Replacement brak lines

[Vidal]

I am planning on replacing may flexible brake lines and had almost decided on sticking with the OEM rubber lines for my '84 Carrera Cab when I found out that there is a third alternative, i.e., kevlar. Does anyone have any experience with these or care to comment on their performance and longevity? This Cab is primarily stock and used for just an occassional DE.

http://www.ajusa.com/details/AJ-USA-Kevl...del=911&go=+

Cheers,

Vidal

[betegh9]

Is there something wrong with the DOT approved SS braided lines? I've had mine on for almost 10 years with no problems whatsoever. the braided SS protects the teflon lines from any debris or abrasions. Kevlar may be strong, but do they have any protection?

[Vidal]

From my limited reading, it just seems that SS lines sometimes have problems if they are not coated (easy to take care of, just make sure the ones purchased are coated), and failures due to reasons I'm not clear on. Perhaps the problems are just due to bad connections that lead to leaks. Again, this isn't a problem if your replace them frequently. The kevlar lines appear to be used a bit in the motorcycle racing sphere, but I saw lines for Porsche and was therefore curious about other's experience with them.

Since I'm just planning on a couple of DE events and street driving otherwise, I was thinking of just going with OEM rubber. Any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated. There seems to be a mixed bag of advice out there on the web, so I was just wondering what local RTR folks advised on this topic.

Cheers! 

[betegh9]

Vidal,

If you do a few DEs a year, you are fine with OEM as long as they are not old.  Old lines can get dry rot cracks on the outside, and worse, the ruber will swell on the inside restricting the flow of brake fluid and thus pads dragging on the rotor.  Also, as a person applies pressure on the pedal under braking, the brake hoses swell under pressure adding more pedal travel.  The SS braided lines don't do that.

[michael lang]

Just buy the stainless steel lines and be done with it. You'll probably spend less than $100 per set and you'll be good for the life of the car. It's one of the cheapest upgrades you can do yourself to your car. You'll find on just about every forum unless you're a pro-level racer where brake temps get extremely high, guys are not having second thoughts about using steel braided lines.

 

[ccm911]

+1

I have been using the SS lines for about eight or nine years now with no problems whatsoever.  And this included about four years of DE attendance.  The previous posts are giving you great advice, I would follow it.  And the SS lines, are as mentioned, not that expensive.

I think folks get really hung up on stuff like this. 

[Vidal]

Many thanks for the feedback! Your comments are greatly appreciated!

[betegh9]

Now, what about titaneum breded lines and wheel weights............. someone must really want them.hock:  TITANEUM.  If you pronounce it slowly, it sounds like every waterboxer owner should have them.

[AMoore]

Steel lines are great, but it is difficult to tell how old they are.  OEM suits most purposes, and it is easy to tell when they need to be replaced.