Easy Fuel Drain?
06-16-2008, 09:44 AM
#1
Vetteless
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St. Jude Donor '09
Easy Fuel Drain?
Hey guys - is there a safe and easy way to drain the fuel out of my gas tanks at the track? I trust my gas gauge less and less, and I'm starting to try to work down the fuel I have on-board at the end of the race. Hard to do though when you don't know exactly where you're starting!
Any suggestions appreciated for draining the tank, or other fuel management tips.
Any suggestions appreciated for draining the tank, or other fuel management tips.
06-16-2008, 09:57 AM
#2
Race Director
there is no EASY way to do it. You need to remove quick disconnects for the feed lines from each tank (the largest one) and gravity feed individually. It takes a long time.
You can also wire up a toggle to activate the fuel pumps manually, and pump the fuel out. You would either attach a line at the outlet for the drivers side , or you could attach at the schrader valve at the engine. Either way, you want to run it just until you get starvation, as running the pump dry can burn it out. Also, you may or may not get all of the fuel out of the passenger tank, as the "siphon pump" arrangement isn't very effective without a good backflow to the tanks, which you don't have when you completely disconnect the line.
Unless you are running races longer than NASA/SCCA currently does, I'd probably just fill up before qualifying. After each race, see how things go, then maybe fill up before final practice. You should get a good feel of how much fuel you use per lap (or mile depending on the track), and come up with a good scenario.
I agree, the gauge is absolutely worthless if you want to run the car very low at the end of a race. I lost a T1 race on the last corner of the last lap at CMP in 2000, because I ran out of fuel. CMP uses a lot more fuel than many tracks (Roebling for instance) in my experience.
You can also wire up a toggle to activate the fuel pumps manually, and pump the fuel out. You would either attach a line at the outlet for the drivers side , or you could attach at the schrader valve at the engine. Either way, you want to run it just until you get starvation, as running the pump dry can burn it out. Also, you may or may not get all of the fuel out of the passenger tank, as the "siphon pump" arrangement isn't very effective without a good backflow to the tanks, which you don't have when you completely disconnect the line.
Unless you are running races longer than NASA/SCCA currently does, I'd probably just fill up before qualifying. After each race, see how things go, then maybe fill up before final practice. You should get a good feel of how much fuel you use per lap (or mile depending on the track), and come up with a good scenario.
I agree, the gauge is absolutely worthless if you want to run the car very low at the end of a race. I lost a T1 race on the last corner of the last lap at CMP in 2000, because I ran out of fuel. CMP uses a lot more fuel than many tracks (Roebling for instance) in my experience.