Using HalGuard on a car fire.
I popped the hood and sure enough, the turbo was engulfed in fire, grabbed the extinguisher and it didn't take much, just couple blasts and the fire was completely out. It was amazing to see how effective this product is and and how it was like it never like it never happened.
Why an H3R Performance Fire Extinguisher?
OK, let's buy a fire extinguisher. What's the best one to get? And I looked at variety of options and I think what was so appealing about H3R was the HalGuard technology and the fact that it's designed for automotive use and that it doesn't leave any residue.
Teresa:
Welcome to fire talk. We have a very exciting guest today. We have Ilan Brown of Cult Cars. How are you doing today Ilan?
Ilan:
Great. Thanks.
Teresa:
You had a fire in your vehicle and used ours and you should put it out. What happened?
Ilan:
Yeah. Last weekend I was driving a car that I fondly referred to as the Scandinavian mistress. It's a 1997 Saab 9000 Aero with a Garrett GT3071R Big Turbo and a Quaife 6 speed gearbox. We dynoed it a couple months ago. It makes 420 horse, about 480-pound feet of torque and just a blast to drive.
I had recently had some knee surgery and so I hadn't had an opportunity to drive it so I was like, I was really getting on it and just going to see a client not too far, about a 20-25 minute drive. By the time I arrived, pulled up in the driveway it looked like there might have been smoke coming out from under the hood, but you always kind of like, no, it couldn't be like it shouldn’t be. So I thought maybe it was like shadow and the way that the branches, the light was coming through the branches. So I moved the car into the street and there still looked to be smoke, so I popped the hood and sure enough the turbo was engulfed in fire. Definitely not what you want to see when you open the hood. But immediately I thought to myself like “Thank God I've got a fire extinguisher.” So I opened the car. I keep it stored in the like, it's kind of bolted to the floorboard just in front of the passenger seat, so I unlatched it, grabbed the extinguisher and it didn't take much, just couple blasts and the fire was completely out.
I have a 2 1/2 pound HalGuard extinguisher and I think I probably have 80% of it unused. So it was amazing to see how effective this product is and how you know, you just kind of anticipate that there's going to be some kind of like residue covering everything you just sprayed, but it was like it never happened. I was super fortunate to have it and really grateful the product worked better than I could have expected.
Teresa:
Oh, we love to hear that, and we're glad you got it. So why did you choose H3R Performance for your build? How did that come to be?
Ilan:
Yeah, sure. I think that's a great question. And I would say, you know, before answering that I think the question, you know really any enthusiast should ask, is you know why choose a fire extinguisher? You know, I meet a lot of guys that have modified cars and especially now, the first question I ask is just like do you have a fire extinguisher? It's kind of like if you were a pet owner and you have a dog. It's like, do you have your dog chipped? No, it's not going to get away, but if it does, it’s cheap insurance. The peace of mind that I had while I was there seeing the fire, knowing that I had ability to put it out, that's number one.
There's a guy here in Denver who's kind of infamous on the Internet. You can find his video on 1320. He had a, I don't know, 900-1,000 horsepower Audi, and was talking this big talk about how fast his car was and how he's going to throw the laundry at the guy behind him. Sure enough, the car caught fire. I think it was a brake line that came loose and the brake fluid ignited on the hot exhaust and so the car was like literally burning down while him and the guy from 1320video was in the passenger seat and it was like a pretty harrowing moment. I mean, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be there. I actually asked him after the fact like “You talk about having a parachute, but you don't talk about having a fire extinguisher. Do you think you missed something?” He was like “Uh no, I had one that was in the trunk.” But it served as a great lesson for me to make sure that if you have a fire extinguisher, make sure that it's somewhere that's easily accessible and that you have the ability to put out a fire.
Once I realized that, you know, I've modified the car beyond the factory specifications, and there was always a chance that something could happen. Then it was like, OK, let's buy a fire extinguisher, what's the best one to get? I looked at a variety of options and I think what was so appealing about H3R was the HalGuard technology and the fact that it's designed for automotive use and that it doesn't leave any residue. So having, you know, you hope you never have to use it. But now, having been down that road, I can say it certainly exceeded my expectations and did an incredible job putting out what could have been a catastrophic fire.
