[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Does mounting the fuel cell completly in the make the car behave any differently than if it was low between the fuel rails ?? I'm considering chageing to a different fuel cell in my build.

[Jagtec1]

Huh?

[screamingchief]

Originally Posted by Jagtec1

Huh?

Uhhh,,,yeah,,,I second that comment...

[steve]

i would think weight in the back is, weight in the back. maybe some of the smarter guys will correct me....but mounted lower (stock location) seems like it would not matter to me. i see other reasons for not doing this though. like the plumbing would probably be too low and i would not want to expose a plastic fuel cell to the road hazzards it will encounter. not to mention it will be visible..unless you got a fancy stainless model it might not look good.....

JMO

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I was wondering if the fuel cell, mainly a larger one, mounted high and thus a higher center of gravity makes that much difference. A full 16 gal cell mounted higher in the car can effect the center of gravity. Just was curious if it makes that much difference.

[Bad548]

Originally Posted by 67 455 Bird ragtop

I was wondering if the fuel cell, mainly a larger one, mounted high and thus a higher center of gravity makes that much difference. A full 16 gal cell mounted higher in the car can effect the center of gravity. Just was curious if it makes that much difference.

Can`t see it helping any and more important to have pump below it. NHRA requires it well mounted and can`t see you moving it up/down too much anyways. At 16 gal may be too much weight to offset any placement advantage. Don`t know what you have but could add a battery/tire tubes/bigger slicks/stronger -heavier rear/etc if rear end traction weight is goal.

[screamingchief]

Does the position the fuel cell is mounted have an affect on the car?

Is it better to mount it low,like having it below the frame rails?

The answer is surely yes to the first question,but the difference is likely minimal in terms of ballast,weight transfer and such concerns.

JMO.

Most cells are mounted as practically as possible as their primary concern,with their other concerns as secondary issues to ponder.

Sure you can try and get it as low as possible,but that's often very inpractical and unduly complicated for the slight gain you will find.

Would you be worried about the batteries location like this?

The second question is a bit harder to quantify,in theory it's ideal to have most any mass as low as possible,sure,but do remember that it is a fuel cell,and having it too low can be quite dangerous if a tire goes flat or a suspension component fails.

No part of the cell/pumps/lines should be lower than the lowest part of the suspension at it's fully bottomed out posititon.

And any portion below/outside the body needs to be encased/enclosed per the rules if it's a poly unit.

It can be quite a bit of work to mount a generic cell like your considering here.

I myself would'nt get too overly obsessed with the fuel cell placement and mounting location,as this is rarely the one facet of car building that makes or breaks a particular combo,plumbing the cell is more often a chore of greater importance than placement,if the placement of a given cell affects the plumbing choices,and forces some compromise in that regard,then that is often more of an issue than the cells affect on weight distribution and COG concerns.

Put the cell where it's easiest to plumb correctly (ie: minimal interference,no 90 degree fittings if at all possible,clearance for a large enough dia. hose,and any other such hardware like filters and so on.

If this can be acheived with a lower mounting location,and the cell meets all saftey requirements as far as mounting location and such,then indeed you have the best of both worlds.

Also take into consideration re-fueling time,will the fill location be accessible?

Or will it be significantly more difficult?

Any particular reason to need a 16 gallon cell?

The current cell in my racecar is a 16 gallon unit (car was an alcohol/bracket car before I bought it) and I wish it had an 8 gallon cell in it instead as I plan on using strictly race gas and wont need that big of a cell back there.

Is this a street car?
Or a race only car?
Street/strip?
Canyon carver?
Or strictly drags?

All have differing needs.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Screaming ... Thanks for the info. That's the kind of feedback I was looking for. Car is a street strip car which is why I'm looking to use a larger fuel cell than if it was a race only car.

[screamingchief]

Well,the best options will have one thing in common when a larger cell is being mounted lower in the chassis like being discussed here,this will be to tie the cell mounting into the frame rails as opposed to the trunk floor.

When you open up the trunk floor enough to drop a cell that size lower,you remove a large amount of strength in the trunk floor-pan sheetmetal itself,and fastening the cell to the floor pan becomes less desireable as it really wont hold the cell in place very well.

So you may want to build a "skeleton" like frame-work to mount the cell itself and tie that frame-work into the frame rails for sufficient structural integrity.

Even the all metal cells will likely need this framework,as they often have their mounting tabs located in the same approximate location as the poly cells do.

Most roadrace and winston cup cars use this sorta mounting premise for their cells,this maintains a rigid mounting,while allowing the cell to be low in the body/chassis,yet still have a decent margin of protection.

HTH.

[BVR421]

Dont forget to build a sheet metal shield under and on the sides of the fuel cell where it hangs down exposed. NHRA required.