Product Review: DIYRoadster Door Bars
 

Hi All. I wanted to contribute to the forums and review some door bars I've had for about a month now. Only recently have I been able do some more spirited/aggressive driving so I want to report on these bars.

I went to Tomales Bay (California) this past weekend for a friend’s birthday (fresh oysters anyone?) and you can imagine the number of windy back roads I got to enjoy which include tight turns to large sweeping curves. Of course there were also those frustrating moments when you get stuck behind an idiot who was driving way too slow and refused to use the designated turn-out....which I'm sure many of you can relate.

Let me first off by saying “DAMN.” These door bars make a noticeable difference (more than a roll bar). I already noticed a difference after installing it but after some twisty roads, you feel the REAL difference.

The two things I noticed were the improvement of steering response when turning in both sharp/wide turns and the extra stability/predictability of the car when you’re turning. The car overall also feels more solid when driving straight and further reduces cowl shake. Normally without bars there’s a lot of “twisting” in frame of the chassis which is very apparent in older Miatas. Due to this weak point, there is a lack of structural stability. With these bars, it feels more solid laterally and longitudinally which is why so many Miata drivers install frame rail reinforcement kits, door bars, and weld the door seems to strengthen this portion of the car.


The following is an overview of my experience with these bars.

Installation: 8
-Some drilling required and no instructions were provided. I will be contacting DIYRoadsters about possibly doing a write-up for them since I took pictures of documentation process.

Price: 10
-Cheaper than any door bars out there. I believe they are doing $250 shipped special since there’s a group buy going on these according to the facebook page.

Finish: 10
-They come in a nice black powder coated finish as do the plates as well.

Functionality: 10
-See review above

Comfort: 9
-I can still use the dead petal/foot rest and crank my windows up/down without hitting the door bar. Other bars hinder either or both. With any door bar, getting in/out will require a little bit more skill. These also appear to sit a little lower than some other bars I’ve seen thus less likely to make make you feel like an animal confined in a cage.


Hope this was useful for anyone considering door bars. Pictures attached below.

Their website: www.diyroadster.com (speak to Narek)

Thanks!

Couple questions --

1. Can you show the rear attachment point? I'm curious how close it comes to the typical roll bar mounting point.

2. How difficult is it to remove and reinstall your seats now? On my previous Miata with door bars (Kirk Racing), the door bars put enough pressure on the seats that getting the seat rail bolts threaded was nearly impossible.

You don't need to remove the seats when you install them. The bars barely touch the side of the seat so I imagine taking them won't be difficult. The bars slightly bow outward and hug the seat vs just a plain straight bar (see the last pictures). I believe having your soft-top down (or removing your hardtop if you have one) will make it easy to remove it over the bars.

I'll try to check and see if there are any issues with removing the seat later today but I'm 95% certain you won't have issues with a stock seat to say the least.

Pictures of the rear mounting point are shown on the passenger side (note I had my seat removed because I didn't know it wasn't required for install). If you have an hard dog roll bar with the lower brackets that mount downward on the wall behind the seat, these bolt straight up to those existing holes (3) without additional drilling.

Just a quick follow up.

I looked at the seat brackets and there should be no problem taking the seat in/out with the door bars installed (OEM seat at least). The bars barely touch the seat (mostly at the front bolster part).

Hope that answers your question.

Anyone think this would fit with Momo Starts? Or do they contact?

I don't know the size/specs of Momo starts. I took a better picture today to show you where it comes in contact with the stock seat.

From the back portion of the seat, you have an additional 1 inch before the bolster touches the bar (it barely touches the plastic covering when the seat is scooted all the way back).

As mentioned, it barely touches the cushion in the front (where the bolstering sticks out).

I'd say measure your seat and find out the specs to determine if it will fit.

Nice tight fit but it would be nice to know what seats they work with.