s14kev

About to do all the coolant and heater hoses. Anyone have any definite information on the benefits of each? A quick search reveals lots of 'expert' opinion and no real objective data. I do not care about looks (would buy black silicone if that was the decision) and cost is not a major concern.

Rubber pros-
- Cheaper
- Stock hose clamps fit
- Are 25yrs old one some of these and still look ok
- Good sealing qualities with metal

Rubber cons-
- Cosmetically appear to deteriorate faster
- Difficult future removal (can bond to pipe)

Silicone pros-
- Easier hose removal if needed in many years time
- Look shinier/prettier if you're into that kind of stuff

Silicone cons-
- More expensive
- Increased wall thickness compared with rubber thus requiring new clamps
- Thicker and thus more rigid making installation more difficult
- Softer material more prone to abrasion
- Poor sealing qualities with metal

Anyone have info regarding temperature and pressure ratings? Oil resistance (eg leaking power steering hoses)? Deformation under high heat or pressure?

Kerry Chadderton

All I can say is that I've always used regular old rubber. On my ITB VW GTI, Modified Spitfire, Jeep Rock Crawler and 20+ cars since 1984 when I started hot rodding cars. Oddly enough the ONLY time I did use the silicone hoses was on a Crown Vic ex-police car I used to tow my IT car with, and that was because I had no business towing so much weight with that vehicle.

The silicone looks cool as hell, but unless you have a hose that continuosly breaks, there is no need.

Some of the racers here should chime in. They are the hardest on these cars, and the hoses.

944Ross

Can you even get "all" the hoses in silicone? esp. the lower radiator hose? There's hardly a hose on these that has the same size on both ends, so they have to be formed.

elzergone

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember Roman944 replaced his coolant hoses with silicone ones... maybe he'll chime in.

AScholtes

Yep.... you can get them all from Lindsey.

TheDice951

i have them all on my car, they were fairly easy to instal and if you clean the metal with brake clean and wipe the inside of the hose with the same it seal with no problem. the look nice and will last forever... i got the entire kit from lindsey

http://www.lindseyracing.com/LR/Part...GHOSE944T.html

i also did the vet kit at the same time

roman944

I have a Lindsey Racing kit, for the early car, and I have ALL silicone hoses

yeah they are a little more expensive, but I did not mind the price difference

if you can find, or get someone, to take measurements of the inlet and outlet diameters - you can get "raw" high-temp silicone hose at www.boostcontroller.com - or a few other places - possibly saving yourself a couple bucks

my ONLY problem with Lindsey's kit is the hose from waterpump to radiator, its just a tad too long, and my fans ended up doing a little damage to it - no hole, just scratched it up pretty bad and made an annoying noise until we figured out what it was - fixed with a $5 sleeve ...

alordofchaos

Thanks! I have the kit as well, waiting until I get a round tuit to install I'll keep an eye out for that.

shiners780

The silicone is sort of sticky (for lack of a better term) and attracts dirt/dust. Mine were shiny for a day, now look no better than the rubber hoses.

Also, not a fan of the fitment on a couple of the hoses. The 90* hose by the oil filter makes filter removal difficult. The radiator-expansion tank hose I never did get to work, despite LR sending me 2 different length hoses, the headlight lifting mechanism hits the hose no matter the orientation. Ended up using a rubber hose there. Maybe something's weird with my car, LR said I'm the only one that's had that problem.

s14kev

Good info everyone. Thanks. Any have problems with slight leakage or weeping between the metal piping and the silicone hose? As I understand it rubber will bond/vulcanize to the metal over time and form a tight/permanent seal which is also the reason why it often needs to be cut off. Silicone won't do this which makes future removal/install easier but also means it is more prone to weeping small amounts of coolant from joints.

Anyone know for certain about temperature and oil resistance and burst pressure compared to rubber? Still doesn't seem like there is a huge benefit to silicone just yet.

M758

In 10 years of track time I have never had an problem with the stock rubber hoses on my 944 race car. Of course they are not stock from 84 as that is just silly, but I have never worried about them standing up to racing. They do just fine.