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Fuel Cells for Autocross/Performance.

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AllanJ View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote AllanJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 October 2010 at 10:40am
Originally posted by Car-2-Lo Car-2-Lo wrote:

Originally posted by Romeo Romeo wrote:

Suspension costs money. Money I most certainly lack.


Then Option #2 is the way to go for now, (light weight Hefty Racing bladders) may not look cool, but works !


I dunno...those stickers look pretty darn cool to me!  I think Brian could use more stickers on his car. Got any spares? 
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Romeo View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Romeo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 October 2010 at 4:11pm

Originally posted by AllanJ AllanJ wrote:

Originally posted by Romeo Romeo wrote:

In stock-applications, baffles are great. The Porsche GT3 comes with them too. Wanna know one of the few things the Porsche GT3 gains for race-trim (Cup RS)? A fuel cell.

...that's because the racing rules require the safety of a fuel cell.    It's also a 100L tank too rather than the stock 60-ish litres so they don't need to pit all the time.

fwiw, when I have R-comp tires on my GT3 I can still turn incredible g-loading values while driving my car with the fuel tank on "reserve".  Baffles work fine with no fuel starvation issues.

There's actually quite a few differences between the GT3 street car and the Cup car beyond the fuel tank, but that topic is better discussed over beer and not in this thread. 


Oh, I love the Cup Car GT3, but also bare in mind that Porsche designed it for LeMans series III, in which fuel cells are not required (GT Class-II and Prototype I they are). Now, the extra fuel size is nice, but that still could've been done with a cheaper baffled fuel tank.

And again, baffles are fantastic, but they only replicate smaller and smaller tanks. Say the baffled area is around a 1L out of a 50L tank, that allows you to carry 50L while keeping 1L being the effective "slosh" area, but there is still slosh. I'm not saying your engine is going to lose 100HP, and you're going to lean out enough to burn a hole in a piston, but you will pull in air, that's unavoidable. Now, I think the Fiero is better off than most in this regard, as there simply isn't room for fuel to move laterally too much, but if I rip it open and it looks not too bad, I'll just make one for myself and leave it online, and tell people they wont be seeing any amazing results.

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AllanJ View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote AllanJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 November 2010 at 12:48pm
Porsche has made all kinds of Cup car variants with different race series' intentions and the latest comes with an FIA GT3 legal fuel cell.  Earlier ones came with a basic (by Porsche standards) tank.  However, the cool thing about modern cars is the ability for the car to monitor the AFR and make sure it isn't too rich or too lean and it'll adjust to compensate.  In fact, it'll throw a CEL if the fuel pressure is too low.

Anyhow, have you ever tried to empty a waterbed and watched as pockets of water get trapped as the bag collapses in unpredictable locations?  You might be better off making a small surge tank.  You can have pickups all around the bottom and air won't get pushed into your engine.  You won't have any problems during operation unless you really run out of gas. 

I found this page for you to give you some ideas:
http://www.sdsefi.com/techsurge.htm

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Patrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 November 2010 at 1:01pm

Originally posted by AllanJ AllanJ wrote:

I found this page Here to give you some ideas.

This seems a whole lot more effective than ripping apart fuel tanks and inserting Hefty garbage bags.

fuel system schematic

 

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Bassman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Bassman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 November 2010 at 1:48pm

Ok Tristan, WHY????...Patrick said it best earlier...you have so much more to work on with your car and skillz...is this a school project?...

Brian (Bassman)

86 GT Fastback 3.2L

2013 Mazda3 Sport GS SkyActive

[IMG]http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u243/Bassman68/BassmanSignature.png">
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Patrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 November 2010 at 2:25pm

Originally posted by Bassman Bassman wrote:

Patrick said it best earlier...

No he didn't!

Brian, not that I mind being the center of controversy , but it was Johnny Boy who "said it best" this time around.

Originally posted by Car-2-Lo Car-2-Lo wrote:

Bladder is least your problem, work on your suspension first so you won't get that lateral movement that you have now

 

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Post Options Post Options   Quote AllanJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 November 2010 at 2:57pm
  You guys are cool.  

If the suspension was amazing, the fuel will still move around a lot, just not quite as much.  However Brian bringing up the "skillz" component is very true.  An average driver will suck so much in the turns that it wouldn't matter what suspension was on the car, the g-loading won't be that high to begin with.

I know we all love to think we can drive well, but I've had the good fortune to be able to hire a professional driving coach, an ex-Porsche factory race car driver.  A fella who won at the 12 Hours of Sebring and also raced at Daytona, LeMans, etc.  He knows a thing or two about this stuff......and I really suck compared to him!

