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Old 04-23-2019, 06:15 AM   #11
PaulE
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,631
My $0.02 on the broomstick test. My PCA chapter rules require the broomstick test and the BK rollbar extension if necessary to pass it. I've never seen it done at any tech inspection for the 6 HPDE events I've participated in. I've also seen 986 Boxsters without a BK rollbar extension on the track at tracks that have published rules saying they require a BK rollbar extension on any 986 or 987 driving on their track. Instructors "self-tech" in our chapter. There is one instructor with a 986 S who is at least as tall as me, 6 ft 3 in, who runs a 986 Boxster S with a hardtop and no BK rollbar extension. None of the track specific rules say a hardtop eliminates the need for the BK, some even say it is required even with a hardtop.

I don't complain about what others do and I have the BK rollbar extension in my car. One thing to consider regardless of the broomstick test is that a straight rollbar is better than two hoops when a car is upside down, especially on soft surfaces like grass or dirt, the hoops can dig in easier.

I had the experience of being a front seat passenger in a Volkwagen Type 411 that rolled 3 times in the mid 1970's. My friend who just got his license was driving and did something stupid, causing the car to spin into a ditch of the shoulder, bounce back out onto the road and roll three times before staying on its roof and sliding down the road about 100 yards. All the glass blew out and the door window frames were about half their original height when we were done rolling. At the end the car slid off the road onto the dirt and gravel shoulder and the top edge of the roof dug in and we were sprayed with dirt and gravel as the car came to a stop. Since this car was built during the short time that the law required seatbelt interlocks - the car could not be started unless seatbelts were clicked, we had ours on and neither of us were hurt. It's something I hope to never experience in a car again ever.
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