New Fuel Rules for '06 - Anyone ditching AN and braided?

[Dan G]

I was pleasantly suprised to read some changes in the fuel line rules for '06 (starting on page 51)...

3.5.3.7 Fuel Lines, Line Attachment and Protection
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Plastic fuel lines between the fuel tank and the engine (supply and
return) are prohibited.
<LI>If rubber fuel line or hose is used, the components over which the hose is
clamped must have annular bulb or barbed fittings to retain the hose.
<LI>Also, clamps specifically designed for fuel lines must be used. These
clamps have three (3) important features, (i) a full 360 deg. wrap, (ii) a
nut and bolt system for tightening, and (iii) rolled edges to prevent the
clamp cutting into the hose. Worm-gear type hose clamps are not
approved for use on any fuel line.
<LI>Fuel lines must be securely attached to the vehicle and/or engine. All
fuel lines must be shielded from possible rotating equipment failure or
collision damage.[/list]
3.5.3.8 High Pressure System Requirements
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>Fuel Lines – On fuel injected systems, any flexible fuel lines must
be either (i) metal braided hose with either crimped-on or reusable,
threaded fittings, or (ii) reinforced rubber hose with some form of
abrasion resistant protection with fuel line clamps per 3.5.3.7. Note:
Hose clamps over metal braided hose will not be accepted.[/list]
So now the door is open to use conventional rubber HP fuel line and t-bolt clamps throughout the entire system. Barbed ends, and abrasion resistant shielding must be used "only where necessary". I'd want to clear whatever materials I wanted to use with the rules committee before competition of course.

Just curious to see if anyone else had read this and decided to leave all the pricey braided hose and AN fittings at home this year.

These clamps appear to meet the rules:
http://www.autobarn.net/iddifuincl.html
http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/rodi_1880_50385757 (http://www.autobarn.net/iddifuincl.html)

$0.69 cents apiece! Take that Aeroquip!

[GTMS]

I for one prefer the safety and piece of mind that the an setups give me.

That clamp is made of steel; it's probably pretty heavy in addition to not as safe as the an stuff.

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

Originally posted by GTMS:
I for one prefer the safety and piece of mind that the an setups give me.

That clamp is made of steel; it's probably pretty heavy in addition to not as safe as the an stuff.

heavy, its a few ounces? rubber would reduce fuel system costs significantly!

[DaveC]

The cheapest place I have found to buy AN fittings is www.summitracing.com (http://www.summitracing.com). The Summit brand AN stuff is just a little bit more expensive than buying high pressure rubber hose. The Gates brand fuel injection system rated rubber line is pricey, and hose barbs and clamps are a royal PITA. Also, the rules state an abrasion resistant cover must be used on rubber lines. So, the costs are not much different, and I'd bet the AN stuff will actually be lighter than rubber line with steel hose barbs and clamps. The clamps are pricey as well, and those autobarn ones look questionable, and most likely are not stainless steel. Mild steel clamps suck. Aeroquip is very expensive retail, I'd bet the Summit stuff is half the price, and is interchangable with all brands of AN lines and fittings.

[Dave M]

What about Aluminum hard line? I have heard that this is not allowed though. Will we have to shield stuff like earls prolite hose (lightweight nylon braid)?

[Marshall Grice]

no, yes.

[CMURacing - Prometheus]

IIRC, haven't the fuel rules been this way for a few years now? In '04, we couldn't find an AN-banjo adaptor to fit the f4i fuel rail in time for competition, so we cut up the rubber hose that had such a fitting, bought some sufficient abrasion resistant shielding to place over the rubber line, and passed tech. or perhaps some of our other, rather larger errors caused the tech inspectors to overlook this...?

Dan, most FI stuff (for an f4i, at least) falls under the category of high pressure line, so its braided steel or the shielding-over-rubber, which, if anything, may have been more expensive than the braided steel (and perhaps a shade lighter).

or maybe i'm way off?

[BeaverGuy]

I don't see any difference in those rules from that of past years. With regard to the Earl's pro-lite hose which has the nylon braiding on it, that braiding is the neccesary abbrasion resistance as is aeroquip hose with the heavy outer covering. I believe someone last year asked to rules committe about these specifically and they posted the response on these forums. Either way we have run the pro-lite hose the last two years and the aeroquip hose the year before with barbed fittings on the aeroquip hose at a couple points.

found the thread I was referring too.

http://fsae.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=763607348&f=125607348&m=3246061055

[Dan G]

I wrote my post after reading all the search results, specifically the threads linked above. I don't have a copy of the '05 rules, but the quotes of the '04 rules in those threads have a lot more ambiguity when it comes to non-braided/AN stuff. I think the rewording for '06 (or maybe '05) was meant to specifically define what would make plain rubber, barbs, and clamps acceptable.

The clamp I linked to was obviously just an example. I'm sure some SS or even just suitably coated clamps could be sourced pretty easily. These are the same clamps that come standard on tons of OEM vehicles afterall.

I guess we can get into a debate over the merits of a rubber/clamp vs braided/AN system, but all I was curious about was whether anyone was going with the first option. With AN fittings ranging from $5 to $45 each, I have a hard time seeing a way the rubber/clamp system could be anywhere near as expensive.

As for abrasion resistant shielding, I'm thinking something like this might do the job...
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=400200+311074+115&autoview=sku
http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/tcn-160210_w.jpg

Although possibly in nylon braid if the judges would allow it. I guess thats my next question (maybe to send to the judges). What exactly will be accepted for shielding where necessary? Nylon braid? A layer of heat shrink over the rubber? Wrap it with tin foil? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

The other part of the shielding requirement (protected from rotating parts and collision) applies to either kind of line.

[jsmooz]

Hey Dan, we need a running engine before we worry about competition legal fuel lines.

[DaveC]

I guess we can get into a debate over the merits of a rubber/clamp vs braided/AN system, but all I was curious about was whether anyone was going with the first option. With AN fittings ranging from $5 to $45 each, I have a hard time seeing a way the rubber/clamp system could be anywhere near as expensive.

As for abrasion resistant shielding, I'm thinking something like this might do the job...

Lets be realistic. We don't need more than -6 AN line, fittings DO NOT come even close to $45. The cost per foot for Summit braided line is similar to Gates rubber FI line. Decent t-bolt clamps are at least $4-5 each. Using Summit AN stuff, you can buy all the fuel line and fittings needed for under $100, depending on how many angled hose ends you use. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

Second, that steel braid cover kit is sold mainly to ricers that put it in their car to make it look like they use AN line. I'd be embarrased to have anything to do with a garbage "bling" product like that. By the time you purchased FI rated rubber line, steel barbs and clamps, plus abrasion resistant covering, it will both cost more and weigh more, and be much more of a hassle to disconnect and reconnect the fuel lines.

I dont understand what merits you see with rubber line at all, whats there to debate? If you dont believe me, price the stuff yourself, I have done so many times before for many different projects.

[SnailRacer]

Check out McMaster pg 231: Miniature bolt hose clamp, around $0.86 each (so you can probably find them somewhere else for half that). We used these over reinforced rubber line in '05 and passed tech no problem... I forget exactly what we used for abrasion resistance, though I do remember it was shiny. You can save a little weight and money, but it wont look nearly as cool as AN.