993PET

Has anyone mounted the 2.5 lbs Halon Fire Extinguisher in the center of the BK Harness Guide Bar. Would this mount be considered acceptable as a hard point by PCA/DE?

TIA

JF

97' 993 Coupe Artic Silver RS Look

Vinny '98 3.8 C2S

The local PCA requires that you must be able to reach it while still belted. I don't know about your region.....It seems like a pretty stupid rule though

I agree. When I'm finished belting in, that pretty much leaves the steering wheel as the only "legal" mounting point. Awfully strange rule.

Greg Fishman

It may seem stupid but imagine that you are pinned in your seat after an accident and can't get loose. Then a fire starts, in your foot well.

How stupid would it be then...

Martin S.

If a fire starts at your feet, and it is Halon, you have just gassed yourself By the time you buy the Brey Krause Extinguisher Mount, the appropriate 10BC Extinguisher, if you go Halon you will have spent over $200 so far. What about a remote system that you see in race cars? I have priced them out and they don't seem all that expensive, about $450 or so?. Surely PCA DE would buy into this approach.

The thing I don't like about the Fire Extinguisher in the cabin, what if you are in the process of rolling the car (God forbid!), and that extinguisher breaks loose and now becomes a deadly missle? This concerns me. Before I go to the track NEXT WEEKEND, I am going to install a double strap on my extinguisher.

The BK front seat mount is pretty slick if you have to go to a stand alone extinguisher. I am certainn you could readily access it if you popped your 5 point belts. Drive safe, and keep the shiny side up! <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />

Vinny '98 3.8 C2S

Greg, I don't think it's stupid for it to be within your reach from your seat, I just think it's too narrow an area if you have to reach it while you're belted in. If you can't unlatch your belt, you probably won't be able to operate an extinguisher.

Greg Fishman

[quote]Originally posted by Silver Bullet:
<strong>Greg - If I'm pinned in my seat, what is the likelyhood that my fire bottle is even in the same place as I put it? What is the likelyhood that it is still in reach, presumably my seat has moved significantly?

I ask again, where exactly is this place where the fire extinquisher can be mounted such that you can reach it while fully belted in and you still have a passenger seat? The only place I can see is over the handbrake, but then you run into issues of it being in the way while driving which to me is far more dangerous.</strong><hr></blockquote>


If your seat moves during an accident you have a lot more problems to worry about than the placement of your fire extinquisher.

If you do a good job of mounting it, it shouldn't move in any accident (fireextinquisher and seat).

You could mount it vertically on the transmission tunnel in the passenger or driver's foot well just forward of the seat. The handbrake might be a good idea and I don't see how it would be in the way.

I have mine mounted to the roll cage directly in front of the shifter.


Vinnie,
Even if you can unlatch your belt how do you know that you can move to reach anything?

My point was: just because it may be tough to find a spot that meets the regulation doesn't mean that it is stupid.

SundayDriver

This is another case of inconsistent rules. Why do you need a reachable extinguisher but don't need nomex? Or do they require long sleeve shirts - what a joke. If it is a DE and the organizers consider it safe to run 3 point belts, no firproof suit, no gloves, no licensining, then why add part of the safety gear that seems pretty arbitrary?

The fact is that driving on the track is dangerous and it is up to the driver (at least in part) to ensure they run with safety gear they are comfortable with. I can understand using full gear at a DE, I can even understand the organizers requiring it. I can't understand why some pick one or two items to require. The reachable fire extinguisher makes sense in a race car. It is not practical in a street car, nor is it consistent with the other requirments.

E. J. - 993 Alumni

[quote]Originally posted by Mark D - TT Alumni:
<strong>The reachable fire extinguisher makes sense in a race car. It is not practical in a street car, nor is it consistent with the other requirments.</strong><hr></blockquote>


Could this be an insurance thing so the group can get insurance to run the event? I know the PCA regions get insurance from the umbrella policy of the main PCA group, but you never know...

PramTT

Tom T.

[quote]Originally posted by 993PET:
<strong>Has anyone mounted the 2.5 lbs Halon Fire Extinguisher in the center of the BK Harness Guide Bar. Would this mount be considered acceptable as a hard point by PCA/DE?

TIA

JF
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yes I have one mounted to my harness bar (it is not a BK bar). It is mounted with a pair of
stainles steel U-style clamps, and a pair of generic srew-style clamps too for extra safety.
In this location I can grab it while strapped into my seat. The FE mount has two straps which I highly recommend. No problems from anyone with this setup in two years of DE.

Tom

SundayDriver

[quote]Originally posted by E. J.:
<strong>


Could this be an insurance thing so the group can get insurance to run the event? I know the PCA regions get insurance from the umbrella policy of the main PCA group, but you never know...</strong><hr></blockquote>

I have run with PCA regions that did not require an extinguisher at all, so ???

PramTT

Guys:

I had the Brey Krause fire extiguisher (FE) mount installed in my car but decide to take it out since it limited the passenger seat position to the rearmost setting.

I just installed another mount from Stable Energies which instead of being mounted on the seat track is mounted under the seat (to the seat) hence the mount moves with the seat and does not impede its movement.

I am mounting the Stable Energies FE mount to the Porsche sport seat and I like the set-up much better than the Brey Krause mount.

PramTT

Kim:

It is worth from the standpoint that the rear seat (behind passenger) is useful again (for my daughter). Otherwise there is no space for her feet.

You can actually make the FE location closer to you by putting the passenger seat all the way back with the front part of it adjusted to the highest position.

[quote] But can you reach it and unlatch it while fully belted (provided you have a harness)? <hr></blockquote>

I haven't tried it yet. Maybe when I get home I'll park my car on a steep incline, put on the harness/helmet/gloves, add some dry ice to simulate smoke, have my wife hit my helmeted head with something blunt to simulate crashing the concrete barrier and then try to unlatch the FE.

If you did not see any more post from me then I might not have survived the simulated crash (failed to get the FE) <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />