 Rubber or Stainless Brake Lines - Which One? |
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| kbrunk1 |
 Aug 31 2012, 10:36 PM
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#1
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Brunk  Group: Members Posts: 180 Joined: 13-November 11 From: Dallas,Texas 73 2.0 FI Member No.: 13,778 Region Association: South East States  |
73 2.0L Stock brakes
17mm Master Cylinder What are the pros and cons of rubber or stainless brake line hoses? It seems there are two qualities of rubber at Pellican? It seems the stainless are around the same price? Anyone used the ebay stuff - cheap stuff? Advice? |
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| SirAndy |
Aug 31 2012, 11:48 PM
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#2
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Resident German Group: Admin Posts: 42,205 Joined: 21-January 03 From: Oakland, Kalifornia Member No.: 179 Region Association: Northern California |
QUOTE(kbrunk1 @ Aug 31 2012, 09:36 PM)  cheap stuff? How much is your life worth to you? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) Do you have a dedicated race car? Do you inspect your brake lines on a regular schedule? If your answer to one of those two questions is "no", i'd stick with the OEM rubber lines. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) |
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| DBCooper |
Sep 2 2012, 08:16 AM
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#3
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14's in the 13's with ATTITUDE Group: Members Posts: 3,079 Joined: 25-August 04 From: Dazed and Confused Member No.: 2,618 Region Association: Northern California |
Pros rubber lines: OEM. Cheap, easy, tested, secure. Until they rot on the inside and block fluid flow (which you can't see) their condition is usually easy to check.
Cons rubber lines: Some people say gives a squishy brake feel, can't use synthetic fluid. Pros stainless braided hose: Good brake feel, PTFE (teflon) hose is extremely chemical resistant, much better than synthetic rubber. Steel braid gives some theoretical protection from road hazards. Cons stainless braided hose: Some are cheaply made, so use only known and DOT certified brands. Difficult to inspect because of the braid. PTFE hose is extremely vulnerable to kinking and damage is shielded from view by the stainless braid. Kinked hose can lose strength, leading to catastrophic failure when stressed. That "stressed" means high fluid pressure from hard braking, exactly the worst time for a catastrophic failure. Andy's advice is good. Unless you have a race car and/or do your own brake work it's probably better to stay with the rubber hose. |
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| Cap'n Krusty |
Sep 2 2012, 08:32 AM
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#4
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Cap'n Krusty Group: Members Posts: 10,794 Joined: 24-June 04 From: Santa Maria, CA Member No.: 2,246 Region Association: Central California |
Stock: Lasts 20 years plus, much longer if the fluid is serviced (flushed) every 2 years. Primary failure mode is a gradual internal swelling causing brake drag.
SS braided Teflon: Recommended replacement interval is every 2 years. Primary failure mode is a sudden and total loss of braking. You pick. Synthetic brake fluid, other than silicone fluid is fine with both. No one in his/her right mind would use silicone brake fluid in a regularly driven street car. |
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| Spoke |
Sep 2 2012, 08:58 AM
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#5
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Jerry Group: Members Posts: 7,158 Joined: 29-October 04 From: Allentown, PA Member No.: 3,031 Region Association: None 
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I had braided on my 914 and in front they were so stiff that they would flex the mounting bracket on the wheel well where the flexible line meets the hard line.
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| DBCooper |
Sep 2 2012, 12:10 PM
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#6
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14's in the 13's with ATTITUDE Group: Members Posts: 3,079 Joined: 25-August 04 From: Dazed and Confused Member No.: 2,618 Region Association: Northern California |
QUOTE(Cap'n Krusty @ Sep 2 2012, 07:32 AM) Recommended replacement interval is every 2 years. Recommended by who? They're OEM on my BMW motorcycles (as well as most high performance sport bikes), and they don't say anything about a replacement interval. Come to think of it I don't think there are even rubber brake lines available for those applications, it's braided stainless only. . |
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