Autopower roll bar 60783 install/review
 

Hello twin owners.
I recently purchased and installed an Autopower race roll bar (part number 60783) and wanted to leave some feedback for those of you considering this roll bar.

Order Information:
I ordered my roll bar from FT86Speedfactory at the link below. It took a while to arrive (3 weeks) but they are made to order so that is expected. It is shipped freight and may need to be signed for.

Order link:
http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/auto...l#.WArC2_krKUk

How it arrives:
https://i.imgsafe.org/ac6d3dd61d.jpg

Fit:
The fit of the roll bar is spot on and makes install pretty easy.
It does interfere with rear visibility a little bit. (See rear view picture below)
QUICK NOTE -YOU MAY HAVE TO REMOVE THE HEADLINER TO INSTALL THIS ROLL BAR. I had to bc my bar was too tall. Others have found that the headliner will fit with little clearance.

Finish
I am not to impressed with the finish. The paint is looks like a decent job with a rattle can. There were also a few scratches (some pretty deep) that happened during shipping. I recommend having it painted before install.

Install
The directions are hilariously awful, however the install is pretty straightforward so are not really needed. A few things they should have mentioned:

1) There are 4 small pieces of bar tack welded on the bottom of the weld-on plates. Those are only for shipping and need to be removed before install. PRO TIP - grind tack welds flush with the plate and repaint. This will prevent any rust from developing.
2) The main hoop is a little clumsy to get in the car so try to only do it once.
3) There is a driver and passenger side rear bolt on segment. The driver side has a notch cut out of one corner of the rectangular plate on the end. The passenger side is a full rectangle and the plate is curved to the profile of the wheel arch.
4) For some reason Autopower included an additional 4 nuts and did not include washers for the bolt-on mounting plates. I added some stainless steel washers I had on hand.

Driver:
https://image.ibb.co/hWvJ9v/20161021_143724.jpg

Passenger:
https://image.ibb.co/m3G3ba/20161021_143730.jpg

Quick install tips: (This is assuming all the interior is out including the front seats and the battery has been disconnected from the vehicle)
NOTE: The socket to get the seats out is an inverted torx E10. You can use a 12 point socket if you dont have the torx.

Get the main hoop in
Slide the rear side bolt on segments onto the main hoop and bolt them to the main hoop
Mock up roll bar in place
Mark where the weld-on plates land
Move the roll bar towards the front of the car
Remove any paint or seam sealer where weld will be.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Seam sealer will catch on fire if you weld too close to it.
Position roll bar back into its final place.
Tack and weld.
Remove front most section of the rear fender liner.
Drill and bolt the rear segments onto the wheel arches.
Reinstall the rear fender liner.
Reconnect battery/install front seats and enjoy.



Additional pictures:

This is where I ground for welding
https://image.ibb.co/jD4T9v/20161021_141857.jpg

Here is the weld-on plate right before welding
https://image.ibb.co/h0zpGa/20161021_143546.jpg

Drives side interior rear bar mounted
https://image.ibb.co/e4To9v/20161022_194345.jpg

Drives side exterior rear bar mounted
https://image.ibb.co/dEH9Ga/20161022_183058.jpg

Passenger side interior rear bar mounted
https://image.ibb.co/e4To9v/20161022_194345.jpg

Passenger side exterior rear bar mounted
https://image.ibb.co/dxhbwa/20161022_183115.jpg

Rear view mirror shot
https://image.ibb.co/iS1VNF/20161022_194105.jpg

Interior installed pic
https://image.ibb.co/hzJc2F/20161022_194227.jpg

Passenger side installed weld-on mount
https://image.ibb.co/kUGGUv/20161022_194240.jpg

Through the windshield shot
https://image.ibb.co/j9ZLpv/20161022_194258.jpg

Interior installed pic
https://image.ibb.co/ijKaNF/20161022_194319.jpg

Driver side installed weld-on mount
https://image.ibb.co/kXoYba/20161022_194326.jpg

Let me know if you need any specific pictures or if I should add anything to this thread.

Install place plug: (also my place of employment) If you live near Central New York. Phoenix Welding and Fabricating will weld this in for you for $200.

I used to have a 93 Mazda MX6. I ordered one from IO port racing and the thing was spot on then. Autopower has been doing this for a while. Can we get some more pictures of the finished product?

A 93 MX6 was my first car! I loved that car.

I will get more pictures over the weekend.
- Rear view mirror shot
- Finished pictures
- Rear bolt in plate finished pics

Additional pictures were added. Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy.

Thanks for posting your impressions. Ironically, after going back and forth over a custom built rear cage, I just ordered the same bar last week. I was also told about two weeks before delivery so I'm hopinge to have it installed by the end of November.

Has the bar restricted seat travel at all? It looks like the harness bar is very close to the front seats.

You can still move the base of the seat through the entire range of the sliders. I am 5'10" and sit pretty up right and I have a ton of room. The harness bar does not allow the entire seat recline range.

Even if you are really tall and the base of the seat is all the way back I doubt you are going to want to be reclined very much. Im guessing here but seeing as you are considering adding a roll bar I doubt you are the hardcore gangster lean type.

