Mugenkid

I have a 93 civic si.. I'm currently working on a B18c1.
I'm looking for silicone tubing for all the rubber tubing for my car and for this swap.. any good quality kits out there?

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

<p>We are not your personal shoppers.</p>

tony_2018

get the cheap ebay kits, its all the rave!!!! super rare ultra mad wannabe jdm yo

GrantMC2

Mugenkid

I understand that.. but that's not what I asked.

purgat0ry

iTrader: (3)

Then you should totally understand why you should look for your own damned kits.

TomCat39

I think that is understood, but how does one differentiate quality from non quality.

What makes one manufacturer better than another on silicone hosing?

What does someone look for to know if the hoses are quality or ****?

Or..... Are all silicone hoses equal?

Or is there no way to visually tell quality and so you just have to do the trial and error?

oneheadlight

I've heard to stay away from any silicone hoses since they tend to leak over time. I was reading a research paper (I'll have to dig for it, find it again) that some materials science engineering students wanted to see what the material did over time. They found that over time it weeped coolant. I'm not sure if it's because the coolant interacts with the silicone, but that's my thought. Might be safer just to get the regular epdm rubber hoses and not have to worry if it will leak. Cheaper too!

TomCat39

It's pretty well known the silicone is water permeable.

It's why the con to silicone is that you will be consistently topping up your coolant. The pro is it will handle almost twice the temperature.

So essentially, for most builds the OEM EPDM rubber hoses are superior. However in some turbo builds where the temps are much higher than normal, the silicone is beneficial but require much more upkeep in general.

The other con to the silicone is the bands cut into the hoses pretty easily and so it can be much more challenging to tighten and secure the slick hoses to connections without damage or slippage.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

<p>You are grossly exaggerating the permeability of the hoses. &nbsp;Yes, they are more permeable, but you don't have to &quot;constantly&quot; fill your coolant. &nbsp;The most common leak is caused by people using OEM clamps, which are not good enough for silicone hoses.</p>

TomCat39

I hear what you are saying. Consistently may be a better choice of words.

What I meant by constantly is it will be a permanent, on going thing, to top up the coolant. It won't be a fill it and forget about it application.

I did not mean as a daily top up thing or a massive top up thing. Just that you will have to make a routine of constantly/consistently checking the coolant resevoir and then topping up as needed and that it will be needed from time to time.

EPDM on the other hand is not water permeable so once you have all leaks fixed up, you should not have to top up the coolant. If coolant is going down, there is a leak somewhere.

Hopefully that makes more sense is and a bit clearer for everyone.

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

Good info all around. If my car that has them were still running I'd go check LOL

tony_2018

What clamps are suggested if one were to buy "da best" silicone hoses? All clamps I've seen are made of metal, even the autozone stuff.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

<p></p><p>Simple T clamps.</p><p>TomCat, I get what you're saying, but that's car ownership 101. &nbsp;Unfortunately, people don't do the super simple stuff like checking fluid levels when you stop at the gas station.</p>

TomCat39

Yeah so true.

You can also reduce the amount you have to monitor by doing proper upkeep and also part selection based on application. Another thing most people skip out on, the upkeep/maintenance.

tony_2018

For some reason my little sister expects the car to tell her these things, low oil, low coolant, needs a timing belt job, needs new bushings, etc..etc...

TomCat39

LoL, yeah.... It's where I've been lazy but planning a Diary is the method I think is most useful beyond the typical regular fluid checks.

I currently have to check my oil every gas fill up, but that will be reduced to every few fills once I rebuild my engine and break it in properly.

Coolant can be a monthly or even possibly a quarterly check if you use EPDM hoses and have zero leaks. Even with my Heater Core leak, I typically only have to top it up once a month or so.

With silicone hoses, even with zero leaks, I would suspect it would need a monthly top up. Not a lot of fluid but some to keep it filled properly.

Keeping oil seals refreshed and non leaking helps from having to check your oil as often etc.

It's funny how people will drive their cars to the ground without ever checking anything. Then wonder why they spun a bearing when the oil is too low to service anything.

Mugenkid

Everyone has different experiences with products so that's why I asked.. so if you're going to be an *** then no need to comment..

Mugenkid

And this is the type of info I look for. Experiences with them and if they are worth a damn.. thank you to all that weren't on here just talk ****. But actually be helpful.. which is what a forum is about...

tony_2018

What other well known brand company makes silicon hoses?

TomCat39

There was no need to return and stir the pot into a pissing match. What was said was said and you could have focused on the positive comments and ignored the negatives.

Instead you homed in on the negatives only just asking for a troll fight pissing match.

Thread closed before the fight begins.