Teresa:
Yeah, and that's a really good point about mounting it within reach, that’s something we try to tell people, because fires can double in size and in up to 30 seconds or less depending on fuel and oxygen. Sometimes running to your trunk, rummaging around for it can cost you too much time.
Ilan:
Yeah, or the trunk doesn't open. Anybody I know that has a modified car it’s the first thing I ask them and I will be happy to sing your praises and recommend the H3R products for them as well.
Teresa:
Well, we really appreciate that. It means a lot.
Ilan:
Yeah, of course.
Teresa:
What got you into cars to start with?
Ilan:
Yeah, it’s an interesting question. I am 46 now and I've been a car enthusiast for much of my life. I think it probably started as like a pretty young child, I was really into 18 Wheelers. That was the era of Smokey and the Bandit. And yeah, every time a big rig rolled by, it was always like light up my face. And then when I was 16, my mom had a Volvo 740 Turbo station wagon, which if you're not real familiar with it, it's a rear wheel drive long wheel base with a quick spooling turbo. Things I didn't really know what that was then, but my folks said, well, you know, we're going to have you drive moms car and kind of prove your worth as a driver, and then we'll get you your own car. And so, I discovered how quickly you could get a station wagon sideways with rear wheel drive and a fast pooling turbo and a little bit of snow under the tires. And that's also when I discovered a love for rally racing. Suffices to say I cracked a few rims and damaged some suspension components, and it was quite a while before I was able to earn my own car. What was supposed to start as a safe family station wagon quickly turned into a lot of fun for a 16 year old version of me.
Teresa:
That's a great story. I don't think I've heard one like that yet, but good old station wagon.
Ilan:
Yeah, it was a blast!
Teresa:
I see your banner behind you. So what's Cult Cars? How did that start? What's the deal with your business?
Ilan:
No, I appreciate the opportunity to plug the business while we're here. Cult Cars is Denver based consignment and import company. We are a licensed Colorado auto dealer and we essentially help folks who own collector cars and they don't want to deal with the rigmarole of selling it. So we list across the Internet. We work with sites like Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids, P Car Market and then we also do a lot of classified sites as well trying to figure out the best place to sell certain platforms. We also import cars from Europe. You see the Cosworth banner behind us? We brought over a couple of Ford Escort RS Cosworths. Actually, we have a pretty cool car here in front of me. I'll show you. This is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5. It's a turbocharged 4 cylinder, all-wheel drive car that has its history in rally racing from the group A era in the mid to late 1990s, and we procured this for a client who wanted a cool car with a racing pedigree. So yeah, we're excited to be a part of the car community here and would certainly love to chat with anyone that's out there and has a car that they want to sell and doesn't quite know where to sell it or how to go about doing it.
Teresa:
So if people want to find you, whether it's social's or a website, what's all your contact information?
Ilan:
Yeah, we're at @cultcarsforsale on Facebook and Instagram, you can also go to our website, which is cultcarsforsale.com. That's all spelled out, or you can call us, our number is 720-755-1343.
Teresa:
We appreciate you coming here and sharing your story. I feel like these always help make it more real for people. I think part of the issue is people just don't think it can happen to them and the more real life stories we get out there, I think the more we can help people understand the need to be prepared.
Ilan:
It's funny when I got the fire extinguisher installed and I chose the chrome option because it, you know, dresses up the interior a little bit. I pointed it to my wife as she got in the car and then I said, “You know, just in case there's a fire extinguisher under your seat.” And she kind of like, looked at me like “What? Yeah, I'm not sure I wanna ride in this thing!” Yeah, so it was kind of like a joke but now here I am like having this interview with you and like being so grateful that I had the foresight to have that extinguisher and that H3R makes just such a great product.
Teresa:
Well, we love to hear it! Again, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it and have a great 4th of July!
Ilan:
Yeah, you too. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Thanks.
Teresa:
Yeah, I will.
