Ridiculous post.
You're comparing steel lines to rubber hoses. No need for a blind test. They are 2 completely different products and act completely different;y so no placebo.
Braided Brake Hoses.
- Thread starter Hedge
- Start date
Ridiculous post.
You're comparing steel lines to rubber hoses. No need for a blind test. They are 2 completely different products and act completely different;y so no placebo.
Soldato
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Had them on my last few cars and would be one of the first things i'd do to any new car.
Then it shouldn't be hard to find me a blind trial which proved it then, no? Because if you can't, then my point stands.
I agree, braided hoses are accompanied with a full fluid change which will make more difference.
The whole purpose of braided hoses in motorsport is to stop them being cut/ breaking in an accident. It's not like the OEM hoses are made of baloon rubber
The whole purpose of braided hoses in motorsport is to stop them being cut/ breaking in an accident. It's not like the OEM hoses are made of baloon rubber
Soldato
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Many people have fitted braided hoses according to this thread, so i'd appreciate some feedback on the following:
One fits new discs and pads, front and rear, renews fluid then puts say 100 miles on the clock, during which time everything wears in nicely and one gets a feel for the braking performance.
The rubber hoses are then changed for braided hoses and apart from the fluid being topped up everything else is left the same.
Will there actually be a noticeable difference?
Just asking because I've done my own brakes for years and never considered changing the hoses. I have to say the standard rubber hoses feel particularly thick-walled and I cannot imagine them expanding that much, even under very heavy braking.
Also do people disclose this on their insurance as a performance modification?
One fits new discs and pads, front and rear, renews fluid then puts say 100 miles on the clock, during which time everything wears in nicely and one gets a feel for the braking performance.
The rubber hoses are then changed for braided hoses and apart from the fluid being topped up everything else is left the same.
Will there actually be a noticeable difference?
Just asking because I've done my own brakes for years and never considered changing the hoses. I have to say the standard rubber hoses feel particularly thick-walled and I cannot imagine them expanding that much, even under very heavy braking.
Also do people disclose this on their insurance as a performance modification?
I had fresh fluid just before and after fitting my lines, still made a massive difference.
Depends on how old they are, but you'd be surprised how much they can move. Grab hold of one whilst you get someone else to pump the brake pedal and you can often feel them expand slightly.
That said I'm not a huge fan of aeroquip brake hoses on average road cars. They aren't as flexible as rubber hoses, and if you do install them badly (or if the kit is not designed well) it's possible to concentrate the bending right at the point the hose meets the connector, which will cause failure pretty quickly. There was a whole spate of this on the Fiat Coupe forum, though this goes back to the common sense thing as it was fairly obvious that it wasn't right when installed.
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I have them on mine and noticed a tiny difference. The master cylinder brace made the biggest improvement.
I don't think hoses are night and day difference but who knows. I imagine if you clamp the OEM hoses to work on brakes then you will see an improvement as the OEM ones will have been damaged !
A tip for working on brakes is to remove the lid and put plastic over the reservoir ( a plastic bag is good) then replace the lid. This will stop the fluid draining out as no air can get into the top of the system
Every brake mod I've done I've found it a massive improvement.
MCS -> 262/242 to 282/262 calipers -> 15/16" to 1" MC -> Braided lines -> Discs/Pads
Sticking it all on at once would still net the same result but it's nice to appreciate each mod
I stuck mine on the same time I swapped my front discs and callipers for 362mm discs and 6 pot AP racing callipers, so can't really comment on the effectiveness of the lines just by themselves 
But have put some on my motorbike and noticed a slightly better feel.
But have put some on my motorbike and noticed a slightly better feel.
Soldato
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Its funny really people make out like OEM brake lines are made out of jelly.
Most are very rigid and are effectively supported to avoid expansion but of course vary by manufacturer.
A friend who built rally cars advised me to not be worried when I was having a celica rebuilt. He said the main reason they were originally used was to help prevent splits/damage and that most of the time people go from old worn hoses to new hoses feel exactly the same whatever the material. In theory the braiding helps prevent expansion but unless there is a flaw with the line you probably couldnt even detect the expansion with an OEM one that wasnt damaged.
(we actually tested some silly PSI (air) in my old ones with some sort of caliper he used and couldn't see anything detectable.)
I changed the lines because the whole braking system was being pulled and replaced but tbh even 10 year old hoses seemed fine.
Brake lines are a service item really, but rarely ever changed by anyone other than enthusiasts, or people forced to by faults.
If they really made a clear cut difference more manufacturers would use them, as it is very very few do, yet it would be pence difference for them to buy at the quantities they do.
I would always replace now with braided when needing or sensible to change as they will be more reliable medium term.
Most are very rigid and are effectively supported to avoid expansion but of course vary by manufacturer.
A friend who built rally cars advised me to not be worried when I was having a celica rebuilt. He said the main reason they were originally used was to help prevent splits/damage and that most of the time people go from old worn hoses to new hoses feel exactly the same whatever the material. In theory the braiding helps prevent expansion but unless there is a flaw with the line you probably couldnt even detect the expansion with an OEM one that wasnt damaged.
(we actually tested some silly PSI (air) in my old ones with some sort of caliper he used and couldn't see anything detectable.)
I changed the lines because the whole braking system was being pulled and replaced but tbh even 10 year old hoses seemed fine.
Brake lines are a service item really, but rarely ever changed by anyone other than enthusiasts, or people forced to by faults.
If they really made a clear cut difference more manufacturers would use them, as it is very very few do, yet it would be pence difference for them to buy at the quantities they do.
I would always replace now with braided when needing or sensible to change as they will be more reliable medium term.
The quantity is irrelevant since the rubber hose would also be in high volume. An aeroquip hose is going to be significantly more expensive (PTFE and stainless steel are not cheap materials) and that is a prime reason for any OEM to avoid them. I suspect they would also have trouble passing the kind of extreme testing that car manufacturers put these components through due to the lower flexibility.
Brake lines can experience very high pressures in use, as much as 2000 psi is possible under an emergency stop condition, so unless you had the line hooked up to a scuba cylinder I doubt you were stressing them. As I said before, try holding one whilst someone stands on the brake pedal, you can usually feel the expansion though it is quite small.