oil/water lines rubber vs braided pros and cons
 

My build is under way, and I have read quite a few oil/water line threads. While they have been great in explaining the installation method, I have yet to see data supporting one over the other.

I am definitely having a bung welded into the pan, but do I go with stainless or do I go with rubber?

Rubber will fail a lot quicker than an SS braided line, especially close to the turbo, shielding them will help, but only for so long. SS lines have a longer life span and hard lines will last indefinitely. FM sells hardlines and I think someone on here is selling kits now too.

In order from highest heat resistance: teflon lined stainless, silicone, rubber lined stainless, rubber.

and most silicone is not oil compatible.

and most rubber is not coolant compatible.

and mcmaster-carr sells blue silicone coolant compatible hose down to 1/4".

Abe,
Can you get different sized fittings? I need one side withe the BEGi thread pitch, and another with the standard TiAL thread-pitch since I can't seem to get anyone but TiAL to send me the correct oil fittings. Essentially, I have a BEGi line with one end that won't fit on the TiAL restrictor.

Good point. Silicone is naturally porous and allows oil to soak through. My hoses are fluoro lined, which makes them impermeable to oil.

The rubber hose I've seen is generally compatible with coolant with restrictions on oil transfer.

y8s, have you used macmaster's hose? Certainly a lot cheaper than what I use in my kits. If it works, great, I'll switch to that and pass on the savings. I placed an order, but I'm afraid this is going to be that thin flaccid (uh oh) stuff that collapses under heat. The hose I use has a 4.5mm wall (BTW the right size on our cars is 5/16")

Hustler, yeah send me a pm.

Rubber just does not have that bling, and would you trust it for your oiling?

Hardlines are great, and perhaps the lightest, but it makes it harder to work on. Having that flex makes wrenching much quicker. You can do a DIY with either hardline or stainless tubing. Summit Racing will have all the fittings, tubing, etc. to get it done.

FYI, There is also the newer cloth coated tubing that is lighter and less abrasive than stainless. Not sure of its ability to withstand heat, but it is the trickest tubing available currently.

I already have a length of the 1/4". It's flexible enough (I think) to stretch over a 5/16 barb. It is fairly thick walled and fiber reinforced. the inner wall is orange silicone and the outer is blue. from memory it's probably 4-5mm wall. the pressure rating is certainly adequate for a car's cooling system. The 1/4 is rated at 175 psi.

i suspect it's the same as this:
Purosil Silicone Hose - Heater Hose 80 series

That blue rubber hose is quality stuff. You can even put nice anodized fittings like on stainless. I would trust it.

here's the real link to the mcmaster blue hose. mfgr makes a .313 diameter incidentally.

http://www.federalhose.com/product_p...%201%20PLY.pdf