Braided brake hoses

[Mike Trident]

Originally Posted by trikey

Braided hose doesn’t expand under pressure as rubber does.

Not true! It's a good selling point for braided hoses, leads us to believe that rubber hoses expand like balloons. Simply not true.

Even supercars still use rubber hoses.

[Mike Trident]

Originally Posted by EdgarDonaldBalls

I was always lead to believe that stainless braided hoses were better but your comment and a bit of google-fu has lead me to question that.

I was told braided hoses would last pretty much forever but apparently that's not true and they are more likely to fail where they are crimped at the connectors due to the hose being stiffer and putting more stress on the connectors, It's also possible that they wear them selves out due to the metal braid rubbing on the teflon inner tube and on the outer sheath.

Due to the hoses on my car likely being 15 years old now, I think it's time to replace them since the solid brake lines are being changed but I will have to rethink going with braided hoses or a set of good quality (probably TRW) standard hoses.

Thanks for taking the time to look into it. What you have read is correct. I have to agree, they do look good, but on a road car they are not visible. Most of what we read is hype made up by the braided hose companies to sell hoses.

[Neil1]

I bought mine from https://www.mtecbrakes.com/

[EdgarDonaldBalls]

Originally Posted by trikey

Braided hose doesn’t expand under pressure as rubber does.

From the research I have been doing, I have concluded;

On a standard road car, used on a standard road, the difference in expansion between a good new SS braided hose and a good new standard hose is negligible.

Rubber hoses do in fact have an internal braiding and the best ones can be as resistant to expansion as a SS braided hose.

A good standard rubber hose is likely to last longer on a road car then SS braided hose although it's resistance to expansion can diminish more over time than you would likely see in a SS hose.

Failure of SS hoses is usually due to fatigue on the crimps caused by the extra stress put on them by the stiffer hose. some have a rotary section on the connector to alleviate this.

On a race track, where the brakes can get very very hot, a SS hose is much better than a rubber hose as when the brake fluid is very hot, it will cause the rubber hose to soften and it will expand under heavy braking causing a soft pedal.

[Rich in Vancouver]

Having had a stainless braided oil pressure hose fail at 80MPH on a busy highway (In another country at that!) I tend to be sceptical of braided hoses.
The nylon (?) core parted ways with the braided sleeve.

It was on a supercharged ZA Magnette which lost 4 litres of oil before I was able to get it clear of traffic. Let's hear it for large sumps! A new hose, an oil fill and it was back on the road none the worse for wear.