FUEL SAMPLE TESTING, what's going on?

[guilleracing]

Hi.

 

I am driving tomorrow for the first time in a British Hillclimb since 1999.

 

I've spent the last ten years doing the French hillclimb championship. I am a bit puzzled by the requirement to have a fuel sample pipe on British Championship registered cars.

 

What is at the back of this?

 

Can the stewards not do like every other country in the world and dip the fuel tank?

 

Is there a problem endemic in Britain with fuel cheating.

 

Who is going to pick up the bill for testing, if this is done properly this will ( I Imagine.) be expensive.

 

What are they going to test it against as a standard?

 

Is this not dangerous to do at the very uncontrolled British hillclimb paddocks? (People Smoking, children running about barbeques etc.)

 

Is this not also one other thing in the fuel rail, to be at risk in an accident.

 

Sorry if I seem to be playing devis advocate here but i'm confused by this regulation.

 

I am bearing in mind that there is no requirement to have an onboard fire extinguisher but there is a regulation expressly, to have something that can emit fuel into the engine bay of the car.

 

 

Greg.

[Pendennis]

Personally I welcome the threat to test fuel. Additives are easily obtained and apparently offer improved performance, so stipulating that a scrutinner 'may' check fuel, is a deterent.

 

It's been on the cards for a while and does not cost a lot to install. Do your homework, cost is cheaper than you think and installed correctly is as safe as any other fuel joint you already have

 

Dry fuel break is as it says, 'dry' so no spills of flamable substances around the paddock. However, dipping a slide into your tank neck is not dry and not safe

 

Finally, why you sprinters don't require an extinguisher 'system' is beyond me, but surely thats on the cards for you lot as well

 

Cats, now thats a different subject

 

Want to rent an 18th century Farmhouse in Rural Somerset?

[guilleracing]

Hi Pendennis.

 

Well,,,,,,,,,,, I couldn't agree with you more!

I've been running with a proper extinguisher since 1998.

 

The dry break end of the test hose is fine but, from what Iv'e seen so far, is lots of open ended hoses for depositing the sample fuel into a test container.

 

Fuel injection pressure @ 3 bar could shoot a stream of fuel a good distance if you are not careful.

 

If you run something that revs hard and requires more pressure.....................

 

All you need is a moments inattention and "hey presto!" you have a nice fire!

 

Or am I missing the point?

 

 

[Roger Ford]

The rule for the dry-break is there because last year several teams claimed it was dangerous to disconnect fuel lines to take a sample and refused to do so. I'm sure it wasn't because they were cheating, of course.

 

Can't remember whether this was rallying or BTCC - anyone recall the details?

[Roger Ford]

Chelspeed responds...

 

It was rallying, they were "the epynt 6", some stuff here from both sides of the argument.

 

Blaming H&S to hide their other reasons not to be tested it would seem.

 

Then again MSA were being heavy handed trying to impose a 100 octane limit when the rest of europe has an FIA 102 octane limit (I think) which means you need the car remapped each time you move from events in UK to Ireland or Belgium, not very sensible.

[Pendennis]

Greg, I understand your fears, but at the end of the day it's the MSA official responsibility to take a fuel sample from your car, not yours And that official would/should be trained to excercise that task

 

My fuel is @ 4 bar so does need to be sampled safely as you rightly state

 

Think Automotive do a dry break union which connects to JIC - 6, from the snap on section (MSA should/may supply ) a high pressure hose would be clamped, at the other end would be a tap. So as you can see, in theory is totally dry

 

Want to rent an 18th century Farmhouse in Rural Somerset?