Ebay silicone heater hose kits?? anyone have experience with these????

[GAWDZRA]

read nothing but good things regarding these hoses from this vendors feedback. anyone on here that actually have this kit? any reviews? comments? advice?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Silicon-heater-hose-kit-Skyline-RB26DET-GTR-R34-R33-R32-/330565521270?pt=Race_Car_Parts&hash=item4cf73d8f76

im about to order it since im dealing with a coolant leak due to a bad gasket underneath the manifold. just wanted to see if anybody was running these and how they like them? reused stock clamps? or got new ones?

Thank you in advanced!

[RABBIT]

ech, silicone heater hoses dont last very long they crack fairly quickly and the coolent hoses will breath water vapours out.
rubber is mucho betters. but most things are better then 20+ year old crap.

[GAWDZRA]

^^^ thanks for the input kind sir!

[Marke]

Eric Hsu told me XS Engineering used OE hoses on their Time Attack BNR32(800hp). He also told me if I wanted silicone, stick with Samco.

[4jo3]

oem rubber is the way to go ... silcone is a headache .... i've replaced heater hoses from a respectable company (not ebay) and they were $400 a pop. i replaced them 3x in my dd and they leaked after a month

[archaeic_bloke]

100% oem rubber hose is THE only way to go when replacing heater hoses and under plenum hoses... don't waste your time with anything else, the proof is in the pussing... your car is 20 yrs old and has oem hoses which are now just finally ready to call it quits... they lasted 20 years the first time, they're gonna last at least that the next time round/

[Shane_Sawatzki]

100% oem rubber hose is THE only way to go when replacing heater hoses and under plenum hoses... don't waste your time with anything else, the proof is in the pussing... your car is 20 yrs old and has oem hoses which are now just finally ready to call it quits... they lasted 20 years the first time, they're gonna last at least that the next time round/

+1000

[xcye]

I have been using a set of Silicone heater hoses for 3 years now. So far, no problem at all. They still looked and felt like new in and out when I pulled the engine out a month ago. I am going to continue using them to see how long they will actually last.

[Dragon Humper]

Ok, all of you guys are drunk. ('cept xcye)

Now I'm not saying that the Ebay hoses are quality or not but silicon is FAR superior to rubber. Any situation that requires a tough, no compromises hose material like say, big diesels or my police car they use silicone. My hoses in my Caprice have a service life of 50 YEARS!!!!! Diesels have silicon couplers combined with stainless pipes and are expected to go 2 million miles before an expected failure.

Silicon will also put up with temp extremes much better than rubber, in like an, I don't know, say.......... TURBO application.


Samco, I guarrantee, will outlast your car. The ebay hoses should outlast the rubber by a factor of 2 if the quality is decent.




Jon.

[archaeic_bloke]

Ok, all of you guys are drunk. ('cept xcye)

Now I'm not saying that the Ebay hoses are quality or not but silicon is FAR superior to rubber. Any situation that requires a tough, no compromises hose material like say, big diesels or my police car they use silicone. My hoses in my Caprice have a service life of 50 YEARS!!!!! Diesels have silicon couplers combined with stainless pipes and are expected to go 2 million miles before an expected failure.

Silicon will also put up with temp extremes much better than rubber, in like an, I don't know, say.......... TURBO application.


Samco, I guarrantee, will outlast your car. The ebay hoses should outlast the rubber by a factor of 2 if the quality is decent.




Jon.

You're correct... that's how it SHOULD be...

The reality is though that due to what ever reason (poor quality control, materials defects w/e) it does indeed happen that after even 6 years silicon hoses can become porous and sponge-like. They feel crunchy sort of on the outisde and look Swollen almost. I've seen on a couple of cars over the years.

Personally I run silicone myself, but only because at the time when I had my engine out, they were the only set of hoses I could reasonably acquire. So far (2 years in) they're 100% perfect, not a single issue. by recommending oem rubber I was just saying, that: IF I had to make that deicision again, this time round I'd hold out for OEM rubber hoses... or go full stainless braided on everuything lol

[Dragon Humper]

I don`t know what the man. of the hoses you have come in contact with were using but it wasn`t silicon. It was most likely a silicon alternative. You can tell a quality hose by rubbing it (no, not like that you perv.), it should feel kinda grippy but not squishy. If it feels smooth and not as grippy as rubber or the good silicone, it`s a hybrid mixture to cut costs and is poop.

The hoses on my Caprice are just like new and are 15 years old, I would never hesitate to go for silicon over rubber. Aren`t the turbo drainback hoses silicon?



Jon.