Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:47:27 +0300
Reply-To: Janne Ruohomäki <janne.ruohomaki@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Janne Ruohomäki <janne.ruohomaki@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Brake question
In-Reply-To: <586a66171003280524k7910099dtc4c1b854eb207995@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 2:24 PM, Bob Stevens <mtbiker62@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> "The teflon tube inside the SS would work just great alone, until it hits
>> something or
>> gets squeezed hard. SS is not there to prevent the teflon tube from
>> expanding due to applied pressure."
>>
>
> Wrong. That's the primary reason SS lines are used in a lot of applications
> besides/including our vans. As soon as I put them on a 914-6 I used to
> autocross and short course race, the brakes performed incomparably
> better because the front brake lines (especially) did not expand under
> the hot brake fluid temps generated by that kind of driving. I also put
> them on a Westy automatic I had and again, significant improvement
> because the rubber brake lines were not expanding under repeated
> hard braking. Rubber brake lines expand over time and brakes fade
> and become less effective because of it. Mushy pedal ... you can
> feel the line expanding. As soon as I replaced the fronts with SS braided
> lines that completely disappeared.
Well correct.. SS lines generally work like that. I am not trying to
claim anything else. They are superior to flexing rubber lines in many
ways. But it is not the SS braiding that prevents the lines from
expanding. The teflon tubing inside would hold the pressure just fine
I think. Until it hits a sharp rock. At least on ones I have seen the
braiding is not nearly tightly enough on the tube for it to be
sensible expansion limiter and it moves a bit around the inner tube.
Of course there can be different kind of SS brake lines also. Many
hydraulic lines used in farm machinery have rubber all over steel
braiding, both sides. The rubber is more like melted around braiding
or something.
Btw.. I will probably choose not to put those braided lines that have
SS braiding on the surface into my van. While offroading I would
collect everything imaginable in to the braiding. Soon that stuff will
be grinding against the inner tube every time the suspension of the
van does its magic. And I wont be able to inspect the results before
it breaks down. I just dont know where I could get ones that would
pass the inspection here.
