Fuel Cell Location

[92 white 0650]

SCCA routinely makes me laugh with how they write stuff. (I think the tech editors went to the George W. Bush school of thinking and writing). But sometimes, I can't believe my own eyes. Apparently, they just now decided to allow the fuel cell(s) in an NSX to be relocated to the front trunk area. See the GT2-April paragraph on P. 6 of this link:

http://scca.com/_FileLibrary/File/MasterTechBulletin.pdf

The factory location is as good as it gets for performance as well as safety. Please someone, tell me I'm jumping to conclusions and this is not what they really mean.

 

[VintageracerNYC]

I think allowing the fuel cell to be relocated to the front will save someone a lot of money as a custom cell for the NSX is very pricey to have made. And the weight distribution will still be quite good..Look at Porsches!

 

[92 white 0650]

You forgot the :biggrin:

Somehow I worry about the pointy end of the car arriving at the scene of the accident first. Not where I'd want a fuel cell. But then, maybe you've mastered the art of doing a "pirouette into the armco" when things go wrong? :wink:

 

[VintageracerNYC]

Dear Ted

I understood your wanting to jest about the SCCA and I am SURE you are a very experienced racer but where the heck do you think Porsches have there fuel cells son? The "pointy" end. I think the idea is to NOT hit the armco but as I have seen in my MANY years of racing its never been a problem with Porsches EVEN when they DID have frontal contact.

J

 

[92 white 0650]

Well, I'm still searching for the logic of moving mass away from the center. As for Porsche being a great example of what or what not to do, when the good Dr. Porsche started designing the 911, the VW bug was the people's car and Indy cars still had the motor in front. I've marvelled that Porsche seems to engineer their way out of less than optimal design, rather than go to a true mid-engine, low polar moment layout. But hey, that's part of marque mysticism, the bane of the NSX reputation, and why the P marketing people don't want to mess with a "good thing" as in SALES.

As for a fuel cell in the NSX, I would envision it to be where the spare tire is now, farther forward and more vulernable than the P-cars location.

OK, as for cost, you can no doubt enlighten me here. Putting the fuel cell where the spare tire was sounds like custom with all the plumbing added, never mind the safety aspects. And for a gutted race car, a fuel cell by the fire wall doesn't sound that much more difficult, especially when the plumbing is already in place.