This foam is designed for racing fuel use. It's resistant to degradation in many fuels and has very large, open cells. It is also carbon impregnated to mitigate static electricity issues. It's also very expensive. There's over $100 worth of foam in this 17 gallon fuel cell.
So, to the makers of the FiTech branded HyperFuel #40019 - really? WTF were you thinking? AFTER I wrestled the foam into position, the VERY LAST thing that I want to do is grind some of the red ring out of the way so that I can start the housing onto the studs. The freaking upper hose clamp strikes the red ring. Yes, I tried re-clocking the hose clamp. Yes, I tried inverting it. No, there was NO WAY to make it fit without grinding.
Here's a clue to those of you who create products: try to make it actually work as intended before you box it and ship it. If I had gone with solely using the black ring, I never would have noticed this problem. However, I'm using both rings so that the pump/foam/cell may be serviced without needing a new gasket. Perhaps the designers never tried this? They do give (rather ambiguous) instructions that declare that it's possible. This isn't my first rodeo. If I had trouble making it fit as shipped, so will EVERYONE else.
Here's the sock filter installed. The wires must be carefully routed to mitigate abrasions and checked for clearance prior to seating the body. You don't want to pinch them!!!
Here's the grinding in progress. There's a damp paper towel and I'm using the vacuum cleaner as I grind. The dust can really screw up an injector if it's not well controlled. Grrrr!!
I wound up cutting more out to the right than what is shown in this picture. Then, if positioned JUST RIGHT, the clamp could barely clear - with some force.
It's tight!
I had very slightly stretched the O-ring (because it kept popping out of the groove due to being just under diameter) and lubricated it with silicone grease. Now, after cleaning the bits of aluminum dust from everything, I could assemble it. I gave a last-chance inspection for O-ring seating and wire clearance, and ran the locking nuts down in turn. There are eight nuts, so, I tightened every third one a bit at a time until they're all down.
I removed the pressure regulator and plugged it with the supplied plug. These O-rings get a thin film of silicone grease too.
The inlet to the pump is the sock filter. It's going to be in fuel virtually always because it sits just 1/4" off of the floor. The foam helps to minimize fuel slosh, especially critical, in this instance, during deceleration. The pickup sock is also deliberately positioned towards the rear of the vehicle. Thus, fuel will try to slam into the sock's pockets during acceleration.
For the return line, I'll use the fuel cell's original pickup tube. It's going to return the fuel to the bottom of the tank and, thus, minimize the amount of air mixed into the returning fuel.
The pump will run "open," with the pressure regulation done at the throttle body. Any excess fuel delivered by the pump will be returned via the throttle body's regulator. This will allow the fuel to circulate and should greatly reduce any tendency to vapor lock. As well, the pump's life should be extended because it's being cooled by the bulk of fuel in the cell.
The feed line will be 1/2" (8-AN) and the return line will be 3/8" (6-AN). This should support the entire design of 730 HP. It's supposed to be good for "up to 800 HP" with the HyperFuel 40019 setup.
We'll see!
- dad
