Anybody try eBay silicone radiator hoses?
09-29-10, 07:21 PM
#26
the reason why i compared a race car to a street car in this case is because we're talking about a material's resistance to heat
seeing as race cars see a huge amount of heat (not normal for a street car, and not what the OEM hoses were designed to do). And we are running the worst of the 2...modified rotary engines, so not only will we be producing more heat because we are producing more power, but we're producing more power out of a motor that naturally runs hotter then most other engines
i agree with you all the way that not everything for the track is usable for the street...but when it comes to the purpose of changing out things that will do better in the conditions that we drive our cars in, i think taking aspects of race cars is a great idea
i agree also that you have to buy the right stuff so looking into silicone hoses, the first thing you need to do is make sure its made out of the proper material to withstand the heat
the OEM hoses are designed for street use and spirited driving...this is why you lose your warrantee when you modify your car, because you are pushing the car past what it was designed to do from factory, which means the factory cannot guarantee that the car will hold up under the higher stress that it will be seeing...we push our cars to their limits, so upgrading the parts of the car that need to hold it together under higher loads then normal is an absolute must
as for your questions to decide if it is necessary:
Do you gain anything from using an alternate material?
-yes. if the right material is chosen, you gain reliability, something we'd all love in our rotaries lol
Does it magically improve cooling?
-doesnt improve cooling, but again gives it more strength under higher load then factory design, the same way we upgrade the radiator to an all aluminum unit
Does it last longer? Was it designed to last 100k miles?
-i personally dont know as i havent put that many miles on it. but i can definitely say that i havent had any issues thus far and i had about 20k on my hoses before i needed a rebuild and im at about 7k on the ones in the car now with no complaints either
-and there are alot of parts that were "designed to last 100k" that a great deal of the time dont dont make it such as:
vacuum lines
wiring
AST
etc...
Do you know the temp range for which the generic silicon hoses you are buying were designed for?
-thats where reseach in buying the right parts comes in
Is the inner diameter of the hose specifically designed to fit on the stock water pump inlet/outlets?
-the ones that i bought had an outstanding fit...perfect fitment and perfect inlet outlet size
seeing as race cars see a huge amount of heat (not normal for a street car, and not what the OEM hoses were designed to do). And we are running the worst of the 2...modified rotary engines, so not only will we be producing more heat because we are producing more power, but we're producing more power out of a motor that naturally runs hotter then most other engines
i agree with you all the way that not everything for the track is usable for the street...but when it comes to the purpose of changing out things that will do better in the conditions that we drive our cars in, i think taking aspects of race cars is a great idea
i agree also that you have to buy the right stuff so looking into silicone hoses, the first thing you need to do is make sure its made out of the proper material to withstand the heat
the OEM hoses are designed for street use and spirited driving...this is why you lose your warrantee when you modify your car, because you are pushing the car past what it was designed to do from factory, which means the factory cannot guarantee that the car will hold up under the higher stress that it will be seeing...we push our cars to their limits, so upgrading the parts of the car that need to hold it together under higher loads then normal is an absolute must
as for your questions to decide if it is necessary:
Do you gain anything from using an alternate material?
-yes. if the right material is chosen, you gain reliability, something we'd all love in our rotaries lol
Does it magically improve cooling?
-doesnt improve cooling, but again gives it more strength under higher load then factory design, the same way we upgrade the radiator to an all aluminum unit
Does it last longer? Was it designed to last 100k miles?
-i personally dont know as i havent put that many miles on it. but i can definitely say that i havent had any issues thus far and i had about 20k on my hoses before i needed a rebuild and im at about 7k on the ones in the car now with no complaints either
-and there are alot of parts that were "designed to last 100k" that a great deal of the time dont dont make it such as:
vacuum lines
wiring
AST
etc...
Do you know the temp range for which the generic silicon hoses you are buying were designed for?
-thats where reseach in buying the right parts comes in
Is the inner diameter of the hose specifically designed to fit on the stock water pump inlet/outlets?
-the ones that i bought had an outstanding fit...perfect fitment and perfect inlet outlet size
Well consider the usage. Racing vs. Street. Besides the fact that they have 4 wheels, an engine, trans, a race car isn't really a good comparison for a street car.
Custom one-off race setup for 2 chassis used for a short period of time vs. OEM formed hoses designed for thousands of cars to last many miles and years.
What is used for race conditions isn't always appropriate for street cars. Do you run slicks on your street car? Roll cage on your street car? 6 point belts? Open cockpit? Engines that won't last beyond 4 races? Do you use high quality, race specific hose clamps specially designed to cope with those hoses and the heat expansion characteristics in the F1 engine bay?
Go back and re-read my post.
The OEM is the no-brainer way for a reliable coolant hose solution unless you take the factors I mentioned into consideration. I'm using silicon hoses and after some trial and error took the appropriate steps and spent the $ to make sure it was as close to reliable as stock for my custom v-mount setup.
Do you gain anything from using an alternate material?
Does it magically improve cooling?
Does it last longer? Was it designed to last 100k miles?
Do you know the temp range for which the generic silicon hoses you are buying were designed for?
Is the inner diameter of the hose specifically designed to fit on the stock water pump inlet/outlets?
Custom one-off race setup for 2 chassis used for a short period of time vs. OEM formed hoses designed for thousands of cars to last many miles and years.
What is used for race conditions isn't always appropriate for street cars. Do you run slicks on your street car? Roll cage on your street car? 6 point belts? Open cockpit? Engines that won't last beyond 4 races? Do you use high quality, race specific hose clamps specially designed to cope with those hoses and the heat expansion characteristics in the F1 engine bay?
Go back and re-read my post.
The OEM is the no-brainer way for a reliable coolant hose solution unless you take the factors I mentioned into consideration. I'm using silicon hoses and after some trial and error took the appropriate steps and spent the $ to make sure it was as close to reliable as stock for my custom v-mount setup.
Do you gain anything from using an alternate material?
Does it magically improve cooling?
Does it last longer? Was it designed to last 100k miles?
Do you know the temp range for which the generic silicon hoses you are buying were designed for?
Is the inner diameter of the hose specifically designed to fit on the stock water pump inlet/outlets?
09-29-10, 09:22 PM
#28
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As I've already stated, my large hoses were about 11-12 years old and had right around 100k miles and they looked like they could have ruptured at any time. I actually had one of the turbo coolant hoses fail a couple of years before I changed out all of the coolant/heater hoses. I plan on replacing most of the hoses again in the spring, I will have about 5 years on the hoses at that point. I'll plan on going OEM for the smaller diameter hoses, but want to try some silicone ones on the 2 large diameter hoses (since that's all they make pre-formed). My plan is to change the coolant hoses every 5-6 years as preventative maintenance.
09-29-10, 10:18 PM
#29
i dont mean to be rude are argumentative for no reason, but i really do have the intention of getting to an ultimate conclusion, i'm not saying you're absolutely wrong my man, just kinda stating what makes me believe that silicone is better...if there is some like solid evidence or something that shows OEM is better then believe me, i'll agree with you all the way
but if u dont want to get into it thats cool lol...i guess im just very eager for knowledge, and for the right information
much respect buddy...and i do love your car
10-03-10, 11:44 PM
#30
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Just to bring this up, as stated, I'm looking to buy new radiator hoses and just wondering with v-mount setup, will the stock hoses work? I'm pretty sure I have stock lower and upper radiator hoses but I just wanted to double check to make sure.
