Hello chaps, i'm almost at the stage i need to fit and bleed my brake system.... my question is should i use rubber brake hoses or braided?
I know i will get more feedback with braided hoses, but have any of you had rubber and then changed to braided?? Did it make a large differance in how
the car felt to you??
Many thanks, stuart
Good quality braided hose (goodridge etc) from copper to caliper IMO.
Braided is the only way. It also offers more protection to the hose as well as giving you the pressure where you need it.
quote:
Originally posted by FuryRebuild
Braided is the only way. It also offers more protection to the hose as well as giving you the pressure where you need it.
Nah mate, just go to Russ, he's the tops.
You wont go wrong with him.
Cheers
Rich
Braided on front of mine and rubber on the back. Drums at back so I figured that was good enough since most of the brakeing effort is from the front in any-case.. Very firm pedal like this..
An old chestnut this here are the pros and cons.
The bigest disadavantage of metal braided teflon is lines is they can not be clampled when working on or doing diagnostic test on the brakes.
The bigest advantage apart from bling is they are available in any custom length and fitting combination.
Rubber covered fabric hoses will probably last longer in normal road use but both will probably last decades. The braided hoses are likey to fail
from the metal braid caffing on the hose, rubber covered hoes fail through either external chaffing or the rubber decaying.
Braided have a very very small effect on pedal firmness ---- they are not a cure for long pedal for anybody the doubts this try on a tintop
with engine not running pumping the brakes until ther brake servo resevoir is exhausted -- the pedal should be rock hard.
[Edited on 24/2/12 by britishtrident]
"Rubber covered fabric hoses will probably last longer in normal road use but both will probably last decades."
The braided stainless hoses/fittings I sell are all guaranteed for life (mine/yours or the cars, we're not fussy!) so the rubber ones will have
to last a long time indeed to beat that!!! 
Most rubber hoses start to perish by around 10 years old, they start to collapse internally at around the same time!
Russbost, I'll phone you over the next couple of days when i know what i need....
quote:
Originally posted by russbost
"Rubber covered fabric hoses will probably last longer in normal road use but both will probably last decades."
The braided stainless hoses/fittings I sell are all guaranteed for life (mine/yours or the cars, we're not fussy!) so the rubber ones will have to last a long time indeed to beat that!!!
Most rubber hoses start to perish by around 10 years old, they start to collapse internally at around the same time!
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
quote:
Originally posted by russbost
"Rubber covered fabric hoses will probably last longer in normal road use but both will probably last decades."
The braided stainless hoses/fittings I sell are all guaranteed for life (mine/yours or the cars, we're not fussy!) so the rubber ones will have to last a long time indeed to beat that!!!
Most rubber hoses start to perish by around 10 years old, they start to collapse internally at around the same time!
The only defective new brake hose I have ever encountered was metal braided (end fitting nor completely drilled through ) just a random occurrence that proves nothing about the quality of braided hose fittings but considering the number of conventional hoses I have fitted over the decades I find it fairy safe to assume a defective new conventional hose is almost unknown.
As long as the flexy isn't rubbing then there's little to choose between them.
Rubber tends to break down over time giving plenty of warning, easily picked up at MOT time, while chafing braided hoses tend to soon lose strength
and fail completely very quickly. As with most things, look after them and both will last a long time.
One thing to consider is that if you get Russ's stainless fittings and fit them into alloy calipers expect galvanic corrosion.
"One thing to consider is that if you get Russ's stainless fittings and fit them into alloy calipers expect galvanic corrosion."
Ummm................,I'm not a metallurgical chemist, but I have a feeling that corrosion between cadmium plated mild steel & an alloy
caliper might be rather more swift & severe than that between stainless steel & the same alloy. I have watched cadmium plated stuff (many
cheap braided hose ends & all rubber hose ends) go seriously rusty in the space of 3 months in a damp atmosphere.
Irrelevant of the above I would point out that of all the hoses I sell to car owners (as opposed to bikes) probably less than 5% are fitted to alloy
calipers.
But hey, what do I know, anyone that wants to, go ahead save yourself a couple of quid a hose & buy rubbish, ugly looking rubber hoses with ends
that will be rusty in a few months & probably aren't really the correct length for your car & when they go rotten in about 10 years time
& kill you (or the owner at the time) don't come crying to me!!!
quote:
Originally posted by russbost
"One thing to consider is that if you get Russ's stainless fittings and fit them into alloy calipers expect galvanic corrosion."
Ummm................,I'm not a metallurgical chemist, but I have a feeling that corrosion between cadmium plated mild steel & an alloy caliper might be rather more swift & severe than that between stainless steel & the same alloy.
It is not corrosion of the steel or stainless steel fitting but the corrosiion of the caliper.
What makes stainless steels is stainless is either chrome or nickel that forms around the ferrous grains in the stainless steel, an easy way
to look at it is each grain of steel is chrome plated. Corrosion between different metals or Galvanic corrosion is dependant on the distance
between the metals in the galvanic series.
Quoting from Wikipedia
" The galvanic series (or electropotential series) determines the nobility of metals and semi-metals.
When two metals are submerged in an electrolyte, while electrically connected, the less noble (base) will experience galvanic corrosion. The rate of
corrosion is determined by the electrolyte and the difference in nobility. The difference can be measured as a difference in voltage potential.
Galvanic reaction is the principle upon which batteries are based.
Galvanic series (most noble at top)
The following is the galvanic series for stagnant (that is, low oxygen content) seawater. The order may change in different environments.
Graphite
Palladium
Platinum
Gold
Silver
Titanium
Stainless steel 316 (passive)
Stainless Steel 304 (passive)
Silicon bronze
Stainless Steel 316 (active)
Monel 400
Phosphor bronze
Admiralty brass
Cupronickel
Molybdenum
Red brass
Brass plating
Yellow brass
Naval brass 464
Uranium 8% Mo
Niobium 1% Zr
Tungsten
Stainless Steel 304 (active)
Tantalum
Chromium plating
Nickel (passive)
Copper
Nickel (active)
Cast iron
Steel
Lead
Tin
Indium
Aluminum
Uranium (pure)
Cadmium
Beryllium
Zinc plating (see galvanization)
Magnesium
End quote
In the table he distance between Stainless Steel and Aluminium is greater than the distance between steel and aluminium therefore when
connected to Stainless steel fittings an aluminium alloy caliper will corrode faster than when connected to steel.
Connecting a stainless fitting to a steel caliper will still cause accelerated corrosion of the calliper but to a much lesser extent.
I bow to your greater knowledge!
However I could point out that as the hoses are guaranteed for life you'll never need to remove them & at least the bits sticking out of the
caliper won't be rusty as opposed to mild steel which most certainly will!
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
What makes stainless steels is stainless is either chrome or nickel that forms around the ferrous grains in the stainless steel, an easy way to look at it is each grain of steel is chrome plated. Corrosion between different metals or Galvanic corrosion is dependant on the distance between the metals in the galvanic series.
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
It is not corrosion of the steel or stainless steel fitting but the corrosiion of the caliper.
