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Turns out the SPA Fire System in my 997 Cup car has reached the end of its life. I was informed my bottle is 19 yrs old and my plumbing and nozzles are 6mm and not the required 8mm. Anyone else replace their system lately?
The SPA dealer that was supposed to be refilling it informed me.
They said they won't refill and recertify bottles that are more than 10 yrs old but they did that exact thing in 2019 when it was 15 yrs old.
I tried to find the specific info regarding tubing size in the SCCA GCR but all it said was the system must be certified to SFI 17.1 or 17.2 or listed by the FIA on Technical List No. 16. Mine is on this list but homologation ended in 2017.
Thanks for the heads up, I just pulled mine out to send in for recharge. I'll call the rep I was planning to use before sending it, and let you know if I get the same response.
Did your dealer recommend a replacement system? Which model?
I’m going to get a 2nd opinion from SPA Technique in Indiana. I just had a friend get the bottle dated 2004 from his 996R filled and recertified. He is still using the original system the car came with in 2004.
The bottle needs to be within 10 years old to receive FIA certification, but SPA in Indiana will refill older bottles for club use. Some of the other dealers/reps will not.
Also, I had problems getting the local FedEx and UPS centers to ship a charged bottled. SPA did not recommend discharging it, so sent me a shipping label to apply. Turn around time was quick, about $140 including shipping.
Yep I replaced mine (2000 recerted several times) in with the newer SPA system had to redo the nozzles and tubes, pretty much ran them where the old ones were. Went with the newer agent.
didn’t have a choice on refill the bottle actually corroded thru. So I’d be careful with an older bottle they do rust out and then you have foam all over the place…