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You guys dissing the 2.5 pounders a lot of us run in front of the passenger seat are correct with most of your points. But there is a tiny probability that it will be useful in some instance.

I can imagine if I get caught up in a belt, or for some reason after a smash-up I can't get the driver's door open, it could give me ten extra seconds of escape time. Maybe at the very least extinguish my own pants leg or something maybe.

xtn
 
Countering it with what if's, maybe the extinguisher will fail or the mount will fail and smack you in the face, or fillup the cabin with foam and unless there are bikini clad girls in the car thats not such a good thing ;)

Can you reach your extinguisher if you're belted up and stuck ?

granted there are always going to be scenarios where something does what its meant too, thats why we have insurance after all.

Still seems like the in car automatic extinguisher is going to be better in those scenarios than a bottle, granted 'better' as in saving vs cleanup.
 
Here is a list of things that would be more useful in your car than a fire extinguisher:

1. An umbrella
2. A first aid kit
3. A small canister of gas (I've run out 3 times)
4. Road flares
5. Bear repellant
6. A box of saltines
7. One of those giant foam fingers

Seriously, unless you are on the track I don't see the point.
 
Good question, and it reminds me... I recently saw a picture here of a Lotus with a chrome one with a Lotus sticker on it, very nice, hopefully someone will remember the car for me, as it's exactly what I'm looking for!

Mine is chrome with a lotus sticker on it. Still have it.
 
This debate comes up on car forums periodically. Here is the deal... if you don't have any extinguisher... and a small fire starts. You are kinda screwed. And it does not have to be your car. Most likely it can be a car you are around. But a tiny flame and a bit of smoke will have you wondering if you can pee on it, or whatever. And most likely you will helplessly look by as the small fire becomes a large one and the car is totaled.

Look, the idea is not to deal with a huge inferno. That is already a write off. It is the option the extinguisher affords you for the small stuff. That is all. You can still always choose to not use it.

Been there, done that. I have been in a car that started out as a small teeny fire. And watched helplessly as it grew. I have also been at a scene of a medium sized fire where I decided not to waste my halon on the car (not mine, maybe not worth as much as my extinguisher).

Simple as that. Options. For those that have seen a Lotus go up in flames... it happens.

For track, no doubt a system makes more sense. I carry an extinguisher for the stupid stuff that I have time to deal with. On my Elise the extinguisher was securely mounted to the harness bar in easy reach. I liked that it was not in the way of passengers. If I was on the track and the car rolled and burst into flames... I would not waste time on fumbling with an extinguisher. Just get out.
 
3. A small canister of gas (I've run out 3 times)
:wallbang:

- the Fuel warning light is there for a reason ya know!

I think the fire extinguisher is quite standard on most tracked cars as a precaution.
But perhaps it just seems more predominant in the Lotus cars because the only practical place to mount them is in front of the passenger seat - where they're more visible in interior photos.

(whereas I'm guessing they're stored behind the seats in most other cars?)
 
Here is a list of things that would be more useful in your car than a fire extinguisher:
I used to think that way too, until about 9 years ago when I was doing a track day at Road Atlanta in my Miata. Blew the #4 rod on the back straight. Pulled over to the side and sat and watched my car on fire, waiting forever for a corner worker to run over with an extinguisher. If I had one in the car I could have put the fire out much, much quicker.
 
So assuming I've decided to get a hand-held extinguisher after evaluating all the pros and cons above and assuming that reaching it is not an issue whether I'm belted in or strapped in, are there any negatives with mounting the extinguisher in front of the passenger or drivers seat? I don't see how it would interfere with entry or exit as the car is so low that my feet never get that close to the front of the seats.

One negative I see is that it would be clearly visible as it sit out in the open and screams "Look at me, I wanna be a racer..." like many riced up cars :(
 
So assuming I've decided to get a hand-held extinguisher after evaluating all the pros and cons above and assuming that reaching it is not an issue whether I'm belted in or strapped in, are there any negatives with mounting the extinguisher in front of the passenger or drivers seat? I don't see how it would interfere with entry or exit as the car is so low that my feet never get that close to the front of the seats.

One negative I see is that it would be clearly visible as it sit out in the open and screams "Look at me, I wanna be a racer..." like many riced up cars :(

The only negative I've found with that placement is that you can't use all of those cup holders that are designed to go in that area.
 
I have an extinguisher in my Exige (and yes, I've gotten the Nitrous question...), and I've carried extinguishers in all of my sports cars since the very beginning. My 78 Corvette even came with one from the factory...
 
You guys forgot three reasons to carry a fire extinguisher.

1. Tradition (i.e., Lucas electrics):p
2. Many car shows require a fire extinguisher.
3. Save someone else

Oh, if you know what your doing a small fire extinguisher can put out quite a big fire. Where I worked a fireman was expected to put out at least 32 sq ft (4 x 8 pan) oil fire with about 2 pounds of extinguishing agent.
 
I've carried one in every car I've ever owned since my 1st 1984 Fiero.
They didn't call that car the "Fiero Flambe" for just nothin' ya know, and I am personal living anecdotal testament to that! :eek:
I'm a former Fiero owner as well. My car also ended its days fulfilling the stereotype. It was a tiny little oil fire, but this was on the street so it was a really long time before help arrived...
Every car I've had since then has had an extinguisher. I've never needed one again and hope I never do, but it's there.
 
I'm a former Fiero owner as well. My car also ended its days fulfilling the stereotype. It was a tiny little oil fire, but this was on the street so it was a really long time before help arrived...
Every car I've had since then has had an extinguisher. I've never needed one again and hope I never do, but it's there.
Tell me it WASN'T you: I passed a Fiero in mid-meltdown a few years ago on Eastbnd 290 between 83 and York. I had a Fire exting with me, and it was one of the few times I felt I should have stopped and didn't.....traffic had slowed to gawk and by the time I go close enough it looked to be lost.

john m /ML1
 
So assuming I've decided to get a hand-held extinguisher after evaluating all the pros and cons above and assuming that reaching it is not an issue whether I'm belted in or strapped in, are there any negatives with mounting the extinguisher in front of the passenger or drivers seat? I don't see how it would interfere with entry or exit as the car is so low that my feet never get that close to the front of the seats.

One negative I see is that it would be clearly visible as it sit out in the open and screams "Look at me, I wanna be a racer..." like many riced up cars :(
I would say definately the passenger seat and not the drivers. A passenger won't have any problems exiting the vehicle in a hurry even if there's a bottle mounted there. Where as a driver might get caught on the steering wheel because of the bottle or vice versa.

Infront of the pax seat means you can fix the unit to the chassis cross member which is a nice thick peiece of aliminium so it'll be very secure. Finally as the pax seat doesn't move you're not going to have any probs with seat runners.

For reference when I was at the factory Lotus fit the fire extinguisher bottle for their cars in front of the pax seat (and thats a big plumbed in unit) and I never had any probs with it.

The only exception is the 211's and they mount the extinguisher on the chassis siderail. This is possible as with no doors to worry about it doesn't affect entry or exit.
 
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