Roll bar installation at home possible? - SPS Installation Instruction for MX-5 Roll bars

We keep getting questions about installing a roll bar in the MX-5. How complicated is the installation? What do I have to consider? Can I do the installation myself in my garage at home, or should I leave it to a specialist workshop? All of this is explained in today's MotorBlog.
As already explained in our blog about roll bars in the MX-5, the roll bar is a very important safety component in an MX-5 and is always worth an investment. But especially with safety-relevant components, the question naturally arises of how exactly you install the roll bar and what you should pay attention to. First of all, it should be mentioned that we have already uploaded a large number of installation instructions to our shop. These can be found on the corresponding article page in the "Downloads" tab.

Preparation of the car:

First of all, you should prepare the vehicle for installation. To do this, remove both seats from the vehicle (simply loosen the 4 screws of the seat sliders to the floor assembly, if necessary loosen the plugs on the seat for seat occupancy, speakers and side airbag before lifting them out) and remove the covers in the area behind the seats.
With the NA / NB / NBFL, the rear carpet is removed and the cover plate of the convertible top compartment, which is attached in a U-shape around the tank, is removed. In addition, the covers of the belt towers must be removed.
With NC and ND, the plastic panels behind the seats must be removed in order to access the later attachment points.

Modifcation of the body:

Of course, we have to create a little space to be able to mount the new roll bar in the car. To do this, we first carefully insert the roll bar into the car so that we can estimate how much we have to cut out at which points and mark these areas.
With the MX-5 NA / NB / NBFL it is common to have to adjust the rear convertible top compartment and the cover plate that was removed beforehand. We adjust the convertible top compartment first, the cover plate is then adjusted later as soon as the roll bar is firmly installed in the vehicle. However, both components should not be cut out too heavily so that the carpet does not hang down in this area later. In a vehicle with ABS, the ABS cables must not be laid because the roll bar has an attachment point on the old cable feed-through. To do this, simply drill a new hole a little further forward and lead the ABS cable through there. In the case of an XL roll bar from us, the bar on the belt towers still has to be cut off. You can find more information on this in the new installation instructions for the XL roll bar.
With the MX-5 NC and MX-5 ND, the roll bar can actually be used without any major adjustment work. However, you should always check that the roll bar is not touching any surrounding parts anywhere and make adjustments if necessary.

The cut-out sheet metal parts should then be sealed again with a touch-up pen so that the rust has no chance here.

First fitment of the roll bar to the car:

After all the adjustment work, you can finally put the roll bar in the car and get a first look at how the roll bar will later sit in the car. Here you should check the adapted sheet metal parts again so that nothing is in contact with the roll bar. The screw connections of the roll bar can now be loosely attached and any holes that may still be required can be drilled into the body. These should then also be sealed again with a touch-up pen.

Tightening of the roll bar:

The new roll bar can now be finally attached to the car. If necessary, you should definitely not forget the counter plates on the underside and the belt sleeves for XL roll bars. Information on the correct arrangement of the belt sleeves can also be found in the installation instructions for the XL bracket. For the final attachment, it is advisable to work with 2 people on the vehicle. One person in the interior and one person under the car to be able to counter the nuts. You can find information on tightening torques in the corresponding installation instructions for your bracket.
You should always ensure that the roll bar is attached evenly in the car and that it is not strained. This is extremely important as the tense roll bar can later settle and it will then loosen.

Assembly and modification of the remaining parts:

Now that the roll bar is safe and secure in the vehicle, we can start assembling the previously dismantled parts.
For the MX-5 NA / NB / NBFL we start with the adjustment of the cover plate. You can hold this in place and mark the necessary sections. As already mentioned, you should not cut out too much here so that the carpet does not fall into the cutout and bulge afterwards. After adjusting and setting the sheet metal in place, the same is done with the carpet. For this you should ideally make a cut from the outside and then cut out an oval cutout for the rear support struts at the level of the strut. Better to enlarge it bit by bit instead of cutting it once too big, you probably only have this one carpet at hand. Then the cover of the belt towers (these must also be adjusted) and the seats can be reassembled.
With the MX-5 NC and MX-5 ND, the rear panels must also be adjusted accordingly so that the panels do not touch the roll bar. The seats can then be reassembled in the vehicle here as well.

Final work:

We have now installed our new roll bar in our vehicle. First you should check the full travel of the soft top so that the roll bar does not come into contact with the soft top at any point. If available, the hardtop can be put on carefully so that you can also check whether the hardtop fits over the roll bar without touching it.
If noises occur after the first test drive, it may be because the roll bar was mounted under tension. In this case, all fastening screws should be checked for tightness and tightened if they are loose. After that, the noises should be gone.

Do you have any unanswered questions about installing the roll bar? We look forward to every question, either under this blog with the comment function or alternatively by email directly to us!

Your SPS Motorsport Team