has any one ever installed a fuel cell in the bcak of their car? is it hard to install one? i would like to have one in mine for long trips but dont know what would be a siutable size. i have a fresh stock v8 in my car. i live in the albemarle are of north carolina and will probrably be going as far as greensboro or charlotte. i only go in that direction once or twice a year so if i did have one i wouldnt need to fill that often. should i get plastic or aluminum. im think i would need between a 12-16 gallon feul ceel for my trips but thast just a guess. im sure there are other variable involved in this.
I've seen a couple fellas here that have them. The cost is a main factor, those suckers aren't cheap.
Are you looking to put this in addition to the regular tank? If so, I would think that you are going to have a lot of weight in the rear with both of them full. I'd say you will have steering problems. Especially in bad weather. Also you'll lose a lot of trunk space.
Make sure the cell doesn't have a sump on the bottom. A sump requires a hole to be cut into the floor and it would interfear with the stock tank. I'm not sure how you would hook it into the fuel system. Maybe use a swithing valve of some sort.
Wonder if you could adapt the valve from one of those old Ford pickups that had two tanks... And yeah, weight is going to be a factor with this. I'd consider beefing up the springs with E150 stuff, and maybe some stronger shocks for a Nissan truck application.
Check the tech section on gas tank swaps. There are Mustang tanks that are bigger capacity than the stock Maverick / Comet ones and you wont have the extra tank & gas fumes in the inside of your car for around the same cost. Just a thought, -Scott H.
Let's see, gas weighs about 6.5 pounds per gallon, times 10 gallons= 65 lbs+ say about 20lbs for a fuel cell [just a guess]=85 lbs. Throw 2 50lb sacks of concrete in the truck and see how it drives, probably tail heavy. I'd just stop more often for gas, lots cheaper in the long run....
yeah but this guys a cannon baller... i can smell one from 3000 miles away, get yourself up to 50 gallons and a 2.75:1 rear gear, some driving lights and get gone. coast to coast in 4 gas stops. ....its not what ya do its how ya do it, be anything you wanna be.... ...its not whatcha got its how ya use it, from sea to shining sea!!! ...CANNONBALL!!!!!
I would think the handling impact would be similar to moving the battery to the trunk (but more of it). 35 lbs from the front to the back compared to simply adding 120 lbs to the back. If it was a light small cell, say 8 gallon capacity, it should be about the same, and only when the 2nd tank is loaded. It can be left empty when not on a roadtrip. You should consider a small cell to keep some trunk space (if you care at all about that), and figure out how to get a little more MPG out of your drivetrain. If this is a driver, the fuel savings will pay for these parts and future "upgrade".
A lot of it is in personal preference, as a LOT of time is saved...getting off the interstate to pump gas every 300 miles(@20mpg going at 65mph thats roughly 2 1/2 hours), filling up usually takes about 15 minutes depending on where the gas station is...so 10% of your total driving time is spent on filling up your car. To some people that 15 minutes every 2 hours is well worth the initial $200 investment, especially if you travel a lot. @OP: Remember that any added weight will reduce MPG, you'll have to weigh that in the investment too, if you spend $200 doing this, and lose 1 mpg, you'll be losing a gallon of gas every 20 miles, after a 600 mile road trip, youre looking at 30 gallons lost(about $70), so it could turn into a bad idea....depends on if you want to spent $70 to save 45 minutes of driving time. I doubt 100lbs will reduce MPG by that much, so its a worse-case scenario thing
