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Silicone Coolant and Air Intake/Pressure Hoses

S

sclay

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Location
Bellingham, WA
How does the TB world feel about the various silicone coolant, pressure, and intake hose kits floating around out there? Better longevity against stock?

The plan with the newly acquired 740 is to piece together a road trip car that doubles as a workhorse carrying bicycles and loads of activity gear. The hosing wouldn't be so much for a performance advantage, but that some of the factory pieces are a little worn out (some deterioration from oil/grease exposure) and after all is said and done, it might be cheaper to purchase a full silicone kit given the prices on aftermarket replacements.

Does anyone have any experience with them? Did it turn out to be cheaper to stick with OEM type equipment, or more reliable?

Thanks everyone.
 
The cheapest option is to replace all hoses with the gates brand. I think fcp euro carries the silicone hoses but I havent checked back in a while.
 
sclay said:
How does the TB world feel about the various silicone coolant, pressure, and intake hose kits floating around out there? Better longevity against stock?

The plan with the newly acquired 740 is to piece together a road trip car that doubles as a workhorse carrying bicycles and loads of activity gear. The hosing wouldn't be so much for a performance advantage, but that some of the factory pieces are a little worn out (some deterioration from oil/grease exposure) and after all is said and done, it might be cheaper to purchase a full silicone kit given the prices on aftermarket replacements.

Does anyone have any experience with them? Did it turn out to be cheaper to stick with OEM type equipment, or more reliable?

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Fiber reinforced silicone hoses are ok for maintaining their shape but vacuum silicone hoses are sometimes useless in a very hot engine compartment because they get very soft and will either collapse on vacuum or bulge under pressure.
 
I was too scared to buy the various cheap hose offerings. Silicone and oe hoses are about the same price and oe is questionable quality these days also from what I've read. So, I went with do88 stuff and have no complaints.
 
soclosenotnear said:
I was too scared to buy the various cheap hose offerings. Silicone and oe hoses are about the same price and oe is questionable quality these days also from what I've read. So, I went with do88 stuff and have no complaints.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, that's where my head was at too, questionable stock options that I'm not sure I could trust in the long run.

I read back through your build thread, great work and a great outcome!
 
I am running silicone hoses on my 02 WRX and haven't had any issue with bulging or collapse under vacuum/pressure. It's all based of what you're planning to do/goals are. I think silicone hoses are a fantastic option if the price is right. YMMV
 
Just use the cheapest silicone intake hoses on ebay. My old autos teacher has a 1000+hp v8 m5 and he uses those. I haven't had any issues with them, nor did many.
 
Be careful with smog legality issues in CA with air/vacuum hoses. No CARB approval # for aftermarket components will cause it to fail visual. Coolant hoses are of no concern.
 
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