Q #2: Fuel Surge Tanks....Legal???

Robin....

There are those who have modified the stock tank or fillers, but i'm not dropping names. Maybe not big time names..but it shouldn't matter.

My thing is this....to do a surge tank, i am not messing with the stock tank at all.

There is NO rule in the cars book that says i cannot take the stock fuel tank, and add on sheet metal for more capacity. It says OEM tank, or Cell. No mention of having the OEM tank modified. (and honestly who would ever crawl under the car and know?)

I know your set-up, and how is you having explosed fuel lines a foot behind your seats with no fire wall, any different than me having explosed fuel lines 3-4 feet behind me, and separated with a bulk head?

The "surge" tank is effectively sealed, you have no filler or anything. The only chance of leaks are blown hoses, or broken/loose fittings. But zero difference to what many cars in Canada and abroad have already?

---

Chris

Daniel Buehler Wrote:
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> I did not have a good reply to a similar issue.
>
> I asked if I could build a metal tube/jacket into
> the trunk area. I wanted to relocate the fuel
> filler tube out of the wheel arch. Even if I
> completly sealed the structure in and of itself,
> as well as building a fireproof bulkhead between
> the shock towers, I was told it wasn't something
> they could approve.
>
> I'll see if I can find the response I got, I'll
> e-mail it to you if I find it.


Fer fucks sake! I was gonna do this. Who did you talk to? the filler neck on the gc's really protrudes out towards the tire. How on earth is it more dangerous to have it in the (enclosed) trunk area?

Chris: hope they approve this for you. You guys were sucking up the fuel at pines.

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Gone fishing

I don't think the fuel lines are any different and I don't think they're the issue - mine are compliant with C 11(d) in any case.

AFAIK the scrutineers' position has been you can't modify the OEM tank - but you say you're not doing that either.

You've still got the potential problem of 11(d) - Supplementary Fuel tanks, plus, I would guess, whether it's FIA/SFI - approved or not.

(I was responding to you original post: you asked if it the surge tank in the trunk thing was legal and whether you can fab-up your own fuel tank - I'm not a scrutineer, but I doubt it)

Robin

Since I'm not a CARS scrutineer my views aren't 'law' but, adding additional capacity via a 5 or 6 liter accumulator is additional capacity aka supplementary fuel irregardless of the claimed reason. Also modding the OEM tank is not legal in the US rally world either. Sometimes the don't ask, don't tell policy is best and hope it doesn't become an issue.

As a side note anything done that is sketchy or creative for CARS must pass muster if the car is brought to a US rally. So it has to be legal by whomevers interpretation of the CARS rulebook and also considered safe by NRS or RA scrutineers.

Robin Fleguel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> At PRI we talked with Staubli and a couple of
> other suppliers. Staubli makes the dry breaks
> that all the WRC teams (and others) use - really
> nice, but expensive - not really within the
> budgets of most of us clubman-types. We think a
> better solution is a sealed quick-disconnect -
> we've made a deal with a supplier and we're in the
> process of bringing some of these in. We have an
> order of -12 and -6 arriving next week. They'll
> be available through Hot Bits and a couple of
> other rally shops in Canada.

Dude. Parker series 60. Check them out.
No need for sweetheart deals or special orders or limited supplies. Available all day every day through your neighborhood hydraulics shop and used by millions everyday in industrial and heavy equipment applications. Available for $40 or so each depending on the size.

Dude - no sweetheart deals, just trying to solve a problem that the guys with money have been using Staubli Dry Breaks to solve - but without the money part.... (not trying to corner a $900 global market)

Parker 60 series: Ethylene Propylene seals not compatible with automotive gasoline - have you been using these?

Robin

Seals on the series 60s are available in nitrile, ethylene propylene, fluorocarbon (viton), and neoprene. So there are gasoline friendly seal options. They're also available for working temps up to 400*F, so they could be good for oil coolers and turbo feed lines as well.
I've only used them in high pressure industrial hydraulic applications, not on a rally car yet.