On board Fire Suppression (Page 1 of 2)

We run the stock fuel tank in the stock location and run stock lines to the stock engine.  In other words, we didn't touch our fuel system at all.  If we did, our placement would be different because it would be more likely that our work failed.

That said, we have ours in the engine bay on the fire wall pointed along the fuel rail.  The one in the passenger compartment is on the transmission tunnel pointing towards the firewall in the footwell.  Those are the two most likely places that would need fire protection.

I generally point them at important things that either are likely to catch fire or that I'd like to keep fire away from.  In the engine compartment, fuel is generally the thing that ignites so I point a nozzle at that.  In the driver's compartment, you have to remember that fire burns up so I aim the nozzle at my nuts instead of my head.  If the car has a fuel cell, I usually point a nozzle at that too.  The more nozzles, the faster the retardant depletes so be judicious how many you use.

The system you buy will have instructions that provide guidance on how many nozzles to use, and where to position them.

We have the SPA Technique, 4 liter, AFFF system - installed it in 2014 when we did a few races in the 'other' series. The manual gives plenty of suggestions on how to install the system for various flavors of race cars. Excerpt from the manual:

For saloon /closed cars a minimum of 3 nozzles must be fitted (again depending on the system) within the cockpit area. Nozzles should be fitted either to the top of the roll bar main hoop (door B pillar) pointing inwards and downwards towards the foot of the diagonally opposite front roll bar hoop base (door A post) or either under the dashboard aiming at the drivers midriff. These are only guide lines for competitors using
SPA DESIGN fire suppression systems. IF IN DOUBT, ASK!!!

As others have said, given a finite volume of suppression material, this is a balancing act between coverage and duration.

We have 1 nozzle in the engine compartment, pointed at our fuel injection hardware and lines.

The other 2 nozzles are in the cockpit, 1 on the center of the header bar, pointed slightly down at the driver's head/neck (your face shield is closed, right?) and the other is on the center of the dash bar, pointed at the driver's mid section.

We have a hand-held installed as well. Agree, more is better.

As more and more teams install these systems to be compliant with the 2019 rules, there are bound to be incidents where the systems are set off accidentally, or or triggered intentionally for 'small' incidents. If the system becomes empty during the weekend (for whatever reason) and the car is still track-worthy, what happens then - will they allow you back on track? The certified systems are not user-rechargeable, so refilling at the track is not an option. Do you get by with the hand-held unit for the rest of the weekend? Do you need to bring a spare bottle?

Even though our system came with one of those, we still occasionally forgot.  Now it's something we do (pulling the pin) as soon as we unload the car.

I agree, once mandatory, they need to be filled to be on track. I wasn't suggesting otherwise, but I'm just thinking that this is going to cause some angst for someone going forward - its bound to happen that someone will accidentally dump their system during Friday practice and be done for the weekend. That would SUCK. We have completed 8 races with our system and haven't had an issue, but maybe I just jinxed us.

A spare bottle is the logical solution, but that just adds more expense for the bottle, and the re-certification every 2 years. Unfortunately, the refilling dealers are few and far between (and not open on weekends).

You know, I think everybody should look into the SPA Firesense AFFF system (with a 4 L bottle). It really is the best system, bar none. Trust me, I asked a professional and he agrees. Especially for cars that race in Texas. It works especially well against Texas car fires.

It says right in the eBay description: "Firecharger systems are not SFI/FIA compliant. Please check with your sanctioning body on their on board system requirements."

We were waiting to buy a system to see if the rules would allow a refillable option, as of now they don't.  It's kinda of unfortunate because I'd hate to be out of a race because we set the system off and cannot get it refilled.  It also could potentially plant a seed of doubt when deciding to use the system.

I wasn't referring to an accidental discharge.... this is Lemons, we could have a legit fire that wouldn't necessarily knock us out for the weekend.

We've had 'em.
We keep a 5 lb. dry chem extinguisher on-board for those little, lemony fires that occur, and used it.

The Suppression system is there to protect the driver first, the car second. If the driver can exit w/o the
suppression system, we use that option and grab the hand-held. Our pull is right at the driver's window
and can be operated safely after exit, if necessary, to try and save the car.

I will say, based on past experience, all y'all that have A&D drivers or brand new drivers,
BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT TO DO IN A FIRE.
I'd have had an easy fix on fuel fire if the A&D had hit the kill switch.
Instead, it killed the PCM, and locked the factory anti-theft system.

The one I accidentally discharged was the cable pull type.  It didn't get discharged from the driver T handle end, a spare parts container came into contact with the handle on top of the bottle itself to set it off.  In my case it happened while loading the car at the end of the weekend but it could easily have happened at the track prior to the race.  Yes it's not easy to do but again, Lemons.

Yea, and you can run to the Meynar-Lowe-depot and grab another 5 pounder. Harder to get an AFFF or Crazy Space Juice suppression system recharged/certified at 2pm on a Saturday.