How Do You Install Fire Extinguisher?

[maxzugkraft]

Hi Guys,

Here is a question for you track gurus out there.

I am a true track amateur with my GMG R35.

I intend to track the car in a few weeks and they require a fire extinguisher to be installed in the car.

Where can I get it done?

How do they do it?

Does it require welding or drilling?

How much does it cost?

Would be good if you could post some photos of the install.

Thanks in advance.

[LSX-438]

I was thinking of knocking up an alloy bar (with appropriate bends for clearance) which bolts onto the rear passenger seat floor bolts, such that the extinguisher sits in between the seat rails. How big an extinguisher do you want/need, 1kg? Should be easy to install/remove with no drilling etc.

Edited July 13, 2009 by LSX-438

[maxzugkraft]

I was thinking of knocking up an alloy bar (with appropriate bends for clearance) which bolts onto the rear passenger seat floor bolts, such that the extinguisher sits in between the seat rails. How big an extinguisher do you want/need, 1kg? Should be easy to install/remove with no drilling etc.

I think the pre-requisite is that it needs to be easily accessible, so it needs to be in front.

My friends 911 and BMW have it stuck to the front seat structure.

Just don't know who in Melbourne can do it.

Thanks.

[LSX-438]

I think the pre-requisite is that it needs to be easily accessible, so it needs to be in front.

My friends 911 and BMW have it stuck to the front seat structure.

Just don't know who in Melbourne can do it.

Thanks.

i am not sure there would be much of a difference bewteen the front and back in terms of accessibility, perhaps sit in the car and see? It could be the back is more accessible if you are using a harness. But I guess you could do the same thing for the front?

BTW i found this adjustable one which might work?

http://www.ogracing.com/catalog/2-Car/30-F...INGUISHER-MOUNT

Dunno if it would fit on an R35 though. I'll be keen to see what you come up with, i need something too. A friend of mine came up with another idea (perhaps temporary given your requirements); buy some straps with metal clips from bunnings, sit the extinguisher mount in the crack between the passenger seat back and seat bottom, and thread the straps through the crack to the back seat rails (or under the seat somewhere) and strap it down there. It will then just sit in the pax seat, easily removeable.

If you are looking for someone to make something that bolts onto the seat rails, i would look up an alloy welder / fabricator in your area?

[Snowman]

Just don't know who in Melbourne can do it.

Thanks.

These guys would be able to help you out. They made a really nice job of my one for my race car.

http://www.mmsport.com.au/

[Beer Baron]

for cams events you generally need a minimum 1kg dry powder type extinguisher. usually can be had for around $50 and they must be mounted with a METAL bracket. do not buy the ones that come with a plastic mount.

for my car I then made a very basic mount for the fire extinguishers mount to fit to out of a piece of aluminium stock lying around. linished the corners smooth, drilled some holes and voila! it fits by using the 2 front anchorages of the front passenger seat.

the rules state it must be able to be reached by the driver without taking belts off or getting out of his seat. so you may be able to reach it either in front of or behind the passenger seat. try it and see.

mine is very basic, but works, passes scrutineering and takes about 2 mins to fit to the car and needed no holes drilled or welding done.

[maxzugkraft]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I've called Nissan and they tell me they can do it for me.

Mount to the front seat rails, I think.

Will let you know once its done.

[TheTunersGroup]

I was thinking of knocking up an alloy bar (with appropriate bends for clearance) which bolts onto the rear passenger seat floor bolts, such that the extinguisher sits in between the seat rails. How big an extinguisher do you want/need, 1kg?

What some people do is mount a second larger extinguisher in the car so that if one extinguisher is not enough, then you have a second one on hand - especially in case of a fuel fire.

You can find a video here of when the supercharged 911 caught fire at Wakefield ...

The supercharged 911 fire was a fuel fire at the track. As you can hear in the video, the small extinguisher was not enough to put it out. Though it doesn't look like a huge fire, the damage was very expensive to fix, and even things like the headliner in the interior needed to be replaced after the fire.

My car caught fire (an oil fire) on the road a few years ago, where oil leaked onto exhaust headers and caught fire, and the small extinguisher was barely enough to get it out. After that I ALWAYS carried two fire extinguishers in the car - one up front, and a second larger one behind the passenger seat.

At the end of the day, if your car catches fire you want as much chance as you can get to get the fire out quickly, and of course you have to engineer the mounting carefully so that the fire extinguishers are safely mounted.

- Adam

[TheTunersGroup]

the rules state it must be able to be reached by the driver without taking belts off or getting out of his seat.

That is a VERY important point beer baron.

The thinking behind that may be so that if a driver is trapped in a car on fire, he can at least have a chance of reaching the fire extinguisher to stop himself from getting burnt.

