Fire System

[jeffw]

Keep in mind that with the ESS system you need to protect it from freezing, so depending on where you store your car you may be messing with the tank at least twice a year. You'll want it in a place that's easy to reach.

[modifiede30]

I am hoping to have the placement in a very accessible place that would make it easy to service and move in/out when needed. I'm just worried that mounting it horizontally is bad but the info I've seen thus far shows the horizontal mount to be one of the more ideal positions regardless of the purpose of the car.

[6PAK72]

I had no issues with a horizontal mount. 99% of cars mount it horizontally.

[paultg]

I suggest you call the manufacturer of the fire system and discuss the install it with them.

Paul G.

[962porsche]

you can mount a fire bottle horizontally . the down side is as i stated in a earlier reply .
mounting it on a rear package shelf i would not do . one big down side is your adding needless weight high up .
i don't know how much different a Z3 is from the Z4 M coupe i built over the off season but i mounted that fire bottle in the trunk as there was no good place in the drivers compartment .
i'm not sure why you do not like that option ? two small holes needed to be drilled thru the rear bulkhead . one for the cable and the other was for the needed bulkhead fitting ( never just run the tubing thru a drilled hole) if you think about it your not really running more tubing and cable then if you mounted it on a package shelf .

[modifiede30]

I was going to mount it not on top of the shelf, but on the rear wall behind the seats - it'd probably not be much higher than the trunk floor. If you follow the tranny tunnel to the back wall, it would sit just above that intersection.

I've yet to see any downsides to mounting horizontally other than your post - in fact the diagrams I have show that horizontal is preferred and not by a shop that sells specifically for drag racing. Does your concern apply to all types of suppression systems, or only certain types?

[962porsche]

some systems will work just fine no matter how you mount them others not so much . it has more to do with the pickup tube on the bottle it's self .
from what i know you really can mount systems how it has to be to fit in a car the problem is not that the system will not work at all but with some it may not discharge all of the fire suppression in the bottle it's self ( if your car moving when you set the system off ) it has to do with G loads . lets face it when the car is at rest the bottle doesn't know what way it faces in the car .
the same can be said for the nozzles in the engine compartment . you want to mount them as far forward as you can the reason for this is if you mount them to far back in the engine compartment and you set the system off when your moving the air flow thru the grill and engine compartment may not spray the fire retardant on the front part of your motor .
will a car pass tech if you mount your bottle horizontally ? i have never seen one that has not !
it's more of you want to get the most out of your fire system when mount the systems as the maker of the systems tells you .

[modifiede30]

I just called the manufacturer and they indicated that as long as the bottle was horizontally mounted (either in line with the car front to back, or perpendicular to car's nose), it would work just as well in either direction. He said its not unusual to have to mount it cross-wise in some cars with limited space so it was designed to work equally well in such a configuration. I guess its just a matter now of location.