This will not end well.
We’re going all out to avoid the obvious cliché about buying cheap products, but it’s hard. While there are times and places to choose the cheaper route, safety is the most important consideration . We didn’t get to the second paragraph, dammit. We tried.
Donut Media has a very informative video on roll bars. This is not about off-road bars. We’re talking about functional bars for convertibles. This clip is focused on the Mazda MX-5 Miata, a small roadster which often places the driver’s head directly above or below the windshield. No bueno if the car is involved in an accident.
This comparison is open to all. We have a silver rollbar that we purchased online for $65. Although it looks great, the bar is likely to offer little protection due to its four mounting points located on one horizontal axis. The bar bends easily with just a little muscle pulling at one end. The black, triangulated bar costs $600. It is significantly heavier than the other and offers no movement.
We don’t know if the $65 roll-bar was intended to be a functional bar. These items are often considered fashion upgrades. However, this video shows that such an item should not be used as a protective device. The video shows a MX-5 that has had its roof ripped off and a cheap roll bar added.
How did the bar with its sketchy design hold up? Technically, the bar didn’t bend at all and no of its four mounting points were loose. The mounting points enabled the bar to bend forward on impact and hit the head of the crash dummy. The bar was practically useless without any reinforcements other than the horizontal axis.
What’s the moral to this story? You get what you pay… we’ve already covered that. If you aren’t already a skeleton, don’t put a Miata on the roof using a cheap rollbar. Yes, it works.