He goes into a corner faster, carries more speed through the turn and in addition carries that speed onto the straight.  So he'll run a higher risk of fuel starvation than any mere mortal.  As it turned out when I set him loose at a great racetrack in Oregon with my car and R-comp tires with barely any fuel, there were no problems.  Baffles work.  At least in my car. 

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Bassman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 November 2010 at 6:22pm
Originally posted by Patrick Patrick wrote:

Originally posted by Bassman Bassman wrote:

Patrick said it best earlier...

No he didn't!

Brian, not that I mind being the center of controversy , but it was Johnny Boy who "said it best" this time around.

Originally posted by Car-2-Lo Car-2-Lo wrote:

Bladder is least your problem, work on your suspension first so you won't get that lateral movement that you have now

 

Ok...one of us "Older Boyz"...lol

Brian (Bassman)

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2013 Mazda3 Sport GS SkyActive

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Romeo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 November 2010 at 10:49pm
Originally posted by Bassman Bassman wrote:

Ok Tristan, WHY????...Patrick said it best earlier...you have so much more to work on with your car and skillz...is this a school project?...


Nah, I have the stuff for it, and I get bored easily, so I might as well have fun. No point putting it on the trucks, and the Mustang has a brand spanking new fuel tank, so there's no way I'm cutting that up.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Car-2-Lo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 8:48am

OPTION #3

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Romeo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 10:51am

OPTION 3 COSTS THE MONEYZ.

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Patrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 12:09pm

Originally posted by Car-2-Lo Car-2-Lo wrote:

OPTION #3

I see four pistons. Must be for a Super-Duper duke. Right on, that'll get Tristan around the track!  

 

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Romeo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 12:26pm
Originally posted by Patrick Patrick wrote:

Originally posted by Car-2-Lo Car-2-Lo wrote:

OPTION #3

I see four pistons. Must be for a Super-Duper duke. Right on, that'll get Tristan around the track!  

 


The other bank just isn't in that shot. The day I willingly own a four-banger is the day I give up on life.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote AllanJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 1:28pm
Originally posted by Romeo Romeo wrote:

The other bank just isn't in that shot. The day I willingly own a four-banger is the day I give up on life.

I've driven a late 80's Lotus Turbo Esprit.  It would make the passenger's feet lift off the floor under acceleration as you were thrown back into the seat.

Lotus geared the transmission perfectly for that 4-banger.  Very fun car.

A friend owns a Toyota Sports Racer race car.  MR2 4-banger drivetrain.  That car has run 1:14's at Mission raceway.  I've only been in the 1:16's with just over 3x the horsepower of that car.

The number of cylinders don't really matter.  It's what you do with them and the rest of the story that matters. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Car-2-Lo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 1:56pm

OPTION #4

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Patrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 November 2010 at 2:44pm

Could be worse...

 

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Post Options Post Options   Quote armitage Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 November 2010 at 9:02pm
Originally posted by Romeo Romeo wrote:

Oh no, in fact, I'd feel bad hacking open a good tank. If anyone has a tank they'd much rather see gone, let me know. Thanks!


Romeo, you can have my tank.  PM me.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Romeo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 November 2010 at 8:12am

Originally posted by Car-2-Lo Car-2-Lo wrote:


OPTION #4


Never gonna happen. Gretchin and I are inseperable.

Originally posted by AllanJ AllanJ wrote:

Originally posted by Romeo Romeo wrote:

The other bank just isn't in that shot. The day I willingly own a four-banger is the day I give up on life.

I've driven a late 80's Lotus Turbo Esprit.  It would make the passenger's feet lift off the floor under acceleration as you were thrown back into the seat.

Lotus geared the transmission perfectly for that 4-banger.  Very fun car.

A friend owns a Toyota Sports Racer race car.  MR2 4-banger drivetrain.  That car has run 1:14's at Mission raceway.  I've only been in the 1:16's with just over 3x the horsepower of that car.

The number of cylinders don't really matter.  It's what you do with them and the rest of the story that matters. 

I'm sorry, I still stand by my statement: I do not like inline fours, I passionately dislike them. I don't like their sound, and I don't like how much room they take up (Taller than a V6, and just as long). And while I like many cars that come with I4's, such as the MR2, I'd still be dropping in a minimum of a V6 into them (Such as a Camry V6 into an MR2). Same goes for the Supra (I4 model was cool enough, but my favourite is the gaudy I6 generation 4). Don't forget, more cylinders means more fired cylinders per rotation.

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Romeo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 November 2010 at 8:13am
Originally posted by armitage armitage wrote:

Originally posted by Romeo Romeo wrote:

Oh no, in fact, I'd feel bad hacking open a good tank. If anyone has a tank they'd much rather see gone, let me know. Thanks!


Romeo, you can have my tank.  PM me.

Thank you! PM sent.
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