Pretty cool install/review thread, I bought mine a few months ago but unfortunately got the one without the harness bar and cross bar so those will be getting welded in over the winter. Just have a few comments:

-the review mirror problem/inconvenience can be solved by getting a convex rearview mirror

-I installed mine with the headliner and it fits literally perfectly with about a millimeter or two from the headliner in the corners of the main hoop

- even without the harness bar the stock seats can't recline all the way back because the outside shoulder bolster things hit into the main hoop (isn't too much of a problem because you can still have the seat slid all the way back and recline it to a spot that wouldn't be too comfortable for driving)

- plastic inner panels can also be installed but need to be cut to have the legs of the cage go through them


to OP: the cage is not painted it is just coated with something to keep it from getting surface rust in shipping. it is meant to be painted once you receive it (not worth powdercoating it is waaay to expensive, I just got it painted by a normal body shop)


If anyone would be interested in pictures let me know and I'll throw some up

I edited the first post to reflect your findings as well. Thanks for the input.

Also, go ahead and add some pics. I think the more we have the better off potential autopower customers will be.

Looks like you welded the main hoop, any reason why you didn't weld the rears?

Are those the original plates for the mounting locations, or did you modify them?

I was talking to the welder about welding the rears. He said he would if I wanted. I figured they were designed to be bolted in so why bother. Now if anything were to happen to the car and I wanted the cage out all I have to cut is the bottom plate off.

They are the original plates. I just painted them.

I cannot find one for the twins. Where did you gets yours from?

I also have this bar and can't see out of my rear view mirror :(

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...75a8329b9f.jpg

:thumbsup:

Amazon, broadway rear view mirror!
and will do on the picture

Just realized all my pics were down so I uploaded them again. Enjoy.

Glad you welded that lower mount as the body is too weak to bolt there. We actually made a weld down plate with backing nuts so you could still bolt in and remove the cage. It might be a better option for some so the cage can be removed with little effort.

Ant tips on getting the main hoop in the car? This thing is kicking my butt

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Do you have both front seats out?

I got it. Would have been a lot easier with front seats out for sure but I just removed the head rests and was able to shoe horn it in there. Looks like I'll probably still need to remove the carpet for welding though :/


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I would recommend taking the carpet out just for fire purposes. However I just folded mine back and put a weld blanket over it.

Cool, thanks for the info. Do those white plastic pieces holding the carpet to the door frame just pop up? I don't want to break any thing

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Yah. They come off when u pull upwards.

Do you have any pics of the interior pieces. My bar is installed now just trying to figure out how to cut the panels without to much hacking

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are your rear seats still able to fold down with this installed?

Not sure about the rear seats but mine works great with the shrader performance rear seat delete kithttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7f992c2fff.jpg

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Does it look like the rear seats would fold down. Does your rear seat delete kit allow the panels to fold down as well with the cage?

I know that rears seats are about the same height as the rear seat delete kit, so I was hoping that if your kit folds down, then it is likely the rear seats will fold down too.

Let me check. I'll get back to you

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You have to unbolt the bottom of the rear seat back and pull it out and put it back in to get it into the down position with the roll bar in.

I leave my rear seat back in the down position since it’s too much of a pain to back up.




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do you know if you are able to bolt in the main hoop? Or will the main hoop require welding for mounting?

This particular part number listed in the thread title is weld mounted. I believe there is a bolt in option but it wouldn't be easy (or safe) to bolt this one in.

You have to weld in the main hoop.


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After nearly two months from order date... Im blaming the shipping company for this one.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7bb0025cf8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0a0b0cd2b2.jpg

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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e1467c0e60.jpg

Nice Documentation and Pictures
 

I have a 2017 Toyota 86, and since the AutoPower roll bar is for earlier years, it required shortening the two rear braces by a few inches as the inner fender wells are taller in the newer models. I also bought the removable diagonal brace and shoulder harness bar option. It costs a bit more, but makes the rear view mirror issue better for regular driving. Greatly appreciate the time and effort you put into the documentation. Am taking my time in modifying the two plastic interior rear side panels to get the best fit. The abysmal installation paperwork from the factory is many recopies beyond useful for determining the proper trim lines. It appears that cutting along the "seam" lines where the flat portion of the panels blend into the raised portions offer the best opportunities for making the separation cuts, then making additional seams along the center lines of the tubing relief holes that will surround the tubing. Will probably use aluminum backing plates with Nutserts for fastening the split panels together for the proper flush fit. I have a 3D printer and Fusion 360 CAD/CAM if any filler plates are necessary. Having built and raced a number of road racing cars over the years, and knowing the rules for a number of race organizations. The weld-in portion of the main hoop sill plates (feet) typically require full welds around the entire perimeter of those to be fully welded to the chassis. I don't know your intended use of your FRS, and whether it is intended for anything more than parking lot autocrosses, but for road racing and other high speed events most sanctioning organizations won't allow partial welds like what you've done. I cut filler pieces of 1/8" mild steel plate to close all the gaps between the main hoop feet an the chassis tub stiffening stamping areas so there are no air gaps. Best regards, Barry

Thank Barry. Can anyone else confirm the fitment issues on the 2017's? I'm hoping to get this installed in my 2017 in the next few weeks. Thanks!

I bought this for my 2013 BRZ.

They have definitely changed the design since the diagonal bar is not welded to the seat belt bar which is now set a little father back.

The main hoop definitely interferes with the headliner which has to be removed in order to even get it in the car.

The rear down bars seem almost impossible to get in place once the main hoop is in the car. I tried to do the initial installation before painting it but I could only get one of those bars in place. I decided to go ahead and get it painted because I don't have to want to do this more than once.

I guess the bright side is the snug fit will be safer?