OK you IT and ECHC racers. Anyone running a fuel cell? Why or why not? Any suggestions as to capacity for a CRX Si that will probably be running sprint races only? 8 gal. seem OK?

Also, my interior strip is down to working on the sound deadener, and after I finish that, I need suggestions on what to do about some of the other stuff inside.

- Any suggestions for paint in the areas I scrape the sound mats out of? Seems like a good opportunity to put something skid resistant in the driver footwell. Anybody tried Rhinoliner truck bed liner?

- Should I bother with the dozens of little nylon clips that the trim screws went into? Do they look better or worse than empty holes?

- Interior door latches: leave the door lock handle and operating rod or lose it?

- Heater controls: use or lose?


I'm not too concerned with weight reduction, since I'll probably have no trouble getting down to minimum, so most of these are convenience, safety, laziness issues.

 

Why: lower weight (maybe). Safety (BUT, this assumes the fabriactor knows what he is doing - most newer factory tanks are pretty safe). Performance (no fuel starvation with low fuel volumes, no sloshing around).

Why not: expense (especially for the small benefits). Safety (if it isn't done properly).

8 might be adequate. Figure 40 minutes as the longest session and 80mph as an average speed and you get 54 miles or so. SRX-7s gets 6-8mpg (during enduros). Spec Miatas get close to 12mpg (during enduros). I'd guess the CRX is somewhere in between. Most ITA cars use 12 gallon cells just to be safe.

Most people just respray the interior with whatever is handy. Rhinoliner or similar for the footwell sounds good. Does the footwell get hot on a Honda? It does in an RX-7, so some drivers install a heatsheild/footrest made of diamond plate.

Not a big deal either way.

Keep them. How else would you open the door? Also, the passenger door may not be gutted (only reskinned in aluminum sheet of a specific thickness).

Keep them. You are NOT allowed to remove these. Only the AC may be removed. Keep the heater coil intact and connected for rainy day defogging (you're not allowed to remove it, but many people block the lines to it, which IMO is dumb).

Do you have a GCR yet? Just checking (I know you wouldn't do something silly like build a racecar without it).


[Modified by Crack Monkey, 6:56 AM 12/23/2002]

 

Thanks, CM.

Yep. I got the GCR, IT rules, NASA rules, and ECHC rules. I also read the FasTrack and follow the IT site for the latest interpretations. I'm beginning to see why folks street race. No rules.

 

True, but nothing compares to the rush you'll get that first time you roar around turn 10, get the green, and barrel headlong into turn 1 with 20 other lunatics trying to occupy the same space. Definitely on par with great sex.

 

Keen them. If its rainy and cold and you need to defrost the windshield, you'll be glad you've got them. On the fuel cell, I'd probably pass on that, and spend that money on a fire system or somewhere else safety-related.

Honestly I think that when you're tired of messing with it, that's when you've done enough gutting. Thats about where I stopped with mine.

 

I run an eight gallon fuel cell in a fully prepped GT CRX and it is more than adequate.

Kirk

 

I'd have to disagree about "no fuel starvation." The cellular blocks only barely slow down sloshing, it's real purpose is to minimize fuel atomization in case of an accident.

Also, fuel cells are (almost) never emissions legal (don't know if you care.) Oddly it has more to do with whether the car had a DOT tested tank rather than emissions issues.

FWIW, I say they're a really good idea, if there's even a tiny chance of a big accident.