Well, I finally got around to installing the Firecharger fire suppression system into Hyde. It's ironic to spend quality dollars on something you hope you never get to use. ... sort of like insurance.
At any rate, between the number of seriously modified MR2s I have seen burned, the type of racing I am doing and the safety requirements for the types of racing I plan on doing ... it was time.
This is not the sexiest install, but it is functional which is most important.
It took me a little over 4 hours, but I could do it a lot better, cleaner and faster if I started all over with a new kit. I learned a lot in installing this (like using a tube flaring kit
)In the first photo you will see the nozzle mounted below the ignition. This will spray on my lap & legs in the event the system is activated. You will also see the activation trigger mounted next to the ash tray with the safety pin installed so the system is not accidentally triggered.
In the second photo you will see the second aluminum line that goes to the engine bay. It enters through the grommet that was used for the cruise control. The line continues across the firewall to the mounting location of the second nozzle. This one is aimed at the turbo & oil lines.
The last photo is the mounting of the actually bottle. Inside the aluminum box is a CO2 cartridge. When the trigger of the system is pulled, it activates a lever inside that box that puntures the CO2 cartridge which in turn pressures the bottle underneath it sending the mixture of water and fire suppression solution out to the nozzles. At the cap for the bottle you can see where the lines for the nozzles beging.
I chose to mount the bottle in this location for a few reasons:
1. Weight: it has some weight to it and that could beneft balance being on the passenger side
2. It's directly in front of a grommet for the engine bay which made routing easier.
3. It's behind the passenger seat and well mounted between the roll bar & firewall so in the event of a crash, the system should be safe.
Over all the install was not too bad or overly challenging. The major point of frustration for me was bending the end of the cable to fit into the hole in the trigger lever. There's not a lot of room to work in there and bending metal to poke in and out of a hole all while make at least two curves kinda sucked.
The only other obstacle was deciding where to mount everything. You are limited by the length of the lines & cable and also the trigger requires some healthy depth behind where it mounted.
