Signed up for an HPDE event and they require a fire extinguisher.
How the hell could you reach one over the wall of switches in front of the passenger seat if you needed it.
Anyone use the mount and extinguisher from Paragon Performance?
Anyone have a cheaper alternative than ~$200?

 

I have one of these that i keep in the drivers door slot. Look up the videos. I used one on a fire pit and it worked as advertised

 

I imagine the HPDE organizers require any fire extinguisher to be held in place by metal brackets fastened to the car's structure so it won't become a missile in an incident. It is just about impossible to mount a fire extinguisher in a Corvette where it will be useful. In front of the passenger seat is all but unreachable from the driver's seat in any Corvette, while mounting in front of the driver's seat can interfere with the driver's feet. Mounting between the seats causes other problems and centered on a bulkhead behind the seats means they become almost unreachable since the occupants have to first remove their restraints and then rise up and twist around to reach the extinguisher.

The problem is you don't have time to mess around trying to access a Fire Extinguisher when it is critical to get out of the car ASAP when it is on fire. Get out of the car as fast as you can and get as far away from it as possible. Forget about trying to use a handheld FE to put out the fire. If you are running full harnesses, wearing a HANS device and sitting in a racing seat it takes about 10 seconds to release the belts and to get your body clear of the car. You don't want to waste that time fooling around trying to get ahold of a FE that won't work unless you can shoot the material at the base of the fire which will be under the engine cover or other bodywork. Shooting the fire suppressant at the flames is useless.

My recommendation is to purchase the lowest cost set up that meets the rules of the organization and mounts in front of the passenger seat where it will be out of the way. Then forget that it is in the car since it will be basically useless to protect you.

However, it might benefit somebody else if you see their car on fire and can help them by using your FE to slow the progression of the fire.

Bill

 

How does it take 10 seconds to release a racing harness and get out of the car? Hans device does not impede exit much.

 

Install a real fire suppression system if there is a real concern.

 

While anyone who knows me knows I'm no fan of fire, even I think it's a little bit overboard to require a fire extinguisher for HPDE. What organization is this with? Could be a knee jerk reaction in light of my accident. I appreciate an org who takes safety very seriously, but I do want the sport to continue to grow, and requiring all cars at hpde to have a fire extinguisher I think is gonna shoot them in the foot. For me, it's time to start seriously considering fire safety when you've modified the engine past stock power levels, or messed around with fuel or oil lines. And absolutely positively once the car has a cage. But a fire in a stock car is a very rare thing indeed and as Bill mentioned any little handheld extinguisher is going to do very little in the event of an actual fire involving flammable fluids. But I'm living proof that bad **** does happen so nothing wrong with preparing for the worst.

That said, my C8 will have a auto Novec system once I get it on track, but if those element sticks satisfy the requirements for the hpde org, they are pretty slick.

 

Belts, cage, racing seat, possibly crawling out the window, etc. Most Racing orgs will test you every year to be sure you can get out of the car in 10 seconds fully strapped in. It's sometimes very hard for the bigger older guys. I could get out of my C5 racecar in 6 seconds which is pretty damn quick.