Ive been looking at stainless braided line and there seems to be quite a bit of price difference between the mail order "house" line to the top of the line "name brand" line . Im looking to install an oil cooler and obviously dont want any problems. Is there a happy medium? or should I just get the best and quit trying to save a buck?

i personally like the look of the cheaper push on style hoses they have out. they are deemed good enough for pretty much any race sanctioning body,weigh less, are a lot cheaper than the stainless stuff, and are usually a nice dark color with nice dark fittings that don't stick out and look all tacky under the hood.
but i would definitely stick with a known brand name regardless of what style you are after.

I've been told that the cheaper stuff will fray more when you cut it. I won't swear to it though because i've only bought the better stuff, I didn't want to take any chances here.

There are times you really do get what you pay for ;)
I would personally stick with the good stuff in whatever brand you prefer.
I personally lean towards XRP, AeroQuip & Fragola but have heard no problems with Earl's, Russell etc.

And as was stated above, the good push type on fittings like XRP & AeroQuip are excellent & are rated at 250lbs without a clamp.

Just got off the phone this morning with a gentleman from this forum that isn't "real excited" with the quality of some of the less expensive stuff :rolleyes:

I know the braided steel is a pain to work with, make sure you use black electrical tape when cutting the ends. I have braided from the manual pump to carb and pushlock back to the electric pump, much easier to work with,but still a pain pushing that stuff on the fittings.

I've got some of Jegs house brand fittings and hose on my car and didnt see any difference in assembling the hose/fittings and no issues w/ leaks or odors.

Originally posted by Rapid Robert:
much easier to work with,but still a pain pushing that stuff on the fittings. =
When your wife ain't lookin,, "borrow" the hair dryer & heat the end of the hose,, makes life a lot easier when installing.
Unless of course you get caught with the "borrowed" equipment :D

Mike (Wolfplace) got me an Awsome deal on XRP hose for my fire bottle system.
thanks Mike!

I used mostly jegs fittiings and they do scratch easier than earls stuff. To prevent that I just duct taped the fitting when I assembled braided part to fitting. Magic markers hid scratches pretty good.

Originally posted by novaderrik:
i personally like the look of the cheaper push on style hoses they have out. they are deemed good enough for pretty much any race sanctioning body,weigh less, are a lot cheaper than the stainless stuff, and are usually a nice dark color with nice dark fittings that don't stick out and look all tacky under the hood.
but i would definitely stick with a known brand name regardless of what style you are after. What kind of hose/fittings are we talking about here? Can I get part numbers or something?

Tony, you have mail also Red Rooster does make hoses if you want nice ends. Pertec does alot of hoses for us at work and the guy said they will do small jobs at their leisure.

Im not looking to do the "whole underhood" braided thing. But I do need the oil cooler and there are going to be some tight areas to the sandwich adapter. If it was anything but my oiling system I wouldnt be so concerned. I like the added abrasion resistance that the braided gives me. I dont think pushlock will be an option for this application.

Originally posted by Motor Martyr:
Mike (Wolfplace) got me an Awsome deal on XRP hose for my fire bottle system.
thanks Mike! =
You are welcome graemlins/beers.gif