Hi Everyone - As my car moves forward I think it is time to consider a small fire suppression system for the engine compartment. I would like something with maybe 3 nozzles which can be strategically placed to address a possible engine compartment fire.

I am hoping some of our members may have experience with these and would be willing to make a recommendation as to what is a neat, compact system. I want to get it mocked up before we move along to paint in case Scotty needs to weld in any brackets, etc. So please let me hear your thoughts.

Oh, this is going to be a stock 3.2 Motronic engine if that helps.

Thanks for your collective wisdom in helping me reduce the chance of an engine fire which consumes my car.

Michael

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspa...phoenix1301.php

I went with a SPA unit i purchased from Pegusas Racing. Very easy install with push on connectors. I have nozzels placed above and below engine.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/advcat.as...yID=FIRESYSTEMS

I used this:
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productde....asp?RecID=3431

There are different models. One supports 2 nozzles and one supports 3 nozzles.

Here's my installation:

Different agents are available, as well:

Some of the dry chemical extinguishers are corrosive. They will eat wiring insulation and aluminum. They're almost impossible to clean up, too. I'm not sure if all of them are, these days, but try to avoid those.

The halon extinguishers work quite well, but obviously halon is harder to find now and rather more $$ than it used to be. Halon is also less effective in open areas where the wind can blow it away.

Old-fashioned CO2 is heavier and bulkier than the above. It can work well in enclosed spaces especially, but moving air will tend to dissipate it.

There are foam extinguishing agents that seem to work better in areas with air flow, but they make a mess and may be heavier and bulkier than halon or dry chem.

In a race car, there is generally one (or more) nozzle pointed at the engine, one pointed at the driver, and often but not always one at the fuel cell. The idea is go give the driver time to exit the vehicle, not to save the car.

It is possible that the CO2 can cool hot parts enough to keep them from re-starting a fire. I think the foam is supposed to be persistent enough to have a real shot at keeping fires from re-starting. But the dry-chem and halon are just for temporary supression.

Most extinguisher systems are used by racers. Check the Paddock section of this BBS, and the Racing section of the Pelican BBS, for lots more discussion.

--DD

Great info so far but I definitely want to hear more opinions. I will not be racing this car and really am looking for a system that will save the car in the event a fire starts. I definitely do not want something that starts eating wiring and aluminum.....not like these cars do not have enough issues with the natural elements eating them up.

One thing I forgot to mention about my system: It uses water as part of the supressant, so it cannot be stored outside in freezing weather.

That's probably a show-stopper for a street car.
I never checked to see if you could put some anti-freeze in with the mix.

I don't think you need one. Your will be fastidious about making sure all the lines and connectors are in perfect condition. You will not be driving the car to any extreme. You will be checking it often. You will have full coverage insurance. I think it's just dead weight in your car.

I've thought about adding a system too, but concluded that the best protection was just to make sure there weren't any leaks and that the lines were routed out of the way.

I run an AFFF sire foam system. It's refillable by me and runs off a gas cartridge, CO2 or something. It is not allowed by all racing bodies so I keep a fire extinguisher too. It dumps fire foam on the engine, I aimed the nozzles at the fuel rail and intake manifold.

This is the system I run.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productde....asp?RecID=3431

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Racer Chris fuel lines to eliminate fire possibilities

Run that by Jamie Rust...

More than one way to have a fire. Fuel lines are just one of them...

Good way to cut down on the possibilities though

I added my fire system so I would never need to use it.

I already have the Tangerine Racing SS fuel lines. Mark has a point, I am diligent but part of me still wants to have the added security of a fire system. But maybe the two nozzle system will be sufficient instead of 3 nozzles. Here is what I was considering after Chappy, Stugray and Mike all recommended Pegasus:
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productde....asp?RecID=7024

I went for foam as i believe it is the best at preventing the fire from restarting. With gas i've heard fire was extinquished but restarted after all the gas that puts it out, was used up, and the car ends up burning up after all.

HHHMMMMMMM......OK so I think Chappy, Mike and stugray have convinced me to go with foam- thank you very much guys.

The AFFF (foam) system is water soluble and environmentally safe too. Even though the system can accommodate 3 nozzles, I think two will be sufficient. I will check this thread again tomorrow and see if by chance another system is recommended but we may have a winner here. The system sells for $339 which seems like a reasonable investment in my car.

I wonder if the insurance company would also cut me a break on my rate?

I'm itching to pull the handle to see what it does.

I just don't want to clean the mess.

An ounce of prevention... I hope I never need it, but it's there just in case.

My brother installed one in his TR4 and triggered it by accident.
I wasnt there but he said IT SURE WORKS! and that it was easy to clean up.

There was no evidence afterwards.

OK- after considering all of the options I went with this system, AFFF, because I appreciate that the foam will not only extinguish a fire but hopefully keep it from reigniting. Of course water clean up is a bonus too.

I am sure I will sleep better knowing if I am crushing around and a fire starts, this will extinguish it immediately - absent operator error

Thanks for all of the input, links and opinions - this site is terrific and I could not be building this car w/o the help and wisdom of all here.

Link: https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productde....asp?RecID=3431

I have the FireSense AFFF system in my car. AFFF foam, as said before is non-toxic and won't destroy other components like the old chemicals used to.

It's important to note that decreasing the number of nozzles, while not covering as much area will increase the amount of time the suppression occurs over and the amount of foam being sprayed into a given area.

I have a 4L Spa AFFF system with 4 nozzles: 1) fuel cell 2) engine topside/webers, 3) driver's legs 4) driver's body/chest

I can attest to AFFF's easy clean-up. Just hose it down and move on.

No less than 2 times during my tenure aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), the on-board AFFF system was accidentally triggered by a dork in the fire control room. Each time an entire hangar bay (approx 250'x150') was flooded about 2' (FEET) deep in AFFF. . . The only damage was aircraft with canopies and other electrical bays open at the time due to water getting in.

I have also done extensive fire training with CO2, Halon, chemical agents and AFFF. AFFF without a doubt is the ONLY agent that suppresses a re-flash. Halon works like magic to put out a fire in an enclosed/partially enclosed space, but AFFF works almost as fast and only AFFF guarantees that it won't re-flash. In a pool of fuel 60' in diameter and about 1" deep, AFFF will not allow a reflash.

Dry chemical extinguishers will destroy your motor through corrosion. No matter how fast you hose the agent off, it will instantly flash rust every piece of aluminum it touches (especially carbs). It's amazing how fast it corrodes a motor. Personally, I would rather have the car burned by the fire than deal with the never-ending corrosion that dry chemicals cause. I would encourage anyone to test a chemical extinguisher on a junk car part and see how fast they are ruined.

I'm going to be installing an AFFF system on my Squareback when the time comes. I carry CO2 now.