SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/643686
right back up the filler and splash back out at you causing a fire hazard. Fuel Safe offers up to 1.5-inch vent tubes with complete rollover protection to allow for quick fueling, and safety in rollover situations." Aside from proper venting, fuel pump mounting location is another common area where fuel system experts see common mistakes made by teams. "Fuel pumps are inherently designed to push fuel, but for ease of maintenance, off-road racers typically run their pumps outside of the fuel cell," says Torvik. "Many racers experience cavitation issues that can cause the pump to burn up and the motor to run lean. Some ways to solve this are to run the pump in-tank whenever possible. If you need to run the pump externally, make sure it is mounted below the fuel cell to produce a siphon action to deliver fuel to the pump. Running the pump below the fuel cell will not always solve the vacuum issues that are common with external pumps, but it once the pump is primed it can deliver fuel with less strain on the pump. If you run a high horsepower engine and your line will not siphon quick enough to deliver adequate fuel to the pump, you will still experience issues and find yourself replacing the pump more often that you should." Making sure there's always fuel delivered to the pump is key to avoiding these types of conditions. It's one of the reasons why some race teams have begun using the Holley HydraMat fuel pickup, as it has shown to eliminate fuel starvation as long as the HydraMat is touching fuel. "Tiny pores in the media seal off any area of the HydraMat that is not submerged in fuel," said Larry Tipton, senior fuel system engineer at Holley Performance. "This means that fuel can be drawn from even the smallest corner of the mat if fuel is available in the tank or cell. Holley recommends that end-users select the largest HydraMat possible because of the reservoir function it can provide." According to Tipton off- road race vehicles often get sideways on the course, and low fuel levels are often a big concern. The properties of the HydraMat allows fuel to be made available at the pickup even under conditions where fuel is sloshing in the tank. Another way to ensure that the fuel pickup is always in contact with fuel is to use a fuel cell that features a sump and a collector at the bottom. "Sumps and collectors are a must in off- road racing," says Torvik. "Off- road vehicles are constantly hitting hard corners, quickly changing direction, hitting jumps and whoops, all while taking on the roughest driving conditions. Since the vehicle is always jumping around, the fuel is doing the same. When fuel is jumping around in the cell, there is a good possibility that you are sucking air into your pickup lines at some point, which can burn up your pump and lean-out your motor -- not to mention kill your performance. Adding a sump area for fuel to collect always helps mitigate this, but I would always recommend running a collector system with one-way check valves to more effectively deliver fuel to the pump." While the fuel requirements are different for vehicles ranging from a Class 1 buggy to a Pro UTV, they all share the same goal of an efficient and safe fuel delivery system. Of course there are also fuel lines, pressure regulators and fittings to consider, but maintaining proper fuel delivery from the fuel cell is where many races have been won or lost. With the right selection of parts that deliver a consistent flow of fuel, SCORE racers can ensure they'll have a fuel system that is safe, and maximizes every drop of fuel to make it to the finish line first. SJ SOURCES: Holley Performance Products www.holley.com Weldon Fuel Pumps www.weldonpumps.com Fuel Safe www.fuelsafe.com Earls Plumbing www.earls.com Harmon Racing Cells www.harmonracingcells.com Aeromotive www.aeromotiveinc.com 079 SCORE JOURNAL