- Adam

[Beer Baron]

yeah 1 X 1kg extinguisher is the minimum requirement for pretty much any entry level track event, and it also must have metal mounts and must be accessible to drive with belts on. of course if your car is really on fire it wont be enough. having more is good too, but a real fire will need some serious extinguishers and carrying all that weight is just not practical for most. but the marshal points all have giant 20kg+ ones which are exactly what is needed for any decent fuel or oil fire.

the idea is if possible, if you think your car is on fire, is to stop as close to a marshal point as you can, get the fk out with your little weenie one, spray it in the air to get some attention then light another smaller fire under the nearest marshal to get him over to your car with his big boy extinguisher which can actually put the fire out. obviously if you know it's a small fire then pull off immediately and put it out yourself, but the closer you are to the marshal when your car lights up the better chance you have of getting it out of there relatively intact.

conversely if you have a very small oil fire and have quickly shut of engine (stopping oil flow) or perhaps a small piece of insulation or something is on fire and know you can put it out with your small extinguisher do that. sometimes marshals get a bit over excited at the sight of a small flame and will discharge their massive extinguisher all over your engine bay and interior, or down your pants for good measure which completely fks everything up and makes a mess you can only imagine. some of the stuff can also be corrosive which is not nice in your predominately metal car. if it is a tiny little thing and you know it can be put out without all that then do whatever you can to stop the marshal blowing his load into your engine bay. the clean up is not pretty and could completely fk a number of things.

even better is have a properly maintained and monitored car that doesn't catch on fire. that would be my advice.

[djr81]

yeah 1 X 1kg extinguisher is the minimum requirement for pretty much any entry level track event, and it also must have metal mounts and must be accessible to drive with belts on. of course if your car is really on fire it wont be enough. having more is good too, but a real fire will need some serious extinguishers and carrying all that weight is just not practical for most. but the marshal points all have giant 20kg+ ones which are exactly what is needed for any decent fuel or oil fire.

the idea is if possible, if you think your car is on fire, is to stop as close to a marshal point as you can, get the fk out with your little weenie one, spray it in the air to get some attention then light another smaller fire under the nearest marshal to get him over to your car with his big boy extinguisher which can actually put the fire out. obviously if you know it's a small fire then pull off immediately and put it out yourself, but the closer you are to the marshal when your car lights up the better chance you have of getting it out of there relatively intact.

conversely if you have a very small oil fire and have quickly shut of engine (stopping oil flow) or perhaps a small piece of insulation or something is on fire and know you can put it out with your small extinguisher do that. sometimes marshals get a bit over excited at the sight of a small flame and will discharge their massive extinguisher all over your engine bay and interior, or down your pants for good measure which completely fks everything up and makes a mess you can only imagine. some of the stuff can also be corrosive which is not nice in your predominately metal car. if it is a tiny little thing and you know it can be put out without all that then do whatever you can to stop the marshal blowing his load into your engine bay. the clean up is not pretty and could completely fk a number of things.

even better is have a properly maintained and monitored car that doesn't catch on fire. that would be my advice.

Gold.

Some things to remember.

1. If the engine bay is smoking then people tend to get excited & reef the bonnet open. Which is a great way of flaring the fire up & getting a face full of flame. So do it slowly.

2. The best way of fighting a fire with a 1kg extinguisher is to throw the said extinguisher at the fire & bravely run to the nearest mashalling post. But like teh Baron says it will be the highlight of the said marshals day & a nightmare for you cleaning it all up. Which you should do as soon as is practically possible as that stuff eats electrical connections and alot of other things besides.

3. You R35 owners need to harden up. Nothing shows pride of ownership like tec screwing the extinguisher bracket to the floor of your car. Just try not to put a screw through a fuel line.

[Beer Baron]

Gold.

Some things to remember.

1. If the engine bay is smoking then people tend to get excited & reef the bonnet open. Which is a great way of flaring the fire up & getting a face full of flame. So do it slowly.

2. The best way of fighting a fire with a 1kg extinguisher is to throw the said extinguisher at the fire & bravely run to the nearest mashalling post. But like teh Baron says it will be the highlight of the said marshals day & a nightmare for you cleaning it all up. Which you should do as soon as is practically possible as that stuff eats electrical connections and alot of other things besides.

3. You R35 owners need to harden up. Nothing shows pride of ownership like tec screwing the extinguisher bracket to the floor of your car. Just try not to put a screw through a fuel line.

yep, on point 1 now that all cars have to have the stupid secondard bonnet restraint most run a short length of cable which is good as it stops you reefing up the bonnet in a panic and allows you just enough to open it 10-15cm to see whats happening and where to point your extinguisher.

lol, I'm pretty sure Russ's R35 gained a few holes pretty rapidly after taking it off my hands....

I think we can both agree that in the case of a REAL fire (ie not a small piece of dangling electrical tape burning on your exhaust manifold) then a single 1kg extinguisher or 5 of them will do bugger all. I still think discharging it into the air, or pegging it at the marshal will get quick response but perhaps you are right with just open the bonnet a bit, have a peak, then lob it in there like a grenade. the theory being if the fire is small it will burn out from lack of oxygen, if big it will explode the extinguisher like a fire killing grenade! win win.

[LSX-438]

sounds like some good advice, nice. I am thinking of keeping the 1kg item for the cabin, and maybe a 2kg item mounted in the boot.

[Mr_GaZZa]

nice braket.... hell home made man!!

[DattoP510]

Ill just leave this here: