Roll Bar for the 996/GT2/3 Mk2

Roll Bar for the 996/GT2/3 Mk2 Being 6'2", I appreciate leg room in my GT3/Mk2, and drive with the stock seat in the fully extended aft position on the street. In the past, I have had BBI and Tequipment bars. Both restricted rearward travel of the stock GT3 seat, the Tequipment more so than the BBI. Both bars have gone in and subsequently come out of the car. I have identified three (3) other bolt in bars, with all three (3) attaching their rearward portion to the rear upper strut mount, a good thing I feel. GMG and DASsport claim they do not restrict rearward travel of the stock seat, Cantrell is not so specific, only saying that the stock seat can be used with their respective bars. My question, anyone installed a GMG, DASsport or Cantrell bar into a 996 or 996 GT2/3 Mk2 and have been able to fully extend the stock seats rearward? Any shared experience will be appreciated.

I can confirm that a DAS Sport roll bar does not restrict standard seat travel in my 996.2 C2.

I don't have issue with my RSS and I'm the same height.

I have Dassport, I have no issues, but I am only 5'8" The Indy that use to work on my car was over 6'5", he was cramped. When you are deciding which bar, i can tell you a couple of the things that made me decide on Dassport. 1) The cross bars do not interfere with rear view mirror, I sat in other cars with different brands and the diagonal bar was right in the way of my vision. 2) The rear mounts go on to struts and have a cross bar, see photo, this acts as a rear strut brace, it really does stiffen the car 3) The front loop attaches with plates that sit right on top of sub frame of car, much more solid than the type that utilize the seat belt bolt, in the event of a roll over the bolts shear strength are holding up the bar.

I had a DASsport bar in my 993, Colin was great to work with. Good to here that seat travel is not inhibited. I will ask DASsport to send me a pic of the front attachment points.

I have a GMG and seat travel (to the rear) is slightly reduced. - approx. 1" - 1.5".

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This is NOT what GMG claims in their advertising. They specifically say that seat travel is not restricted. 1" to 1/5" of reduced seat travel is a big thing for some of us larger drivers. Invaluable Information, thanks so much!!!! This is copy from their web site: Designed to work standard reclining seats or GT3 fixed back seats offering drivers the ability to move the seat all the way back (Not possible with the factory Tequipment Rollbar).

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They may claim that but I guarantee you it limited my rearward travel. While I'm not as tall as you I needed as much rearward travel as possible to make it easier to get in/out when wearing my prosthetic legs. So I definitely notice an inch or so less room. Plus....my shop confirmed it for me when they installed it.

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GMG may be less than candid in the copy on their web site. This is a sorry state....thank you David 993S for the update.

Revival bump, but the more info the merrier to share on this topic. Just installed a RSS 901 in my 996 with the Sport Seats, I believe they are the same to stock gt3? No clearance issues, full travel back for the drivers seat. Passenger seat does hit the bar at full rear extension in the mid harness bar. Requires the seat back to be more upright not to hit.

I am running the Agency Power bar and it appears to limit rearward travel of the seat very little, using GT3 Euro seats. It does contact the seat frame on the portion of the bar that the seat belt bolt passes thru as a rearward "stop". I am not sure how it would be on your stock sport seats, probably would depend on the seat back angle which is not an issue w/ the GT3 Euro seats. I have a set of sport seats but have never run them w/ the bar installed. Some people "poopoo" this bar but I found it to be well made, good hardware, and bolts right in with no issues.

Update: The RSS 931 Competition Roll Bar is in, no seat interference that I have detected. Probably because the hoop mounts to the chassis, 3 bolts each side, and not to the seat belt attachment point at the base of the "B" pillar...this is where most bars, other than the Cantrell and the RSS 931, are mounted. I convinced myself that six (6) little holes would be acceptable. Note the enclosed pic is off the RSS website. I'll shoot some of my car this weekend.

^^ That looks nice Martin. I wish I had gone that route.

MikeAWD has a BBI bar FS right now and I've been on the fence about picking it up since I'm going to be in South FL this weekend. I like that it uses the rear shock towers but also allows Bose, but seat travel limitation would be a big turn-off for me as I am also over 6'. I also am in a pickle because I don't see how I could get in the back to adjust my rear konis once the bar is in.

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David, The trade off for the RSS 931 and Cantrell bar, you need to drill 6 holes into the chassis. I can live with that, it's my car after all. It's all a matter of personal preference. Safety is paramount to all of us, but what really drove my decision was seat travel. I bought. the car with the BBI bar, thought the Tequipment bar would be better for seat travel, not really. So I bit the bullet for the RSS 931. That bar is also heavy...just another trade off. Another driver, Stable Energy out of N J had the bar on sale...no CA sales tax, loving that. The trade off, $300 in freight...a little more than the sales tax, but I always feel better dodging sales tax. The State of CA has had enough of our family's hard earned money.

I ended up passing on the BBI bar mostly because I couldn't find a time to get to South FL to pick it up. I did just get off the phone with Colin at DAS Sport and ordered their bar. A few perks of the bar were already mentioned, but I wanted to add a few more: A. 0.120" wall thickness. the DAS Sport, Tarrett, and BBI have this. GMG doesn't say, Cantrell and Rennline both advertise as 0.095". I consider this a mandatory, from a safety and from a time-trials compliance standpoint. I'll admit I don't have every rule book for every club memorized, but I do believe that NASA and others require 0.120" thickness for certain time trials classes, should I ever start doing those. B. 1.75" tubing diameter. The Cantrell, DAS Sport, tarett, and Rennline all have this but Sharkwerks and BBI are 1.5". GMG again doesn't advertise what theirs is. Again I consider 1.75" mandatory; I'm going to the trouble to get a bar so I want as strong as possible. C. Price. It still isn't cheap by most standards, but for 996 it's below $2k, mostly due to being mild steel and not crmoly. Sure I'd love to save a few pounds, but I'm not going to spend $800 extra to do it. I think the Tarett bar is probably the "best" bar: it's 1.75 by 0.120" tubing, It's cromoly, it ties in the rear strut mounts, it is (apparently) bose compatible, it has strong forward mounts that won't punch through the floor (although I do believe you have to drill), and I've heard it doesn't limit the rearward seat travel. However, it's $2500 vs the DAS Sport $1700. I like my Bose and I'd love to save weight, but it's not worth $800 to do so. That's a good down payment on my MCS suspension I'm saving up for. I hope GMG improves the copy on their website, because I would have considered their products much more if it was obvious what the tubing dimensions were.

The DAS is a nice bar. The two piece design makes it a breeze to install. It is hefty, but it is a well thought out design. I'm happy with mine.

There are basically two (2) real roll bars worth buying, IM most HO if you want a tough, well designed bar and no restriction of rearward seat travel. Why is this? My size, 6'2" and 220 Lbs. I need the seat all the way to the rear. I also want the option to run with a GT2 seat at the track, and my stock GT3 seat for the street. Stock GT3 seat is more comfortable than the GT2 seat with adjustments available for the pitch of the seat back. If you drive with a GT2 narrow seat, probably all of the bars will work. But if you plan to drive with a stock USA GT3 seat, there are only 2 harness bars that don't restrict seat travel, the RSS bar, and the Cantrell. Why? The forward mount is to the chassis NOT one bolt each side to the "B" pillar seat belt post. With the RSS and the Cantrell, there are 3 bolts each side to the chassis. The RSS has another nice feature, the lateral bar running behind the seat where the shoulder belts are attached, curves to the rear providing even more rearward seat room if needed. The Cantrell bar is straight across. I wrote up an extensive post or two on GT2/GT3 forum last Fall. See https://rennlist.com/forums/996-gt2-...-research.html In my search for the best possible bar, my criteria was great design (strength) and no GT3 stock seat rearward seat restriction, all failed the test with the exception of my 2 choices, RSS and Cantrell. My car came with a BBI bar, rear seat extension problems with the stock seat, but incredible construction of this 2 piece bar. I sold it and replaced it with the Tequipment bar, what a disaster, big rearward seat travel restriction. GMG writes up a great ad, but the forward mount is to the "B" pillars seat belt anchor bolts. DASsport makes a well designed bar, but it too attaches to the "B" pillar. Collin et al from DASsport are great people, but I needed full rearward extension. The other option, if you can live with a "B" pillar attachment , is the extremely well designed harness bar by Rennline. It has a unique advantage of potentially being removable between track events.

I was really confused because all I had seen from RSS were the 901 and the 930, which are both 1.5" and use the seat belt bolts. I do however see now the 931 model you are speaking of, and agree it looks like a quality piece. I think you made a good call so long as you're comfortable with the drilling. Personally, I am not, however I also have the choice between stock "comfort" seats, which are total bull****, and my euro GT3 Seats. The euro GT3 seats stay in all the time. Because of that, even though I am 6'2" 200lbs+ like you, I am less worried about the rearward travel. More clubs are not allowing harness bars. I wouldn't ever do one; if I'm putting a bar in, it will provide rollover protection as well. The cantrell is 0.095" wall thickness but it is CrMo and 1.75". I wouldn't say it's unsafe but still it's not "legal" for some things due to the thickness. I agree it also looks like a nice bar but the price reflects it.

FWIW, I have an RSS bar and GT3 euro buckets. The lower corner of the side mount bracket hits the lower mount of the roll bar, likely restricting travel by an inch or so. Not a problem for me since I'm 5'10". Previous owner was 6'4", and removed the owner manual shelf as well as switching to a DCT flat bottom, small diameter steering wheel.

coffeehead do you have the RSS 901, 930, or 931? and what harnesses are you guys using? I need to go ahead and order a pair

also has anyone gotten their roll bar leather- wrapped like the Singer restomods do?

Just bumping this for anyone interested. I just finished installing a RSS 901 roll bar last night with my buddy. It was his roll bar and he is going to a club sport version. I�m pretty impressed overall by the construction of the RSS. I�m 6�3�� and I don�t have any issue fitting, although the passenger seat is a bit more restricted.