[Ashokkp]

Is it advisable to "upgrade" to Silicone Vacuum hoses and pipes on my Skoda Octavia 1.9TDI. The stock pipes and hoses seem to be corroded.

What are the relative pros and cons?

I live in Mumbai; Any reliable independent garage which can replace the lot with Silicone or stock?

Regards
Ashok

[SS-Traveller]

Silicone hoses/pipes work well on pressurized air lines. They are lighter and more durable than rubber or plastic hoses, and can retain higher pressure with thinner walls, without cracking / leaking. My compressor line is a silicone hose (8x13), and I usually need to change it once every 3-4 years (whereas plastic pipes last no more than 1-1.5 years)

OTOH, for vacuum lines, I am not sure whether the pipes would collapse on themselves under vacuum, thus causing obstruction, especially when constantly exposed to high heat. Would probably depend on the wall thickness (outer diameter minus inner diameter). Also not sure if silicone hoses meant specifically for automotive vacuum use are available in the markets in India.

If you could source silicone hoses of the desired diameter at Mumbai, no harm in trying them out - they are not very expensive either, for the quantity you'll need. Try to source something with the thickest wall possible for the required inner diameter. Chawri Bazar is the market to go to in Delhi for silicone hoses of all sizes.

[VCheng]

Originally Posted by Ashokkp

Is it advisable to "upgrade" to Silicone Vacuum hoses and pipes on my Skoda Octavia 1.9TDI. The stock pipes and hoses seem to be corroded.

What are the relative pros and cons?

I live in Mumbai; Any reliable independent garage which can replace the lot with Silicone or stock?

Regards
Ashok

What do you mean by "corrosion" here? Are there any leaks or malfunctions? Surface blemishes mean nothing from a functional point of view. How old is your car? Being close to the ocean will attack new hoses just the same.

[AbhiJ]

Are these Silicone Hoses re enforced or just Silicone Rubber Pipes?

[Ashokkp]

Hello Abhij

The car is 10 years old. One leak was noticed and the pipe was replaced with Silicone(no steel reinforcement)

Regards

Hello SS-T

Thank you so much. The take-away is - Silicone for pressure tubes AND the regular ones for Vacuum.

Regards
Ashok

[1self]

Silicon pipes whether for boost or vacuum need to be reinforced with fibre to be able to do the job. It looks aesthetically better than OEM hoses & will last longer too. They might be more expensive though.

[AbhiJ]

If anyone needs non re enforced silicone tubes, I should be able to provide some tubing for free.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by 1self

Silicon pipes whether for boost or vacuum need to be reinforced with fibre to be able to do the job.

What is your opinion about? They are not reinforced but its rated to around 200PSI. Whats your take on this? I have a few feet of these with me and was planning to use it for my MBC.

[1self]

Originally Posted by Sankar

What is your opinion about? They are not reinforced but its rated to around 200PSI. Whats your take on this? I have a few feet of these with me and was planning to use it for my MBC.

If you see the cross section of the hose, you ought to see fibres along some part of the wall perimeter. If it has, it's reinforced. A cross section pic would be nice.

The fibre gives it the strength to withstand expansion/ contraction during boost/ vacuum.

[Sutripta]

^^^
How does it help against collapsing?

Regards
Sutripta

[Jeroen]

It really depends on the application what the best material is. Roughly speaking the two most parameters are how big a vacuum and how high a temperature.

Here an interesting article for the Mazda RX7 that has a huge number of vacuum lines.

http://www.turborx7.com/Media/hosedebate.pdf

On my Mercedes W123 the vacuum lines are of various material including just some simple rubber bits that function as connectors. Most of the tubing is polypropylene , otherwise known as "hard plastic. Outside 4mm, inside 2mm.
Runs the locks on the door, trunk, fuel cap, height adjustment lights, autogearbox etc,

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by 1self

If you see the cross section of the hose, you ought to see fibres along some part of the wall perimeter. If it has, it's reinforced. A cross section pic would be nice.

The fibre gives it the strength to withstand expansion/ contraction during boost/ vacuum.

There is no reinforcement for this hose. Pressure rated to 220PSI. See the pics below.





Product page: http://www.turbosmartdirect.com/Prod...tegories/Hose/

[1self]

Originally Posted by Sankar

There is no reinforcement for this hose. Pressure rated to 220PSI. See the pics below.
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The wall thickness is enough. If the hose is stiff, then all is well. You can use it for both vacuum or pressure.
I was referring to this type of silicon hose. The wall thickness is much lower than what you have but it has this reinforced construction.

[Ashokkp]

Hello

What about the clamps? How to ensure that the silicone hoses fit snugly?

Regards

[1self]

Originally Posted by Ashokkp

Hello

What about the clamps? How to ensure that the silicone hoses fit snugly?

Regards

You will need worm drive clamps, preferably of stainless steel. Ensure you get the correct size.