Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. A push button is only useful if the whole circuit is ready
Electrical activation can simplify routing in a tight cockpit, but it adds a power supply, a control unit and wiring, and all three have to be installed, armed and checked properly.
The first question is about the car, not the brand. Where can both trigger buttons go? Can the driver reach one while belted in with the wheel on? Can the wiring and the bottle be protected without departing from the approved manual? Sort those and the shortlist writes itself.
Most motorsport electrical kits still need someone to press a trigger. Do not describe a push-button system as automatic unless the exact approved product has that function, because assuming it does changes how people behave in a fire.
Match the homologation to the event first
Confirm whether your car needs a plumbed-in system at all, then find which FIA standards or technical lists your event and championship accept. That answer decides which half of this page applies to you: most of what we sell is on FIA Technical List 16, and a smaller, dearer group sits on Technical List 52 or carries FIA 8865-2015.
Then choose a kit whose presentation form and manual actually suit your vehicle type and the extinguishant requirement. Do not buy on bottle volume. The approved discharge layout, how many nozzles and where they are aimed, does more of the work than the headline capacity, and it is fixed by the homologation rather than by your preference.
If a pull cable would suit your cockpit better than a wiring loom, our mechanical systems guide covers that side. Plenty of club cars are better off mechanical.
Eight electrical systems on FIA Technical List 16
The mainstream tier, covering saloons, GT and single seaters.
| System | Capacity | Bottle | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| OMP SST7 ElectricalBEST VALUE | 3kg | Steel | Saloon and GT, the value choice |
| Sparco SP-205 | 2.5 litre | Steel | Compact saloon installations |
| Sparco SP-305 | 3.9 litre | Steel | Larger cockpit and engine bay |
| Sparco 4.25 litre | 4.25 litre | Steel | Closed cockpit saloons, also MSA approved |
| OMP FAL6 | 1.4kg | Aluminium | Single seaters, tight packaging |
| OMP SAL6 2kg | 2kg | Alloy | Saloon and GT where weight counts |
| OMP SAL6 3kg | 3kg | Alloy | Saloon, GT and rally |
| Sparco Single Seater | Single seater | Alloy | Open-wheel packaging |
The OMP SST7 is where we would start for a club saloon and it is comfortably the cheapest electrical system here. The Sparco SP-205 and SP-305 are the two to compare against it, and the choice between them is genuinely about where the bottle will physically fit.
Alloy bottles cost more and weigh less, which is the same trade as on the mechanical side. If you are not weighing the car, steel is fine and the money is better spent elsewhere.
Single seaters get their own kits for good reason. The OMP FAL6 and the Sparco single seater system are built around the space and weight you actually have in an open-wheel car, which is not much.
When the rule asks for 8865, and the electric car question
Three systems sit above the tier in the table. The Sparco 8865 2.5 litre is on Technical List 52 and the OMP CESAL4 carries FIA 8865-2015. If your championship regulations name 8865, this is the group you are shopping in and nothing on List 16 will substitute for it, whatever the capacity.
The one worth knowing about even if you do not need it yet is the OMP CESAL5, which is built for electric and hybrid vehicles. A battery fire is a different problem from a fuel fire, and as more classes open up to hybrid and electric cars this is the system those regulations point at. If you are building one, start this conversation early, because it is not a part you order the week before an event.
All three are a long way past club money. Nobody should buy into this tier because it sounds safer. Buy it because a regulation names it.
Both operating points need a sensible route
Under the current Motorsport UK fire-system provisions the seated driver must be able to trigger the system with the harness fastened and the steering wheel in place. Test that in the finished car, in your suit, belted in. A button that is perfect with the wheel off is a button you cannot reach.
The external trigger goes near the circuit breaker and is marked for marshals, so that someone arriving at a burning car finds the isolator and the extinguisher trigger together rather than hunting for them.
Use the switches and the control arrangement supplied with the kit. A generic dashboard button may not provide the guarded or momentary action the system requires, and substituting components is exactly the sort of change that turns an approved installation into an unapproved one.
Protect the circuit from heat, chafing and shorting
Motorsport UK requires suitable, secured and protected wiring, and the manufacturer manual will specify cable sizes, connectors, the battery or power-pack arrangement and the test procedure. Follow it rather than your own loom practice, however good that is.
Keep it clear of sharp edges and hot exhaust areas, and route it where later service work will not have to disturb it. Then label the armed state clearly, so another driver, a mechanic or a scrutineer can tell at a glance what condition the system is in.
Check the test indicator to the maker schedule without discharging the bottle, and put that check on the car preparation sheet alongside tyre pressures. A charged bottle behind a disabled control box is a very expensive ornament.
Plumbed-in systems must be armed while competing or practising in race and speed events, and during the specified rally periods. That is a rule people fall foul of by disarming for transport and forgetting.
If you also need a portable unit, the mounting rules are covered in our hand-held extinguisher guide.
Electrical fire system questions
Is electrical activation faster than mechanical?▾
Do not assume a universal advantage. Both operate as their approved system specifies. Choose around routing, trigger access and the car, not around a claimed reaction time.
What is the cheapest electrical system you sell?▾
The OMP SST7 3kg steel, on FIA Technical List 16. The Sparco SP-205 and SP-305 are the next two up and the choice between them is usually about where the bottle physically fits.
My regulations mention FIA 8865-2015. What do I need?▾
The Sparco 8865 2.5 litre on Technical List 52 or the OMP CESAL4 on 8865-2015. Nothing on Technical List 16 substitutes for an 8865 requirement regardless of capacity.
Is there a system for an electric or hybrid car?▾
Yes, the OMP CESAL5 is built for electric and hybrid vehicles. Talk to us early if you are building one, because it is not a shelf item.
Will it work if the main battery is isolated?▾
Only if it has been installed as the system manual requires. The approved control unit may use its own power source or a specified supply, and this is a question to answer at installation rather than at an incident.
Can I fit my own push buttons?▾
Use only the components and permitted alternatives in the manufacturer documentation. A generic button may not give the guarded or momentary action the system needs.
How often should I test it?▾
Use the non-discharge test and inspection schedule supplied with the system, plus the required service schedule, and record both. Never test by discharging the bottle.
Bring us the event rule and the cockpit layout
We can check the homologation against your regulations and sanity-check the practical routing. The final installation has to follow the exact system manual, but getting the choice right first saves doing the job twice.
Browse fire systemsContact usBook the showroom