The gasoline incident.

Todd, I have to say that's a first for me. I can't tell you how many times through the years I've seen folks squeeze the trigger "before" the nozzle's in the filler tube, or an overflow, or just carelessness in general.

I'm just glad that no sparks or an open flame from a cigarette didn't cause the situation to heat up more than it did!

One practice that irks me is those chosen few that feel it's fine to fill their gas cans in the trunk of their car!! :wall

Glad you were able to get everything cleaned up and your eyes washed out without permanent damage. :bigups
 
Rocket said:
Todd- you drive a speed3? What color? I still want one. Everytime I fill up my truck on the way home I always kick myself for not getting one. The dealership by my house has one in the "jewel box" display.
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Velocity Red Metallic I think is the name of the color. Here it was stock.

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Now its a little more sinister.
 
detailchick said:
I wonder what the Auto Geek Bosses( Im sure the female employees liked it)thought when you showed up for work shirtless and shoeless !? :lol:
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There are no Autogeek bosses, I work for PBMG but for Autopia-CarCare. Meghan punched me in the face though (and it hurt).
 
RaskyR1 said:
Sorry to hear about the incident Todd....man I would have been pist! Probably more about myself and clothes being covered more than the car.


I hear you on having towels and some sort of waterless wash in the car. I was out at a house party last weekend and had to park on the street. Came out later that afternoon to the neighbors sprinkler having sprayed all over the car. Damage was already done and the best I could do was hit a touch-less wash at that point. Hoping it will come off chemically since the car really didn't need to be polished. :(
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I'm with you 100% Chad. Car's can be cleaned but my clothes!

Been there and done that with sprinklers, arghh.
 
mikenap said:
I think everyone is missing the point. And the main focus, at least as I see it, is.....

How the h**l did you manage 380hp from a Speed3? You must have some guns to handle that amount of torque steer, it'd probably rip the steering wheel out of most people's hands.

And would ANY of it work on my Mazda3s 2.5? I hope it's not all boost, is it?
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380 is an estimate based on what can be done with the stock turbo size. I luckily live right down the street from Street Unit Performance so I am fully bolted and have a flash Cobb computer, pushing 22 lbs of boost or so. Full intake, exhaust, fuel pump, lots of boost, etc. Torque steer isn't too bad because of the wheel spin (first, second, and third) plus all of the motor mounts have been changed (HUGE DIFFERENCE).but I can pull on a C5 Vette from a roll and almost pace a C6. Look at the SURE Motorsports Torque 3 (or something like that) to cure torque steer.

Next up will be a much larger turbo, aiming for 415 or so, and I'll call it quits.


Here is the car as it sits now with a crappy Iphone pick all though I will be going back to a more stock appearance if/when rainy season ends in Florida.

photo-2.jpg
 
Concours.John said:
I think you handled it quite well Todd. That could have turned bad real quick.
I was filling up a 61 Alfa SZ (the filler neck is in the trunk). I always fill up old cars as carefully as I can. Aparrently the shut off failed and dumped gas out the overflow between the body and tank. I caught it quickly but it still made a small puddle under the vehicle.
I wasn't as nice as you. If it would have come over the top the tunk would have gas everywhere. The battery is right next to the filler. They imediately came out and put a bag on the nozzle.
Problems like this can turn a fill up into a catastrophe.
Glad your ok.
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Thanks John. I try to stay pretty relaxed about situations, particullary those that we cannot help. Life throws to many curve balls (at least it does at me) so I just dont' stress about stuff I cannot change. The Alfa would have been a HUGE loss! Glad that worked out for you!

BobbyG said:
Todd, I have to say that's a first for me. I can't tell you how many times through the years I've seen folks squeeze the trigger "before" the nozzle's in the filler tube, or an overflow, or just carelessness in general.

I'm just glad that no sparks or an open flame from a cigarette didn't cause the situation to heat up more than it did!

One practice that irks me is those chosen few that feel it's fine to fill their gas cans in the trunk of their car!! :wall

Glad you were able to get everything cleaned up and your eyes washed out without permanent damage. :bigups
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Thanks Bobby, and I totally hear you about people filling up in their trunk. Crazy enough, there was this ole' timer smoking a cigarette by the front door and when I suggested to him he might want to extinguish it he gave me a look and said,"you know how much these cost son?"

:inspector::inspector:
 
Geez Todd, that's a good one. (I'm fresh over here from TID, by the way) When I saw this story, I had to weigh in. I work for Maine's DEP, which is like EPA, but on the state level, doing Underground Tank Enforcement, and can probably tell you exactly what happened to cause this. The valve looking thing you saw is in fact a valve, and ironically enough, it is a break away valve, and is thus supposed to keep you from getting hosed with gas. When knuckleheads drive off with the nozzle in their car, this thing is designed to break along a shear line, and close the hose off, instead of not breaking, and dragging the whole dispenser behind the car, which will break off the underground piping and possibly end up with a geyser of gas. Anyway, $20 says somebody started to drive off with the nozzle in their car, and realized it before they separated the valve completely, but not before they gave it a good tug. Since it didn't completely separate, the valve never actually closed, and the crack they opened up misted you with gas. Submersible pumps which feed the dispensers run somewhere in the 30-50 PSI range. Doesn't sounds like much, but it is when you consider the piping supplying the dispensers is somewhere between 1.5 and 3 inches ID. I'm glad you're ok, because this kind of thing can turn deadly. Law Enforcement | Florida DEP Check this link out, I'm sure they'd like to hear from you. These people basically do what I do, they have nicer uniforms though.
 
Todd Helme said:
380 is an estimate based on what can be done with the stock turbo size. I luckily live right down the street from Street Unit Performance so I am fully bolted and have a flash Cobb computer, pushing 22 lbs of boost or so. Full intake, exhaust, fuel pump, lots of boost, etc. Torque steer isn't too bad because of the wheel spin (first, second, and third) plus all of the motor mounts have been changed (HUGE DIFFERENCE).but I can pull on a C5 Vette from a roll and almost pace a C6. Look at the SURE Motorsports Torque 3 (or something like that) to cure torque steer.

Next up will be a much larger turbo, aiming for 415 or so, and I'll call it quits.


Here is the car as it sits now with a crappy Iphone pick all though I will be going back to a more stock appearance if/when rainy season ends in Florida.

photo-2.jpg
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Crap, looks like none of that is doable on my car. Oh well.:surrender
 
I keep a small squirt bottle filled with Optimum Opti-Clean and a couple of MF towels in my trunk for any emergencies such as this. I try to get bird bombs as soon as I see them so they don't etch into the paint.
 
Great thing all ended in the right place.....ALRight........!!!!
And nobody got hurt except for the above smiley....
It sure was a close one....
:hotrod2:
 
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