fuel cell installation details?

[tom91ita]

i am converting my ITB CRX Si to be legal for GP as well.

i will likely get something like the fuel safe enduro 8 gallon cell for G PROD (hopefully HP by next year)..

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/fsafe2a.htm

i am concerned about how to "frame" it in the back and not weaken the uni-body area in the back.

i will keep the location near where it is now but will need to "open up" the bottom of the back to insert the cell from the top. the typical ride heights and the 6" minimum off the ground means that i need to have this higher off the track than a stock tank (go figure).

any pics?

tia, tom

[Greg Gauper]

Tom,

I had the same concerns when I installed my cell.

I basically had a support cage welded up out of 1x1 angle iron to support and protect the cell. This mounted from the bottom.

I also made a frame for the topside also out of 1x1 angle iron. The top frame and bottom cage sandwich the sheet metal. I used about a dozen bolts around the perimeter to hold everything together. The top frame also serves as the lip for my aluminum box cover. I'll try and PM some pics to you.

It's probably overkill, but the extra protection is nice to have, plus the cell is removable. It didn't add that much weight, plus it's down low and to the rear.

[tom_sprecher]

My cell has a 1 x 1 x .083" frame that circles the shell with 5/16" bushings welded at the corners that cap screws attach to some brackets welded to the unibody "frame". Also, some 2 x .125" 6061 straps are bolted thru similar bushings in the above mentioned fuel cell frame.

It also mounts from underneath the car keeping it low and to the rear.

See attached pic.

[tom91ita]

i need to either mount inside the car or penetrate the floor. i don't have enough room under the car to meet the 6" clearance issue for scca (unless i put in a ford truck lift kit!).

i will be taking some pics and posting a link to them to better illustrate what i am proposing.

[tom91ita]

see photos of the mock up in a junk car floor pan at:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/tom91ita/album...460762395537048 (http://new.photos.yahoo.com/tom91ita/album/576460762395537048)

the box is the same as the 8 gallon fuel safe enduro cell.

the one illustrated is not FIA approved. no warranty expressed or implied.

[ddewhurst]

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Tom, try again, when opening this ^ is the message I received.

As a comment I was at a shop last evening & asked a F Production CRX (1991 ?) owner about his cell. He has a 12 gal mounted just in front of the rear axle in the divers compartment. 12 gal because the price was right from a friend. He has a surge tank & still needs 3 plus gallons or when turning in one or the other direction he starves the system.

[tom91ita]

should be able to view now. i forgot to tag as public when i created the album :blink:

[lateapex911]

Hope you don't mind if I looked at your pics Tom! I liked this pair the best!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/tom91ita/album...460762343579402 (http://new.photos.yahoo.com/tom91ita/album/576460762343579402)

[Greg Gauper]

As a comment I was at a shop last evening & asked a F Production CRX (1991 ?) owner about his cell. He has a 12 gal mounted just in front of the rear axle in the divers compartment. 12 gal because the price was right from a friend. He has a surge tank & still needs 3 plus gallons or when turning in one or the other direction he starves the system.
[/b]
I think the 2nd gen CRX's are a bit more sensative to fuel pick-up than the 1st gens.

Also, a bigger cell has more surface area and more open volume.....which means the fuel sloshes around even worse than it does in an 8 gallon cell.

I have a 'Fuel Safe' brand surge tank in my cell and can run the cell almost bone dry... in fact I ran out of fuel in impound after qualifying at the Runoffs last year. When I was on track, the surge tank did it's job and captured the fuel as it was sloshing around, but when I took it easy in the paddock and outside the shed, the fuel level fell below the check valves on the surge tank and I ran out. I think I calculated I had less than 1/2 gallon of fuel on board. Never missed a beat on the track!

Tom, that placement looks pretty good. Give some thought on what type of cover you are going to design. I have a simple aluminum box with a small hinged acces panel that's just big enough to reach in and get the cap off for refueling. If I need to get at the hoses, I can get at them from the access hole, otherwise I have two bolts per side to remove the cover.

If I was going to design a nother box and cover, I would probably change the box design so that the entire top surface had a continuous hinge on one side to flip up, or dzus fasteners around the perimeter to make it removable, so that I could access the fill plate or other hoses more easily.

David,

Whose car was it? If they are at the open house on Sunday, I can throw some ideas at him. I previously had some issues but made some changes to the placement and orientation of the surge tank based on some advice from Chris Albin last season, and I've had zero problems since then.

[ddewhurst]

Greg, Mike Moser..............