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What's with the fire extinguishers???

16K views 54 replies 36 participants last post by  Bry Reid 
#1 ·
Noob question: why do so many lotus owners have fire extinguishers mounted in their cars? Are these care more prone to bursting into flames than others??? :shrug:

Don't get me wrong... I think they look sweet! I was just wondering if there was a specific reason they are so prevalent in these cars.
 
#3 ·
It is a good piece of safety equipment to have on a tracked car. On a street driven car in certainly can’t hurt but is probably mostly an affectation. I am sure soon someone will post the picture of an Elise burnt to the ground at a track (I think in CA).
 
#4 ·
No not really known for bursting into flames.

However all cars (regardless of the make) can get things like an oil leak. The problem with the elise is that aliminium + fibreglass + fire = very bad. Have seen pictures of a 340R that got fire due to overheated cat converter and by the time the call to the emergency services was made there wasn't much left other than the roll bar.

Good to have and never use it than to need it and not have it.
 
#5 ·
Are these care more prone to bursting into flames than others??? :shrug:
.
The only colors that have cases of spontaneous combustion are ( every other color BUT Chrome Orange ) rotfl
 
#6 ·
I was just wondering if there was a specific reason they are so prevalent in these cars.
Because so many of them are tracked. A tracked car gets much hotter than a highway driven car. A tracked car also has a much better chance of ending up in the grass next to a track than a highway driven car.

Hot car in grass quite often ends up creating a fire. Most of the time that fire doesn't spread to the car, but in the rare case that it does, it might actually help to have a fire extinguisher in the car.

Rich "I don't have a fire extinguisher in my car. S
 
#7 ·
I threw a rod once, not pretty. Not in the Elise.

Oil everywhere, hit the headers a small fire ensued. If I did not have a small Halon fire extinguisher in the car my next option would have been to take my shirt off and slap at the flames with it.

After that experience I was glad I had a fire extinguisher in the car.


I rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
 
#10 ·
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:

Ever since that car though (and the last time I ever drove it in 1989) I have yet to use an extinguisher in anger since, towards my own vehicle. Did stop once on the highway, and helped save someone ELSES car though, that had a fairly decent electrical fire going (open flames leaping out from under the hood as it was dodging for the shoulder) a few years back as a result.

As someone else mentioned, they are required for several certain track events - and that is probably the single largest reason they are so prevalent in our cars as a result of, is all.

Besides, they just look cool where and how they mount in our cars too. I once had someone ask me at one of these mega-mall car drive-in "shows" whether or not mine was my Nitrous bottle. rotfl
 
#12 ·
And don't forget--fiberglass bodies burn very hot and very fast :eek: especially compared to steel bodied cars. I carry a 10 pounder in my Elan because anything less is simply not going to cut it in a real fire.
 
#14 ·
exactly!!!
some (else)who gets it.

if my car is burning, i would take the time, if i had it and think to do it, to hit a button, or pull a lever while i am exiting the car on my plumbed system.

Thats about it for me, i only really care about my body, the car is replacable, but fire is a bitch, and doesnt discriminate in what it is going to burn.

I think the handheld extingusiher is bling, but i wouldnt count on it it do the job, unless someone else wanted to operate it; i will be away from my car waiting for the corner workers to come and do thier thing.
if your Lotus is so precious that you cannot afford to have it burn to the ground, and to just be thankful that you are unharmed, then you should be using something else on the track.
if your car burns while using it on the street, i still say keep away from the car, and let your insurance company do what you pay them for, which is replace your car.

I did have a racecar with a handheld extinguisher in it. It passed SCCA tech because of it, but it was only a placebo to me (since i really never planned on unlatching it, and using it), and all my cars since have the plumbed system in it, which is really in place to protect me(while i am getting the hell out of there), not so much my car.

if my car was buring before my eyes, i might react differently in the "heat of the moment", but I dont really make plans on being a firefighter when i go to the races. i make plans on doing whatever it takes to come home the way i showed up at the track, which is unburned and unscarred for life.

but your handheld extiguishers do look cool!!!!
 
#15 ·
For those of you who have handheld extinguishers mounted, is there a preference between mounting it in front of the passenger seat vs. the drivers? Either way it doesn't really take up any legroom and while it clutters up the drivers side in some instances it could be easier to reach vs bending forward and to the side to get is from the passenger side.

Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.
 
#17 ·
Some reg's state it's got to be reachable from the drivers position although infront of the pax seat is a favourite.
In front of the drivers seat inhibits entry (and so also a quick exit).

I've had units mounted in various places - Between the seats or behind the drivers seat on the bulkhead were ok. You can get a unit that is slim enough to fit in the shelf infront of the pax.
 
#19 ·
e) call the insurance company or chuck a bottle of expensive tap water over it, which most elise owners seem to carry ;)

i'd rather have a melting puddle on the ground than a partially burnt out car covered in fire extinguisher goop, by the time you've gotten out, then pulled out the shiny immaculate looking fireextinguisher in the fancy bracket thats usually in akward spot in the passenger footwell, if the passenger has gotten out too, and you remembered to have the extinguisher checked regularly, then can get to wherever the fire is quickly which might meant opening the trunk, or getting into the diffuser area, and put it out properly while staying out of danger, than yeah.

if you're working on the car in a garage then the question is should i equip my garage with fire extinguishers, yes indeedly.
 
#21 ·
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
 
#22 ·
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.
 
#24 ·
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.
 
#28 ·
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?)
 
#27 ·
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.
 
#32 ·
#31 · (Edited)
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 :(
 
#36 ·
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...
 
#37 ·
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.
 
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