clogged fuel system

[Dirtracer 619]

OK another racer lost power during a race and lost time and positions due to deteriorating foam clogging the injectors.

a lot can be said about preventative maintenance not the topic here

what I am looking for is use of wiffel balls the 3" type with holes in them

would it be legal from racing bodies point of view''' would they be as safe

and would they hold up

and most important has anyone used them.

Im going to do some testing but if anyone has a perspective on this chim in

dirtracer

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[treypal]

I know someone who ran them in his old cell. He tested a bunch of different brands of balls. Most deteriorated in gas. Only two didn't. I can't recall the brands though.

[Wilson]

IMO, an organizer would be crazy to approve of this - they'd be easy prey for the "ambulance chasers"!

Clogged fuel filters and injectors as a result of inadequate race prep is a poor reason to become a human crash test dummy....... Until testing is done and it is proven that "wiffle balls" offer an equivalent level of safety, just replace the foam and filter!

[FABRICATOR]

I've heard they melt, but you might try a search on 'wiffle balls', they've been brought up on RDC before.

[harmonracingcells]

Wiffle balls will work and can reduce sloshing like foam but they don't necessarily prevent explosions as well, so as long as you run a static ground on the fill plate and demonstrate to Tech that their's no pumps inside the fuel cell there's a good chance they'd pass it. The problem with wiffle balls is that it's hard to find them in material that can withstand fuel. If you do try that route, try to find some made of Nylon, Teflon (explensive), Acetal/Delrin, or even a HDPE. Most balls are made of HDPP (polypropolene) which dissolves in fuel (hence the melting effect) and so it's not an easy (or cheap) alternative. My advice; run less pump gas and more race fuel, have your foam examined to make sure it's not defective (rare but it happens) or replaced if needed, and run one of XRP's new stacker filters with the bypass valve (when one filter clogs a valve opens up and allows to fuel to bypass the clogged one straight to the secondary). It'll run a few hundred bucks but it'll save you headache and you'll never find yourself at the mercy of a clogged filter again.