Hey everyone, first time here. I'm wondering- in the event of a rollover, how does a T-top Camaro hold up structurally as compared to a hardtop? Obviously convertibles don't hold up well at all, but is there a big distinction between the T-top and hardtop in terms of rollover safety?

 

I would say a hard top would hold up better bearly ,couse with t tops you got glass right there so hardly no protection above ones head ,though I don't think any roll over would be good without a roll gage ,,an if you had the t tops off during rollover then no protection ,I once forgot to lock my drivers side down ,an was going along about 50mph hit the gas it flew off like piece of newspaper ,an was glad it cleared the car an know one was behind at the time ,wont forget that again ,,I would say no more protection then a convertible in both hard top an t top ,with a covertible you may get thrown free or the wreck

 

structurally, there's not a big difference. If you peel off the roof skin (cosmetic, not structural), beneath it you will find that the roof structure is framed out for t-tops. Cut the side rails above the windows, and you are able to convert a hard top into t-top like factory. The car was made to go either way. In a rollover, the difference you'd be concerned more about is broken glass from the tops, not the roof behind your head crunching.

 

I would think the door rails that need to be cut out to do the conversion would add some strength but I am sure it would not amount to much in a roll over. I believe my hard top is more rigid then my t-top car just based on how it jacks up with a floor jack.

 

Against body twist, I'm sure they help. But when upside down, the bar behind/over your head is what will save you in either model.
The real key is to keep the car tire side down.

 

exactly I don't think any roll over ,would be good ,though one may surive ,in a tip over better with the hard top duck tall guys like myself

 

May want to consider that the on the 4 th gen cars the "hard top" is only a sheet of plastic. These cars are pretty hard to flip unless you drive like a total nut, in which case you may want to install a roll cage.

 

I think it would be a good guess to say couse of the sleak design of all Camaros no matter wich year ,roll over could be bad ,but like said above unless you roll it on a hill ,hard to roll over

 

To all of y'all saying it's hard to roll over, he never specified if this was in the course of regular driving or racing. This concern is valid if you're racing your car, one bad move, blowout, suspension component failure, etc. and you're possibly into the sidewall and flipping through the air.

 

yes that makes sence to ,guys that race without a gage take huge risk I think