen' come summer. 

I rarely see padding on anyone's bars but it seems to me a pretty obvious safety issue if in an accident.  Am I being overly cautious and what is/are the experiences here.  I do use the 4 point harness. 

[MV8]

Use padding that is thick in one direction instead of all the way around. There are other ways to attach it to the bar. I see the issue being just the extra width at the corners of the bar, that could leave you with wrinkles and possible flapping center. A local upholstery shop could notch and hem or add a little material if it is that bad a fit.

[Reiver]

That is thicker facing forward, oblong, but obviously thicker than required..... I think I'll order the hood with the measurements taken without the padding and make it work when the top arrives.  As you mentioned a V wedge in the proper location could offer more room.

[Vovchandr]

With the harnesses and my height I don't see any situation where my head would be at risk hitting the bars. 

 

And If the car is bending in such a way that my head is making contact, padding will have a negligible impact at that point. 

[Reiver]

  On 3/27/2025 at 8:37 PM, Vovchandr said:

With the harnesses and my height I don't see any situation where my head would be at risk hitting the bars. 

 

And If the car is bending in such a way that my head is making contact, padding will have a negligible impact at that point. 

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More than likely true...... I am only 5'9 and 180 ... my wife tho is 6'2...lol...nah

Edited Thursday at 09:04 PM by Reiver

[CBuff]

My soft bits half hood skewed on the big side. Not sure if this is just a one off situation or if they all come like that.  If so I think it would almost accommodate some padding. 
 

maybe get the half hood and see if it works. If not then tweak the padding or remove it. 
 

[theDreamer]

Our car has a leather covered padded roll bar as can be seen in the photos. The standard hood clears the padding with no issues. The half hoods use the roll bar not a hood stick so as stated above it should work. You may have to do some tweaking but as long as you get the correct size for your roll bar it should work. You want to measure from the front of the windscreen to rear of the roll bar. The distance from rear seam to inside front lip of the half hood should be the same + or - a 1/4" or so. Several of us with the older vertical style roll bars have had problems because the hoods shipped have been too sort being made for the newer, angled forward roll bar. (About 4 inches different give or take.)

[Reiver]

CBuff, yeah, my padding would fit under that no sweat...I've sent in the new naked bar measurements, so we'll see what shows up (in 8 weeks or so)...we have the same roll bar.

 

Dreamer,  Very nice cover there...who made that for you btw.  I suspect your interior guy did so.  If the hood comes a bit large it'll be perfect.  Either way I'll figure a way to pad the bar.   Just makes me feel better even if it is not really a thing.

 

The FIA cross hoop I have leans a tad forward but is mostly upright.

Edited Friday at 03:47 AM by Reiver

[mrmustang]

  On 3/27/2025 at 4:03 PM, Reiver said:

Gents,

 

I contacted soft bits yesterday to get a half hood and once they got my measurements Tristan said it would not work due to the padding on my roll bars.  They could send a pattern, I'd measure and send back and no idea about the price etc...sounds like a pita.

I will need a 'sunscreen' come summer. 

I rarely see padding on anyone's bars but it seems to me a pretty obvious safety issue if in an accident.  Am I being overly cautious and what is/are the experiences here.  I do use the 4 point harness. 

Expand  

For my race cars, when the bar to structure was tight, I used the following type (roll bar diameter needs to be checked for each application, they are made in different sizes)

https://www.a1racing.com/quickcar-racing-products-58-212-sfi-mini-roll-bar-padding.aspx

 

Strong self adhesive, so if you buy it and plan to install, make certain you fit first, then have an extra set of hands/eyes during install, as this is a one and done situation.

 

Bill

[CharlesG]

I'm 6'1" and the seat headrest is useless for me, so I used self adhesive padding where my head contacts the roll bar.

[Reiver]

Thanks gents.  Bill I've seen that padding and it is hard itself, that is for use with a helmet I believe.  I'm not sure about its ability to absorb shock unless wearing one.  Still, better than steel.

Charles, how hard is that padding you have?

[CharlesG]

It's firm but not too hard. If I'm in a situation where I need that padding, I want something that will protect me. The softer products won't be as effective. 

[Reiver]

  On 3/28/2025 at 5:00 PM, CharlesG said:

It's firm but not too hard. If I'm in a situation where I need that padding, I want something that will protect me. The softer products won't be as effective. 

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Where did you source that pad Charles?

[KnifeySpoony]

  On 3/27/2025 at 8:37 PM, Vovchandr said:

With the harnesses and my height I don't see any situation where my head would be at risk hitting the bars. 

 

And If the car is bending in such a way that my head is making contact, padding will have a negligible impact at that point. 

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You might be surprised how much belts stretch in a crash. That said we all have our risk tolerance. I don't have any padding on my bar. Even with a helmet (which I always wear in my car) it's not ideal from a safety perspective. 

[theDreamer]

  On 3/28/2025 at 3:46 AM, Reiver said:

< snip >

Dreamer,  Very nice cover there...who made that for you btw.  I suspect your interior guy did so.  If the hood comes a bit large it'll be perfect.  Either way I'll figure a way to pad the bar.   Just makes me feel better even if it is not really a thing.

< snip >

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@Reiver my car is all original as ordered form the factory. The custom two-tone grey “S” leather interior was 2064.29. The special leather boot cover was 150.00. The roll over bar’s custom padded leather cover was 85.00 and the spare tire cover was 75.00. This is taken from the 1993 Caterham invoice. I can’t see where it specifies the currency so these values may be in Pounds Sterling.  I shudder to think how much a good leather man would charge to replicate this interior at today’s prices. Good luck with the half hood. Looking forward to seeing it on your car.

[slowdude]

Ive got the FIA bar with a half hood on an S3. I can confirm it fits a little loose/long.

 

I'm with @Vovchandr, the padding is more of a mental support than an actual safety tool.

 

Speaking of safety, I'd thinl the foam cover is worse (could retain water) and encourage rust.

 

I'd ditch it, order the S3 half hood and call it a day. 

 

Your wife's height may require a cross bar pad or some sort of generic head support from jegs, if so desired.

Edited Friday at 08:17 PM by slowdude

[CarlB]

It appears to me that what is on your roll bar is pipe insulation. SCCA requires SFI padding. There is a post with a web site above. I wouldn’t bother unless there was a place your helmet or head would hit it. Someone said belts stretch and that is true. How often have you seen a Caterham flip and land on its bar?

[KnifeySpoony]

Flipping or getting otherwise launched isn't that uncommon with Caterham racing because of the exposed front wheels. I personally have made contact with another car on track (a tin top however) and was not launched thankfully. I should 100% have the full cage but I live dangerously.

 

 

[CharlesG]

  On 3/28/2025 at 6:02 PM, Reiver said:

Where did you source that pad Charles?

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I got it from Summit Racing. It's 1 in thick high density SFI approved.

Edited Friday at 09:52 PM by CharlesG
Added info

[Reiver]

  On 3/28/2025 at 8:16 PM, slowdude said:

Ive got the FIA bar with a half hood on an S3. I can confirm it fits a little loose/long.

 

I'm with @Vovchandr, the padding is more of a mental support than an actual safety tool.

 

Speaking of safety, I'd thinl the foam cover is worse (could retain water) and encourage rust.

 

I'd ditch it, order the S3 half hood and call it a day. 

 

Your wife's height may require a cross bar pad or some sort of generic head support from jegs, if so desired.

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Lol, I'm in Arizona in a small town about 70 miles from Phoenix.... nothing rusts here...nothing.  One of my favorite things actually....