Ive heard of people using Diesel radiator hose for intercooler piping. Does anyone do this on the forum? I thought i saw a few people do it. Does this work well? Where do i get it? Is their a specific brand i should use? What do i need to use to clamp to the turbo and intercooler? etc. Thanks guys.

 

If you eyeball the stock IC connector hoses closely... they are just another version of what you are talking about.

You can do it, but.... man... thats gonna look like ***.

 

some of us don't care about da *bling bling*

 

anyone have more info into .. who make it, what exactly its called.. etc?

 

ok its called 2.5' or 3' silicone hoses
and u usually clamp them with gear clamps

 

I have seen these used as couplers for intercooler pipping! I would not suggest using them as Permanent intercooler pipping, It would be better to use crush bent exhaust pipping. The stock intercooler elbows aren't the same as radiator hoses, if you look at the desing it, the stock has a grid desing and then weaved on both sides of that then coated by the "rubberish" compound, radiator hoses are only weaved and coated, thus most likely about 60% weaker then the stock elbows. If looks isn't any difference to you then I would definitely suggest just doing crush bent steel exhaust.

 

Yea... bending up some steel would be about as hard as forming straight radiator hose... but it would actually work!!

 

I don't think a radiator hose will fail if you use it to duct the compressed air from the turbo to the IC to the intake. It good enough to stand up to hot water/coolant, I don't see why pressurized air would do it any harm.

 

If not entirely sure what you mean, But if you are insinuating it is tough to bend steel or not but incase you are;
you can buy prebent (crush) at your local autozone. and you can buy straight radiator hose. but again why?

 

Rad hoses will easily hold 20 psi minimum, so that's not the concern.
The only worry is that the rubber from rad hoses becomes fastly detiorated by fuels and oil... such as are released through the turbo seals and via PCV gases.

 

i know there was a guy on here that did this. its some really thick radiator hose. i agree with you though scathcart

 

How does fuel and oil get on the intake side of the turbo. I thought air came in, got compressed, sent through the piping to the IC, then through the piping to the intake? I don't see where the hose will be exposed to fuel or oil.

 

there is always some oil that get into the compressed air stream from the compressor of the turbo.

 

What about temps?
Compressor output can get really hot..

 

i know it is really cheap, and wont last long, but with the flexible exhaust tubing (i believe it is what was mentioned above) ok to use? if so, is it better or worse to use heatwrap with it?
thanks

 

a exhaust shop can fab u up some pipes if you don't care how it looks

 

You don't have to worry about temps as they are made for radiators.

it will work fine. I used a small section on my sr20 from the hot pipe to the bov and never had a prob.

There is something wrong if you have fuel going threw the pipes.

Fuel is after the IC.

here's a pic of the rad hoses

*don't flame it was my first engine swap*

 

"OBX R" that's all I'm gonna say he he

 

****........... i still use cheap filters

 

maybe i should ask this.. what is the cheapest yet acceptable way to hook up my FMIC??

 

Then the factory cars are set-up wrong?
Blowby gases contain fuel products and oil vapours, which get routed into the intake system before the turbocharger, via the check valve in the TID.

 

I consider blow by mostly oil

I negate the small amount of fuel in the lines b/c that's a fraction of the whole which is a fraction of total air threw the pipes. I just consider it too small.

It won't last forever but should last many years.

 

Ever notice how whenever you change your oil, even with brand new engines, that the oil smells like gas? If this isn't from blowby of fuel, how does this fuel enter the oiling system?

 

Do you see fuel in your oil? It would seperate just like rad/water does, no?

There might be some from flooding or what not, but fuel is a strong smell so even the smallest trace can be picked up.


I'm not deny'n that it doesn't go through blowby but on such a low level that it can be neglected and still represent the real world effectively.

You say there is fuel in your oil, I say how much.

 

No. Gasoline easily mixes with oil.
Example: premix. A lot of good premix would do if oil didn't mix with gas.
Example: blowby fuel breaks down oil by mixing with it. In racing applications, this extreme brekadown of oil can cause spun bearings.
Example: the blowby gases of fuel mixing with oil is significant enough that a decrease in idle oil pressure can be seen across a 3000 mile interval, given equal operating temperatures (typically a 1-2 psi drop for a 750 rpm idle using 20W50 on a turbo engine).

Well, this strays greatly from what I originally said: I worry about fuel/oil vapours contaminating radiator hose rubber and making them blow.
Blowby gases are released in surprising amounts. For an example of just how much is produced, cap off the nipple below the filler neck on the center iron, as well as the 1-2 nipples on the oil filler neck itself (and make sure your oil filler cap seals well), then go for a drive for a few minutes... what will happen is that the blowby gases will pressurizes the oil system, cauasing HUGE amounts of smoke out the back, within 5 minutes of driving.

Now, with relation specifically to oil... blowby gases occur mostly between the side seals and the corner seals. Under the compression stroke, the air/fuel mixture is being greatly compressed... this compression pushes air/fuel past the side seals, where it can enter the oiling system. Combustion gases also push past in this same manner. Due to the compression stroke, a significant amount of gasoline vapour will enter the oiling system. This is EXACTLY why your oil will reek of gasoline after 3000 miles of driving, and even more so on a worn engine.

Regardless, the whole point of this is that blowby gases do enter the flowpath before the intercooler: blowby oil through the turbo oil seals, and blowby fuel/oil from the oil system. It does not take a large quantity of oil to contaminate rad hose rubber... a good example of this is how a few simply drops of oil, dripped onto the left heater hose during a oil filter change, and then wiped off, can very quickly cause the rubber to break down and become extremely soft. This is the number one reason for coolant loss on FC's; that hose becomes oil conaminated, and lets go, and this contamination all occurs from a minute amount of oil.

If you don;t think a significant amount of oil/fuel enters the system from before/at the turbocharger, take off your inercooler piping and wipe your finger inside... you'll get a nice coating of oil. Do the same thing with your intercooler... why do you think people wash them out with solvent/gasoline?

Finally... let's think for a moment. Automotive engineers are ALWAYS trying to cut costs. It takes money to pay an engineer, money to test, money to manufacture a new hose design. Why would engineers spend these funds if the existing hose they have (radiator hose) works in the existing situation? They wouldn't. Intercooler piping is designed specifically as it is because it has to deal with blowby fuel and oil.

You might also notice that in my original post, I stated it would work, but I had a sole concern. We know that oil/fuel enters the airflow path. We also know that it breaks down rad hose. We know engineers used specific hose for a reason. So why bother giving your car another failure mode? Its just something else to go wrong on an already finicky engine. Isit for cost? Are you actually saving money if you have to replace it every 10,000 miles? What about towing bills for when you're left stranded when it does let go? Really, is it worth all the trouble to save a measely $20 over designed intercooler hosing?
Anyone with common sense and a sense of reason will say no, and work the extra hour for the cash.