poison123

I guess the question is...why wasn't that included in the service manual from day 1? Not a bulletin 4 years into the cars life?

zedcat

For the 718, car is delivered with a certificate for the cell included with the documentation. mine is not valid after 2024, so I know that is out there. Can't speak to the 981 but seems that would have been documented also.

poison123

No idea if they did or not. I first found out about it because the first owner emailed the bulletin to the second owner who emailed it to me. And i've scoured the manual and the fuel cell isn't listed in there. *shrugs* I'm not happy at the moment with that in trying to buy a 981 Clubsport, but most of the examples out there have been crashed or just not maintained as well as they should have.

scott40

On the fuel cell to the right where the step down is, there’s a plate. Remove the plate and there’s a certification sticker. It will state after what date the bladder is considered expired. To my knowledge, this applies to all fuel cells in race cars. 5 years from the date of manufacture.

tcsracing1

my 2016 fuel cell 70L bladder started leaking in 2018. We replaced the bladder from used cell i had purchased from another team. Not a crazy big job.
(some teams swapped over from 70L to the carbon 100L cell so there are some 70L tanks kicking around collecting dust.)

zracer196

I removed the plate. Looks like it is pretty clear. Seems typical of all fuel cells. But again the one in my 08’ Cup made it 11 years. Was a DE car so no problems with needing certification.

scott40

Tom,
Probably a dumb question, but how do you know when it’s leaking? Is it obvious?

Frank 993 C4S

Why not just replace with a 981 stock fuel tank and be done with it?

zracer196

In my 08" Cup...Little bit of fuel under the car after an event. But the cell had multiple cracks when it was removed...Maybe I did not see a leak because the cracks were on the higher side of the cell and I never ran a full tank of fuel?

scott40

Doesn’t that defeat the safety aspect of a fuel cell?

zracer196

Yes that part of the car...But some come with stock tank including my 08’ cup.

Also for many doing just DE events with it I’m sure more than adequate.

But yes fuel cell is safer...Of course 12K versus probably 1K in cost.

scott40

Can the fuel cell be replaced with a regular tank?

Do cup car fuel cells also come with only a 5 yr certification?

zracer196

Not sure on the time...But I would guess it is the same on the Cup cars with them. My 08' Cup came with a standard tank and was replaced by the first race team (mandated). When mine started leaking I wanted to swap it...MUCH cheaper but the problem was time, locating the parts and the wiring harness was modified for the new pumps...Would have been a pain. Maybe not hard on the Clubsport?

Of course...Fuel cells are SAFE...And that is why I bought mine instead of tracking a street car. Also...DE events will not make you change it out...Some race organizations don't care either. PCA I am sure does though.

Just my opinion...I could be wrong on some of it.

RobT 394

The bulletin is straightforward and not sure the correct information has been posted here. For 995 euros you send the bladder off and get two more years. That is all it says and this is standard with an ATL cell. The bulletin does not say you need to spend $13K for a new cell. Furthermore, when it comes time to replace the bladder should be in the $5k range. At least that is what it cost on the Cup Car. And you do not have to buy it from motorsports. $1k per year IF you replace the cell when it times out is not the biggest cost of driving a CS or a Cup. And if you do not race no need to replace it every five years.

scott40

This is the quote I got:
New 100 L Cell from Continental - 5 Years $10,071.43
Recertify Current Cell - 2 Years $4,321.43 – includes Dangerous goods shipping to Germany plus duty / VAT
New Cell from PMNA - 5 Years $11,282.14