Flex Fuel Kit User Notice

[PRL Motorsports]

It has recently been brought to our attention that some users running ethanol-based fuels with various Flex Fuel Sensor Kits on the market have been reporting about line deterioration issues. Concerned that these reportings may involve our kits, our Product Development Team immediately began looking into this. After reaching out to numerous customers and asking them to cut apart their lines for inspection, we have found that some lines have softened internally, or showed signs of deterioration, while others did not. This data was collected from kits spanning over the lifetime of our Flex Fuel Sensor Kit offerings (beginning in late 2018), using numerous hose batches.

Though our Flex Fuel Sensor Kits have always used Gates Barricade Fuel Injection hose, which exceeds all CARB, SAE, CAT and GTS certifications/specifications and is listed as “Multi-Fuel Compatible” (recommended for ethanol), we have been looking into sourcing an alternative since discovering these findings. Over the past week our engineers have reached out to numerous reputable manufacturers offering similar ethanol-compliant hoses. In our discussions we have found that some of these manufacturers have received reportings of similar issues with other popular hoses in recent months as well. This means that virtually any fuel system upgrade or kit utilizing a “rubber” hose, is susceptible to this type of behavior. We believe that this type of deterioration has been going on for years, but is only becoming more noticeable with Direct Injection vehicles (because of how the fuel system is routed/works) and enthusiasts diving deeper into their fuel system with upgrades.

We always recommend inspecting for any signs of leaking or component deterioration periodically for optimal safety and performance. Flex Fuel Sensor Kit hoses are to be treated as a “wear-and-tear” item, and may be subject to replacement over time. Our team is continuing to explore alternative fuel hose materials, such as PTFE/Teflon to offer as an upgrade in the future, most-likely mated to custom fittings. These line assemblies will be sold as an upgrade at an affordable price once we finalize our decision. We will be sure to email another notice and post updates on our website once we finalize this hose upgrade. If any customers are in need of a hose replacement at this time or before this is available, we ask that you please email our Customer Support team at [email protected] to purchase a replacement.

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[QuasarMotors]

Great info!

 

[jasonjm]

I swear this has been going on since early mid 2000s when ethanol was getting out they’re and getting more testing. Sad to see things haven’t improved yet. Sigh… Maybe it’s a raw materials issue too?

 

[jasonjm]

Oh and ptfe for the win.

 

[Armin1989]

Extremely dangerous, this could literally blow up the car with all that heat in the bay and a leak hose

 

[turbociv910]

Oh and ptfe for the win.

yeap.

 

[HondaRedbullF1]

What’s the best way to check for deterioration?

 

[Centripetal]

Extremely dangerous, this could literally blow up the car with all that heat in the bay and a leak hose

While I will not say this is not possible, I would say it's highly unlikely. Safety implementations are layered such that a single failure and/or degradation does not result in harm and/or hazard. Note the multiple layers in the Gates hose.

Everyone shouldn't judge PRL on this. Turds roll down hill.

 

[PRL Motorsports]

You can just pop the line off and check inside the line for any deterioration. Just as @Centripetal stated, there are layers inside of the hose and it is extremely rare that this would result in any sort of hazard.

 

[Kingamer]

It's good you guys addressed this because I never had an issue but I did develop a stall condition and drop in fuel pressure during a recent trip and I removed my hondata fuel pump noticed some black rubber looking specks where the filter screen is similar to what has been seen. I've had my flex fuel kit since early last year if you guys could possibly advise me what to do would be great.
Also which line exactly is causing it before sensor or after leading to hpfp

 

[PRL Motorsports]

It's good you guys addressed this because I never had an issue but I did develop a stall condition and drop in fuel pressure during a recent trip and I removed my hondata fuel pump noticed some black rubber looking specks where the filter screen is similar to what has been seen. I've had my flex fuel kit since early last year if you guys could possibly advise me what to do would be great.
Also which line exactly is causing it before sensor or after leading to hpfp

Please reach out to us via email, we are working on a solution for this issue now.

 

[Kekela98a]

Which line are we talking about?

 

[PRL Motorsports]

Which line are we talking about?

Unfortunately it is possible with both of the lines on our kit.

 

[Kingamer]

Ok ill take a peek at both the lines tomorrow and email you if notice anything abnormal

 

[Kekela98a]

Ok ill take a peek at both the lines tomorrow and email you if notice anything abnormal

Let us know too.

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