Just read a horrifying story on a forum of a guy with a Porsche 968 track car (same car as I have) going up in flames due to a fire that originated in the engine compartment. This got me searching online for automatic fire suppression systems, and was wondering what folks here are using. I definitely want something automated - I don't want to scramble for an interior-mounted extinguisher, pop the blazing-hot (fiberglass) hood, and manually try to put out a fire. Thanks.
We use Lifeline systems on the Lemons cars. Reasonably priced and fairly easy to install. We have 4 nozzles in the engine compartment, 2 in the driver's area and 2 on aimed at the fuel cell.
Edit: They aren't fully automated. They have pull handles mounted next to the kill switch
Thanks, but I'd be concerned that in the heat of battle, I might not be aware of a fire originating under the hood until it has already done a lot of damage, so I'm looking for something like this:
https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/09/a-mini-firefighter-for-your-engine-bay/
My concern is that that these systems seem to contain very small volumes of the fire suppressant chemical, but then again, the volume under the hood is pretty small.
I put two systems in my car, aqueous foam type by Firefox with pull handles mounted next to the driver. One system for engine and fuel system and another for the driver/passenger foot wells and firewall.
I think either automated or manually activated works.
Much like your gear the fire system's job isn't necessarily to put the car out. Its main job is to give you time to get out of a car.
I can't think of any down side to an automated systems other than I've seen some small fires people were able to extinguish with a hand held unit rather than emptying the fire system. For me that's really not important. I've had a car catch fire and was thankful for the system.
I will tell you whatever you do a system is a very good idea; our friend's corvette burned to the ground. The return line cracked, initially the fire was about the size of your fist, by the time he pulled over 12 seconds later he had to bail out the passenger side of the car as the drivers side of the car was fully engulfed.
Both my race cars have a nozzle in drivers compartment and one under the hood. I only care about getting out. There's a 10lb bottle in both cars.
Do those Blazecut systems work in a moving car?
Halon-like "no-clean" systems are fantastic in an enclosed environment with no air movement, but as soon as you introduce wind into the equation they stop being effective. I'm wondering if the Blazecut would still work if an engine fire broke out at 50-60 mph.
I went with a 4 nozzle Spa system with a 5lb bottle for our Elantra racer. It was a good price for an all in one system and they give you plenty of line to run just about anywhere needed without having to splice in fittings.
Indy guy might remember more but the guy he bought his Jag from had a system that sat on top of the engine of his Ferrari. My understanding was it was an automatic system.
This is what NASCAR uses. According to the manufature, the temp to set it off is 286*F.
I use a system from these guys http://www.firebottleracing.com/ in cars I build and/or race.
As other's have mentioned fire suppression systems are primarily to give the driver time to get out. In the unlikely event that they save the car that's a bonus.
There are pros and cons to automatic systems.
The pro for an automatic system is that you don't need to deal with it at a time when you might be busy dealing with other important stuff and/or unable to to manually discharge the system.
The con is a little more complicated. The air moving through the car tends to keep fires suppressed or at least moving in a limited are and if the fire is behind the cockpit it will tend to stay away from the drive as long as the car is moving. When the car stops moving the fire can then flair up. If they system discharges automatically while the car is moving there may not be enough material left in the system to protect the driver when the car stops.
Personally, I use an automatic nozzle in the fuel cell area and a manual pull for the engine compartment and cockpit. The theory being if the fire is in the fuel cell area I want it knocked down as much as possible even if the car is still moving. Thankfully, I've never had to use a fire suppression system I I vehemently hope to never have too.
Thanks for the inputs. My feeling is that the most likely area for a fire is under the hood, but maybe I'm biased because I had an oil line split, spraying oil all over the engine compartment. It's a miracle it didn't cause a fire. It seems to be that a system like the one from Blaze-cut would buy enough time to follow up with a manual spraying from a bottle and therefore keep the damage to a minimum. I'll call them tomorrow and ask how well their system works in a moving car.
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