New gas tank lacks internal baffles

[bjbrown]

Has anyone had experience with the new, reproduction gas tanks offered by our usual parts vendors? I took my old tank to a local shop to be sealed and they quoted me $200 to open a hole, prepare the insides, close (weld) the hole, seal the tank and media-blast the outside ready for paint. The reason why they needed to open it up was to access areas hidden by internal baffles. Once cleaned of all rust & gunk, they'd close it and apply the sealant which essentially is a rust-proofing rather than something to seal the tank from leaks (so they say).

I checked online and I could get a brand-new tank from one of our vendors for about $135 to my door. So, I ordered it up together with some other parts and it came today. The main difference I see in the new tank from the old, original tank is that the original tank had baffles inside where the new one has none at all. Otherwise; identical.

What I'm interested in is whether anyone has installed one of these new, un-baffled tanks and spent time on the road with it? Is there any negative impact of not having the baffles? Gas sloshing around must make some noise, no? Does the movement of gas in the tank impact handling at all? Does the fuel gauge work as before? Anything else?

Frankly, I can't imagine that the lack of baffles would make much difference at all, but before I install it, I'd like the benefit of some personal experience with them. My old tank is not unusable - it would just be a bit more expensive.

[azruss]

I installed an aftermarket tank i got from Ramzi and Csaba. There are occasions when you hear the gas slosh. In most cases the motor noise and other outside noises drowns it out. Under extreme conditions, you will see the gas gage wiggle a little. nothing extreme. I've not noticed a change in handling or starvation under extreme cornering.

[spider2081]

Just some thoughts

I have used a bore scope to look inside 4 EFI tanks. There is no sign of a screen ever being on the pick-up tube. Some people say not to use a tank sealer or slosh because the screen will get clogged. I don't think there was a screen in them. If a slosh sealer is used I would blow out the small lines in the tank before it cures to be sure they are all open.

With the EFI,
I had a Ford Torus years back and I would run the gas down till I heard the fuel pump whining when I turned corners. The fuel pumps failed way too often. Then someone told me the fuel is the pumps lubricant and I was causing them to fail by running the fuel tank too low. After that I filled at a 1/4 tank and the last pump lasted years. Some newer car tanks have a plastic basin inside them that holds about 1/2 a gallon of fuel. The pick-up is inside the basin so it always has fuel till the basin is emptied. Car is out of gas.

My thought is if the tank has no baffles I would keep more fuel in it. If the fuel moves from the pick up on a EFI car it could lose fuel pressure and the car could misfire or even stall. A carburetor car has a fuel bowl to hole a little fuel.

I am interested in others replies.

[ga.spyder]

I have had an aftermarket tank from AutoRicambi for a couple years now.It has no baffles.I have noticed no bad behavior because of the tank,other than the needle wiggling a bit as fuel goes down.I drive aggressively,in an area known for its curvy roads.I have never had any noticeable fuel starvation issues.As David suggested,I always make sure to keep a 1/2 tank or better on my mountain drives,although I did that even with the baffled tank.
As a side note,I got a price from a rad shop to boil and seal my old tank(I still have it) and it was far more expensive than getting the new one!
Craig