Economical Alternatives to Silicone Couplings

[Aaronbrook37]

Hey all,

I'm looking for some help running intercooler piping on my next project car. I don't really feel like blowing $15-20 per silicone coupling this time around, but at the same time, I don't wanna get too cheap and run Home Depot PVC/ABS equipment that will degrade over time/heat/pressure. That's just unsafe for high boost applications. I plan to recycle the OEM piping from the car to make some couplings, but I think I will probably need more to finish running the front mount.

As such, I've concluded that my best bet is to find some bendable 2.0" universal coolant hose, rubber tubing, or something that can handle boost and intake air temperature pipe heat.

One option I considered was finding some big turbo diesel trucks and stealing their intercooler/radiator hoses. Only problem is that there aren't any locally to me, and without seeing them before purchasing the hoses, I won't know if they're the right size and shape that I need. That could also end up being pricey. I suppose Rock Auto clearance rad hose might work if I can find some in the right size.

I've also exhausted capable options locally for new hose. I tried a few local auto shops, an industrial supply store or two, and even the local hose/pipe experts. All they had for me was either too small in diameter or too firm to bend safely - further, it wasn't equipment that could handle the heat of an engine bay unfortunately.

Straight piping is easy... I can get 6061 aluminum or some cheap hot-rolled steel piping from the local metal mart and cut and file it myself. For clamps, they sell bulk packs of t-bolt or worm gear clamps both locally and on Ebay as well so that's no problem either. It's just the hose itself that is proving to be an issue. If my local yards weren't such criminals in their pricing and swift to shred/crush anything I could use, I'd consider looking there instead.

Anybody with any leads or recommendations?

Cheers,

A

[koRnhead]

Semi tractor radiator hose will do the job as well. Just a suggestion, if you have a hook up at the local parts store you can get it rather cheaply.

[Advancedynamix]

Gates green stripe hose. not pretty, but it's tough as nails. You can buy it at auto/truck supply retailers like NAPA.

[Rocketman]

Why are you blowing couplers? Are they shredding or just popping off the pipe? Do you put a lip/bead at the end of the pipe?

I get all my couplers from www.siliconeintakes.com no affiliation but good prices, fast shipping, real quality parts. Never had an issue with one of their parts

[Advancedynamix]

You can also buy silicone hose in bulk too and cut it to length yourself. I use my chop saw for this.

[Aaronbrook37]

Semi tractor radiator hose will do the job as well. Just a suggestion, if you have a hook up at the local parts store you can get it rather cheaply.

I think I may ask if they'll let me poke around in the back or have any scrap hose bits at the local auto shop tomorrow. Worth another look I figure.

Gates green stripe hose. not pretty, but it's tough as nails. You can buy it at auto/truck supply retailers like NAPA.

Perfect... thanks much, Charlie. I'll keep an eye out for the stuff and try NAPA for sure.

Why are you blowing couplers? Are they shredding or just popping off the pipe? Do you put a lip/bead at the end of the pipe?

I get all my couplers from www.siliconeintakes.com no affiliation but good prices, fast shipping, real quality parts. Never had an issue with one of their parts

Oops... semantics. I didn't mean blowing couplers, but rather blowing money on couplers haha. I've only had one coupler pop off on me, and it was my own fault for forgetting to tighten the clamp properly on the compressor outlet.

You can also buy silicone hose in bulk too and cut it to length yourself. I use my chop saw for this.

If I had a need for multiple straight sections, this would be a perfect suggestion. Unfortunately, most of what I need are bends!

[PhoenixSHO]

There alu kits on ebay , bunch of mandrel bends in aluminum. cut to size then link with straight couplers....

[Aaronbrook37]

If I needed bent aluminum piping, Ebay would definitely be the way to go. But I'm going to source my straight piping either from a steel supplier locally or an exhaust shop. I went looking far and wide across the web for the standard pricing cost of a 2.0" silicone elbow, and came up with $15-43 a pop. That's not quite good enough and I think I can do better.

