One of the main concerns with road racing or autocrossing is the risk of stalling out the vehicle as a result of fuel starvation under hard cornering or heavy braking. When the fuel in your tank moves from one side to another, the fuel pump pickup can’t do its work appropriately or efficiently, raising the concerns of many wheelmen. Holley Performance has recently developed a solution for this problem, with their brand new HydraMat Fuel Reservoir.
Official Release:
Holley Debuts New HydraMat Fuel Reservoir
Holley debuted the revolutionary HydraMat Fuel Reservoir on December 11th, 2014 at the PRI trade show in Indianapolis. The HydraMat is a patent-pending fuel reservoir system designed to reduce fuel starvation issues present in hard cornering, acceleration, stopping, inclines, and low fuel conditions. It is in these situations that traditional fuel pick ups can be starved of fuel, which then introduces air into the fuel system resulting in poor engine performance and even engine stalling.
Surface tension and fluid wicking are two key aspects that gives it the amazing ability to draw fuel from nearly any area of the mat that has contact with fuel. When the HydraMat has contact with fuel, it stores the fuel in an internal reservoir. As an area of the HydraMat is uncovered, the tiny pores of the media seal off thru surface tension, forcing fuel to be contained in the reservoir and drawn from other areas of the mat where fuel is available. The sheer size and coverage area of the HydraMat allows it to pull fuel from virtually any area in the tank or cell eliminating the need for specialty reservoirs and pick up pumps saving cost and greatly reducing complexity.
The initial HydraMat has been released for cars in the ARCA racing series as part of their transition to EFI. Grayling Call, the ARCA Director of Competition Race Technology was on hand to test the HydraMat for approval to use in the series. Call was very pleased by the testing, stating that “We drained all the fuel out of the fuel cell. Ran the car completely out of fuel. Put one gallon in a twenty-two gallon fuel cell, ran the car four laps on a half mile track, set it at the top of 33 degree banking for five minutes and the car never lost fuel pressure! Did four more laps and brought the car to pit row with no drop in fuel pressure whatsoever. Where fuel injection started with fuel pick-up and delivery versus where it is now with the HydraMat is unbelievable. I am very impressed.” To learn more about the ARCA-spec HydraMat, hit the link.
The HydraMat will be available in various sizes and shapes to accommodate different tank sizes and openings. Square, rectangular and “X” shaped mats will be available to provide easy installation thru various sending unit access holes or fuel cell cover plates. Retrofit devices will be available for stock tank vehicles to ease installation of aftermarket EFI retrofit kits like the Holley Terminator EFI system. The HydraMat for ARCA will be available in February with other sizes to be available in March. Be sure and hit the link for more information on the Holley HydraMat.
Features:
- Quells fuel starvation issues
- Perfect for the road racer or autocrosser
- Will be available in various sizes
- Fits most fuel tanks
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
