New Product Stops Fuel Line Fires in Race Cars

05/02/97

Revolutionary New Safety Product Ends Race Car Fuel Line Fires

Race car fires are not isolated to Indy or the Daytona 500.  Every
year race tracks across the country become home to a tragic fire where
someone is either severely burned or dies.  That could change, thanks
to a new safety product developed by a well-known automotive
technology company.

"Fires are not an uncommon incident in auto racing", says Gordon
Oberg, a nationally acclaimed inventor whose products are used by top
race teams around the world.  "Many times a crash occurs where a fuel
pump or fuel line becomes broken or disconnected.  When this happens
fuel can escape, leading to fire and serious injury or loss of life",
says Gordon, who lost a close friend to a race car fire about five
years ago.

The new safety product has received support from some of the most
respected names in motorsports.  "Safety is our number one concern.
This is a product that should be standard race car equipment. We have
already installed the Oberg Safety Valve on every car", said Jay
Signore, President of IROC, the International Race of Champions.

Revolutionary Safety Product Ends Race Car Fuel Line Fires
Questions & Answers

Question: What causes fuel to escape just because the fuel line gets
broken?

Answer: The fuel line and fuel pump is generally lower than the fuel
tank.  This creates a siphoning effect which pulls any fuel from the
tank.

Question: Is this siphoning condition common in all vehicles or only
certain types?

Answer: Most fuel systems are very similar.  Fuel is drawn from the
tank through the fuel line to the engine.  To a greater or lesser
degree the siphoning is common in virtually all vehicles.

Question:  How does your safety product work?

Answer: When the engine is running the fuel pump draws fuel from the
tank using vacuum.  The safety product is a valve that opens with
vacuum.  Whenever their is a loss of vacuum, such as when the engine
off or the fuel line becomes broken, the valve instantly closes.

Question: Does your safety valve reduce the necessary fuel flow for
proper engine operation?

Answer: The valve uses only a fraction of the available vacuum
supplied by the fuel pump.  Extensive testing has proven there is no
fuel flow restriction.

Question: Where has the safety valve been tested?

Answer: We began with bench tests and progressed to local short track
testing.  In February we tested at Daytona where Jay Signore offered
his IROC team to work with us.  We needed to prove the product under
super speedway conditions.

Question:   Did you encounter any problems.

Answer: There was a lot of thought put into the internal design of the
product.  Technology played an important part.  We really have had no
problems.

Question:   Where do you see your safety valve going?

Answer: The growth of motorsports really warrants this as a standard
safety item.  It's a very logical solution to a real problem.  Cars
are going faster and there are more cars every year.  This is not just
for the driver.  He might not get hurt from an accident but his car
could cause another driver or even a spectator to get injured or
worse.  Especially in auto racing we have to share the responsibility
of safety for each other.