I made some drawings of my intercooler piping plan using photos from other cars, and have determined that I will need about 7-8 90* bends and 4-5 straight couplers. I'm opting for 2.0" diameter piping because it matches my intercooler and I'm running a small engine. I'm of course assuming that my TB, turbo inlet, turbo outlet, and VAF are all that size because I haven't been able to pick up the car yet.

Using factory supply sites (basically China-link), I found the following deals:

On DHGate.com, I can get a ten pack of elbows and one straight meter for $128.85 shipped.
On AliExpress.com, I can get the same deal for $126.66 shipped.

Either way, my unit cost (divide both by 12-13) isn't much more than $10 a piece shipped. That's pretty good if you ask me!

[PhoenixSHO]

Yup its pretty good , and im with you , stupid silicone couplers are crazy expensive.

On my shogun , I bought a big package of 3" alu bends , straights , and a supermix of couplers of all sorts in silicone. I think I got this for 120+$

on ebay look for intercooler pipes or piping , theres all sorts of kits. But yea its not cheap.

[Advancedynamix]

My b6t only has two silicone couplers, both straight. 160 ft.lbs at 12psig and 100+ degrees ambient with a stock turbo and stock tune with no intercooler ( just water/meth). 10 pulls with no loss from heat soak. Just sayin', a lot of effort goes into intercooler piping that may not even be necessary.

[Advancedynamix]

Also, important to note. T-bolt clamps have a higher chance of leakage than a high quality worm clamp like those made by Norma or Gemi the thin high quality worm clamps offer more pressure to the sealing joint while requiring less pressure from the mechanism. This is due to their thin surface area (psi is a measure of force over area). Also, these clamps are designed to let you know when optimum torque has been applied to the clamp ( the tail of the clamp starts going sideways). These clamps have been used by OEM German manufacturers for over 30 years and are the standard in hose clamps. T- bolt clamps shouldn't be used on thin wall tubing, and care must always be taken not to over torque the clamp.. high pressure diesel turbo systems utilise these T-bolt clamps due to their burst strength, not because of their ability to seal. Also, these engines seldom have hose diameters under 2.5". The force applied to the hose by the air pressure increases drastically as hose diameter increases.

[Aaronbrook37]

My b6t only has two silicone couplers, both straight. 160 ft.lbs at 12psig and 100+ degrees ambient with a stock turbo and stock tune with no intercooler ( just water/meth). 10 pulls with no loss from heat soak. Just sayin', a lot of effort goes into intercooler piping that may not even be necessary.

I have definitely given this some thought. For the same price as an intercooler/pipe/clamps/couplings, I could easily put together a water/meth injection system instead. I suppose other benefits would be fewer components to worry about, fewer connections to keep tight and clean, and quicker spool up on the turbo as well. We'll see how things play out I suppose... might be interesting to try something a little out of my comfort zone this time around.

Also, important to note. T-bolt clamps have a higher chance of leakage than a high quality worm clamp like those made by Norma or Gemi the thin high quality worm clamps offer more pressure to the sealing joint while requiring less pressure from the mechanism. This is due to their thin surface area (psi is a measure of force over area). Also, these clamps are designed to let you know when optimum torque has been applied to the clamp ( the tail of the clamp starts going sideways). These clamps have been used by OEM German manufacturers for over 30 years and are the standard in hose clamps. T- bolt clamps shouldn't be used on thin wall tubing, and care must always be taken not to over torque the clamp.. high pressure diesel turbo systems utilise these T-bolt clamps due to their burst strength, not because of their ability to seal. Also, these engines seldom have hose diameters under 2.5". The force applied to the hose by the air pressure increases drastically as hose diameter increases.

Very useful post, thanks much, Charlie. I definitely have overtightened a few t-bolt clamps in the past unfortunately... something I will keep in mind regardless of which route I decide to go this time around.